Marp vs remark
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.
Open source · MIT
An entry point to the Marp family of tools for making slide decks from plain Markdown.
Open source · MIT
A simple tool that turns Markdown text into a browser-based slideshow.
The short answer
Choose Marp if you need…
- People who prefer writing slides as Markdown text rather than in a visual editor
- Developers who want to generate slide decks from code or scripts
- VS Code users who want a live preview of their slides
- Anyone looking for an overview of the Marp ecosystem before choosing a component
Choose remark if you need…
- People comfortable with HTML and CSS who want slides written in Markdown
- Developers or teachers who want a presentation they can version-control as plain text
- Presenters who want a speaker-notes view with a cloned display
Side-by-side
| Marp | remark | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Other | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 12.7k | 13k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | See the README | Download the app |
| Main language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 3 months ago | 2 years ago |
What each one is
Marp
Marp is a set of open-source projects for writing presentations in plain Markdown text and converting them into slides. This repository is mainly a hub that links to the family's parts: the Marpit framework, Marp Core, Marp CLI for exporting to HTML, PDF, PPTX or images, and a VS Code extension for previewing decks. The README also links to the project website and an awesome list of Marp resources.
remark
remark is a JavaScript library that renders a slideshow in a web browser from Markdown text placed inside an HTML file. You write slides separated by dividers, open the page, and it displays them. It is aimed at people who already know some HTML and CSS, since styling is done with ordinary CSS.
Best for
Marp
- People who prefer writing slides as Markdown text rather than in a visual editor
- Developers who want to generate slide decks from code or scripts
- VS Code users who want a live preview of their slides
- Anyone looking for an overview of the Marp ecosystem before choosing a component
remark
- People comfortable with HTML and CSS who want slides written in Markdown
- Developers or teachers who want a presentation they can version-control as plain text
- Presenters who want a speaker-notes view with a cloned display
Strengths
Marp
- Slides are plain Markdown files that work with version control and any text editor
- Multiple export formats are supported through the CLI, according to the README
- Released under the MIT license with an active project and a large community
remark
- Simple model: one HTML file with Markdown slides inside
- Presenter mode with speaker notes and a cloned view
- Works on touch devices with swipe navigation
Not ideal for
Marp
- Users who need a drag-and-drop slide editor, since this project is text-based (reason: the README describes Markdown writing, not a visual editor)
- People who need the classic Marp app, which the README says is archived (reason: the README points to a gravesite for the old app)
remark
- Non-technical users who want a visual slide editor, since the README describes editing HTML and Markdown by hand
- People who need an offline presentation without building remark first, since the README notes the local boilerplate requires a build step
- Users who need built-in PDF export, since the README says PDF output relies mainly on Chrome's Print to PDF and styling is not exact
Trade-offs
Marp
- This repository is a directory of links, so you must install the individual components to actually make slides
- The README does not give installation commands for the components, so setup details must come from their own repos
- Some older parts such as Marp Web, Marp React and Marp Vue are listed as outdated or inactive
remark
- Targeted at people who know HTML and CSS, so it is not a point-and-click tool
- PDF export styling is not guaranteed to match the browser view
- The README's boilerplate loads resources from remote URLs, so an internet connection is typically needed unless you build locally
Getting started
Marp
Clone this repository
git clone https://github.com/marp-team/marpremark
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/gnab/remarkFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Marp and remark?
Marp: An entry point to the Marp family of tools for making slide decks from plain Markdown. remark: A simple tool that turns Markdown text into a browser-based slideshow. Marp suits people who prefer writing slides as markdown text rather than in a visual editor, while remark suits people comfortable with html and css who want slides written in markdown.
Are Marp and remark free?
Marp: Free and open source. remark: Free and open source.
Is Marp or remark more popular?
remark has more GitHub stars (13k) than Marp (12.7k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Marp and remark?
Other options people compare them with include reveal.js, Slidev, impress.js, Showdown, Turndown.
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.