Coffee vs MacDown: is MacDown still maintained?

Checked November 2026 against MacDown's GitHub repository, its site and MacDown 3000's repository. I make Coffee, so read this with that in mind. Coffee isn't affiliated with either project.

MacDown's repository shows no new release since January 2020 and no new commit on its main branch since April 2021, and it says nothing either way about whether the project is maintained. If you want a free editor in the same family with recent releases, look at MacDown 3000, a separate project. Choose Coffee if you want a paid Mac app for a library of notes, with review of outside edits and sums in your notes.

What MacDown's repository shows

These are the facts from MacDownApp/macdown on GitHub, without any guess about why.

Issues are still being opened. Two from October 2026 are from people announcing their own modern ports. The project's site still offers version 0.7.3 for download, and its copyright line ends in 2021.

So the record is clear on activity and silent on intent. The project hasn't been declared finished or handed over in its README, and nothing has been released from it for years. I didn't find anything official on whether 0.7.3 is supported on current versions of macOS, so I'm not making a claim about that.

MacDown 3000

MacDown 3000 is a separate repository, by a different maintainer, that calls itself "essentially MacDown Continued". Its site says it's free and focused on regular releases, stability and bug fixes. Its latest release, 3000.0.8, came out on 2 November 2026.

It's released under the MIT Licence and needs macOS 11 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. Its README lists a live preview as you type, GitHub Flavored Markdown with tables and task lists, code highlighting with Prism, maths notation, Jekyll front matter, export to HTML or PDF, and a sidebar for browsing a folder. You can install it with brew install --cask macdown-3000.

If you liked MacDown and only want it kept up to date, this is the first thing to try, and it costs nothing.

At a glance

Where MacDown is better

Price. MacDown and MacDown 3000 cost nothing to use. Coffee has a 14-day trial, then you pay.

Open source. You can read the code, build it yourself or fork it, under the MIT Licence. Coffee's code is closed. If a project you rely on stops, the code remains available for someone to carry on, as MacDown 3000 says it's doing.

Older Macs. MacDown 3000 runs on macOS 11 or later, where Coffee needs macOS 15.

Maths. MacDown 3000 renders TeX-like maths notation. Coffee draws a $$ block of everyday TeX as a formula, but inline $…$ is only shown in italic, not drawn. If you write a lot of inline maths, try both on your own notes.

A small, single-purpose tool. MacDown 3000 describes itself as lightweight, and that's the appeal if all you want is to open a file and see it rendered. Coffee carries a lot more, and you may not want it.

Where Coffee is different

The MacDown 3000 README doesn't list these, which doesn't prove it lacks all of them. Check its docs if one matters to you.

A library of notes. Press ⌘K and every note answers as you type. Coffee also has tags, templates and [[links]] between notes, and when a note's title changes it rewrites the links that point to it.

Three views. You can work in the formatted page, in the code, or in a split where you can type on either side and both update.

Reviewing outside edits. When Claude, Cursor, a Git pull or a synced folder changes a file, Coffee shows each change since you last read the note, to keep or undo one at a time. See how to review AI edits.

Sums in your notes. Write 20% of 50 or $30 in EUR and the answer appears beside the line, without entering the file. Try it.

Version history and comments. Every note keeps earlier versions, and you can comment on selected words without touching the Markdown.

PDF templates. Three templates, with a title page and page numbers. You can't restyle them, whereas MacDown 3000 describes customisable styling for its exports.

Private notes. A note can lock with Touch ID, which encrypts its file on disk and keeps it out of search.

Coffee has no sync of its own and no plugins, and it's Mac only. Most people keep their notes in iCloud Drive or something similar.

Choose MacDown 3000 if

• You want a free, open source editor
• You liked MacDown and want it to keep getting updates
• You're on a Mac older than macOS 15
• You need inline maths, which Coffee doesn't draw

The original MacDown remains available, and you can judge it from the record above.

Choose Coffee if

• You keep many notes and want to find things instantly
• You edit Markdown with AI tools and want to check each change
• You want sums, version history and private notes in one app
• You're on macOS 15 or later and happy to pay for it

Moving between them

Coffee keeps notes as ordinary .md files in a folder you choose, so you can open the same files in either editor. Coffee's comments and version history stay in Coffee, as they aren't part of the file.

Questions

Is MacDown still maintained?

Its repository doesn't say. It isn't archived, but its last stable release is v0.7.3 from January 2020, and the last commit on its main branch is from April 2021. Issues are still being opened.

What is MacDown 3000?

It's a separate open source project that describes itself as essentially MacDown continued. It's free, needs macOS 11 or later, and had a new release in November 2026. Coffee has no connection to it.

Is MacDown free?

MacDown is open source under the MIT Licence, with a direct download on its site. MacDown 3000 says plainly that it's free, and accepts donations.

Does Coffee have a free version?

No. Coffee has a 14-day trial with no card or account, then costs €3 a month, €29 a year or €79 once.