Markdown vs Rich Text: Which Format Should You Use?

Every writer faces this choice at some point: should you write in Markdown or use a rich text editor like Google Docs, Notion, or Word? The answer depends on what you are writing, who will read it, and how you want to maintain it.

Quick Answer: Markdown is plain text with lightweight syntax that separates content from presentation. Rich text (WYSIWYG) stores formatting alongside content. Choose Markdown for developer workflows, version control, and portable files. Choose rich text for real-time collaboration, complex layouts, and non-technical audiences. Markdown is used by over 80% of open-source projects for documentation.

What Is Rich Text?

Rich text editors (WYSIWYG) show formatted output as you type. Bold text looks bold immediately. Headings are large. Images appear inline. Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Notion, and Confluence are all rich text editors.

The format is stored as structured data (HTML, XML, or a proprietary format) that encodes both content and presentation together.

What Is Markdown?

Markdown is a plain-text format with lightweight syntax for formatting. You write **bold** and it renders as bold. You write # Heading and it becomes a heading. The source file is readable as-is, even without rendering.

Markdown files are just .md text files. Any text editor can open them.

When Markdown Wins

Version control. Markdown files are plain text. Git can diff, merge, and track changes line by line. Rich text formats produce binary or complex diffs that are almost impossible to review.

Portability. A .md file works everywhere. You can open it in VS Code, Obsidian, GitHub, edtr.md, or any text editor. Rich text documents are locked to their editor or require export.

Speed. Once you know the syntax, Markdown is faster than clicking toolbar buttons. Your hands never leave the keyboard.

Focus. No font menus, no color pickers, no spacing options. Markdown forces you to focus on content, not presentation.

Developer workflows. README files, documentation, changelogs, pull request descriptions, and issue templates all use Markdown. It is the standard in software development.

Lightweight. A Markdown file is kilobytes. A Word document with the same content can be megabytes.

When Rich Text Wins

Non-technical audiences. If your readers have never seen Markdown syntax, a WYSIWYG editor removes the learning curve entirely.

Complex layouts. Multi-column layouts, embedded spreadsheets, and precise positioning are easier in rich text editors.

Real-time collaboration. Google Docs and Notion excel at simultaneous editing with comments, suggestions, and track changes. Markdown collaboration typically goes through Git.

Presentation-heavy documents. Proposals, slide decks, and reports that need specific branding, fonts, and layouts are better served by rich text or design tools.

If you need a free, browser-based rich text editor, wordpad4.me is built by the same team as edtr.md. Same philosophy: no account, no install, data stays in your browser.

The Hybrid Approach

Many modern tools blur the line. Notion uses Markdown-like shortcuts in a WYSIWYG interface. Obsidian is a Markdown editor with a rich preview. HackMD lets teams collaborate on Markdown in real time.

edtr.md takes the split-pane approach: you type Markdown on the left, see the rendered output on the right. You get the speed and portability of Markdown with the visual feedback of rich text. If you need a full WYSIWYG experience instead, the same team makes wordpad4.me, a free browser-based rich text editor with no sign-up.

Decision Guide

Use Markdown when…	Use Rich Text when…
Writing code documentation	Writing business proposals
Version control matters	Real-time collaboration is critical
You want portable files	Readers expect formatted output
Content is text-heavy	Layout and design matter
You work in a dev team	You work with non-technical people

Getting Started with Markdown

If you have never used Markdown before, the learning curve is about 15 minutes. The Markdown for beginners guide walks through every concept step by step, with comparisons to Word and Google Docs. Once you know the basics, the Markdown cheat sheet serves as a quick daily reference. You only need to learn a handful of syntax rules to cover 90% of your writing:

• # Heading for headings
• **bold** and *italic* for emphasis
• - item for lists
• [text](url) for links
• `code` for inline code

Open edtr.md and start typing. The live preview shows you exactly how your Markdown will look, so you can learn the syntax as you go.