Gasp

Gasp vs Typora

Typora and Gasp are both apps for writing in Markdown. Markdown is plain text with a few simple symbols for formatting, like # in front of a heading. Both apps hide those symbols as you type, so your writing looks finished while you write it. Typora is built for writing one document at a time and exporting it to many formats. Gasp is built for a whole folder of notes that link to each other. Gasp also syncs your notes, searches all of them and can lock private ones. Gasp is free. Typora costs $14.99.

Which one fits you

Typora fits if you

Gasp fits if you

TyporaGasp

Pick what you need from either list.

Feature by feature

TopicGaspTypora
Price
Free.
$14.99, paid once, for up to three computers.
Your notes
Ordinary text files (Markdown) in a folder on your computer.
Ordinary text files (Markdown) in a folder on your computer.
Formatting as you type
Gasp hides the Markdown symbols everywhere except near your cursor. You can also show them all the time, or hide them all the time.
Typora hides the Markdown symbols as you type.
Links between notes
You link notes with [[double brackets]]. Each note shows which other notes link to it.
Ordinary web-style links work. Typora doesn't show which notes link to a note.
Sync
Built in, through iCloud Drive or GitHub.
Typora has no sync of its own. You can keep your files in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive yourself.
Locked notes
You can lock any note with a password. Nobody can read it without that password.
Typora can't lock notes.
AI assistants
AI assistants like Claude, Cursor and Codex can read and edit your notes. You connect one with a click in Gasp's settings.
Typora doesn't connect to AI assistants.
Export
PDF files and web pages.
PDF files, web pages, Word documents, LaTeX, EPUB e-books and more.
Computers and phones
Mac and Linux today. A Windows app is coming.
Mac, Windows and Linux.

Moving from Typora

  1. Download Gasp and open it.
  2. Your Typora files are already Markdown. In Gasp, choose Open a folder and pick the folder that holds them.
  3. If you want your notes on more than one computer, turn on sync in Gasp's settings. On a Mac you can use iCloud Drive. On any computer you can use a free, private folder on GitHub, which Gasp sets up for you.

Questions

Is Gasp a free alternative to Typora?

Yes. Gasp is free on Mac and Linux. You don't need an account to use it. Like Typora, Gasp formats Markdown as you type and saves ordinary .md files.

Can Gasp export to Word?

Not yet. Gasp exports PDF files and web pages. If you often need to send Word documents, Typora is the better choice for that.

Does Gasp hide Markdown symbols like Typora does?

Yes. By default, Gasp shows the symbols only where your cursor is. You can also show them all the time, or hide them everywhere. You can make this choice separately for each kind of formatting.

Try Gasp

Download Gasp