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Editor.md vs Vditor

Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.

Editor.md

Open source · MIT

An embeddable Markdown editor component for web pages, built on CodeMirror, jQuery and Marked.

Vditor

Open source · MIT

A browser-based Markdown editor with rich-text, live-render and split-view modes.

The short answer

Choose Editor.md if you need…

  • Web developers who want a Markdown input box inside their own site or admin panel
  • Projects that already use jQuery and want a drop-in editor
  • Sites that need Markdown with KaTeX formulas, flowcharts, or sequence diagrams
  • Teams that need a Markdown editor with image upload and a live preview

Choose Vditor if you need…

  • Developers who want to embed a Markdown editor in a web app
  • Teams building a blog, forum or content tool that needs in-browser editing
  • Users who want a choice between rich-text and raw Markdown editing
  • Projects using Vue, React, Angular or Svelte, or plain JavaScript

Side-by-side

Editor.mdVditor
TypeLibraryLibrary
PriceFree and open sourceFree and open source
LicenceMITMIT
GitHub stars14.3k11.4k
Setup difficultyBeginnerIntermediate
How you get itInstall with a package managerInstall with a package manager
Main languageJavaScriptTypeScript
Last code update3 years ago20 days ago

What each one is

Editor.md

Editor.md is a JavaScript component you add to a web page so visitors get a Markdown editor with a live preview. It is built on CodeMirror for the editing area, jQuery, and Marked for rendering. It also includes a function to convert Markdown text into HTML for display on a page.

Vditor

Vditor is an editor for Markdown text that runs inside a web page. It offers three editing styles: WYSIWYG (rich text, so you see formatted output while editing), instant rendering similar to Typora, and a split view with source on one side and preview on the other. Developers add it to their own websites or apps to let users write Markdown.

Best for

Editor.md

  • Web developers who want a Markdown input box inside their own site or admin panel
  • Projects that already use jQuery and want a drop-in editor
  • Sites that need Markdown with KaTeX formulas, flowcharts, or sequence diagrams
  • Teams that need a Markdown editor with image upload and a live preview

Vditor

  • Developers who want to embed a Markdown editor in a web app
  • Teams building a blog, forum or content tool that needs in-browser editing
  • Users who want a choice between rich-text and raw Markdown editing
  • Projects using Vue, React, Angular or Svelte, or plain JavaScript

Strengths

Editor.md

  • Gives a full Markdown editor with live preview, code folding, and search and replace
  • Supports GFM and CommonMark, plus extras like table of contents, emoji, and task lists
  • Has many configuration options and a plugin system with AMD/CMD module loading

Vditor

  • Supports three editing modes (WYSIWYG, instant render, split view) in one editor
  • Implements CommonMark and GFM specifications with many extras such as math, diagrams and footnotes
  • Open source under the MIT license with a long history and an active repository

Not ideal for

Editor.md

  • Projects that do not use jQuery or JavaScript, since the README describes a jQuery-based component
  • Anyone needing HTML-to-Markdown conversion, which the README says is not supported
  • Teams wanting an actively maintained editor, since the latest push shown is from April 2024 and the README does not describe current maintenance

Vditor

  • People who just want a desktop note-taking app; Vditor is a component for developers, not a finished application
  • Projects that need a native mobile editor, since the README only says it is mobile-friendly in browsers
  • Anyone needing a built-in server or storage; the README covers the editor only

Trade-offs

Editor.md

  • Depends on jQuery and older browser-era libraries, so it may not fit modern JavaScript stacks
  • The README shows no recent release activity, and the last push date is April 2024
  • The README is truncated, so some setup and feature details could not be verified

Vditor

  • Primarily aimed at developers integrating it, so setup requires coding
  • The latest release (v4.0.1) ships without binaries, so it is used as a library
  • Many features depend on configuration and optional renderers, which adds complexity

Getting started

Editor.md

Install with npm

npm install editor.md

Install with Bower

bower install editor.md
Step-by-step guide: how to use Editor.md

Vditor

Install the package via npm

npm install vditor --save
Step-by-step guide: how to use Vditor

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Editor.md and Vditor?

Editor.md: An embeddable Markdown editor component for web pages, built on CodeMirror, jQuery and Marked. Vditor: A browser-based Markdown editor with rich-text, live-render and split-view modes. Editor.md suits web developers who want a markdown input box inside their own site or admin panel, while Vditor suits developers who want to embed a markdown editor in a web app.

Are Editor.md and Vditor free?

Editor.md: Free and open source. Vditor: Free and open source.

Which is easier to set up, Editor.md or Vditor?

Editor.md is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Vditor is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.

Is Editor.md or Vditor more popular?

Editor.md has more GitHub stars (14.3k) than Vditor (11.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.

What are other alternatives to Editor.md and Vditor?

Other options people compare them with include Milkdown, react-markdown, Showdown, Turndown, GraphiQL.

Keep comparing

Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.