Folding Mirror vs Typora
Folding Mirror and Typora are both WYSIWYG Markdown editors, and both write to the same ordinary files. The short answer first: if you need to write on Windows or Linux today, buy Typora. Those builds of Folding Mirror are planned but not ready. If you want to spend less, Typora again.
Below is where the two actually differ. Starting with what Typora does better.
What Typora does better
Typora has been doing this since 2015 and got the hard part right before anyone else. Three things about it are still ahead of Folding Mirror.
- It runs on all three platforms. macOS, Windows and Linux. Folding Mirror is macOS 12 and later for now; Windows and Linux are planned, with no date to announce yet. If you need to write on Windows today, Typora is the answer.
- It costs less, and it has been around longer. $14.99 against $25.90, both one-time, both three devices. Typora has been shipping since 2015, so when something goes wrong there is usually an answer online already. Folding Mirror went on sale this year.
- More themes, and a wider export. Typora's look is a CSS file, and ten years of people writing them means there is probably one already made for whatever document you have to hand in. Its export reaches DOCX, and further than that through Pandoc. Folding Mirror ships four themes and exports PDF, HTML, or the
.mditself.
One more thing that does not fit in a table: Typora does a single job, and does it cleanly. Folding Mirror also has an assistant, a graph, a canvas and a version history. If all you want is a sheet of paper, those are clutter.
Where the difference is
The smallest difference first. It is hiding in your headings.
Inline marks behave much the same in both: the asterisks around **bold** come back when the caret is near them. Block marks do not. Once Typora has rendered a heading into large type, the # in front of it is put away, and finding out whether that line is an h2 or an h3 means a trip to source code mode. In Folding Mirror the caret brings it back: return to that line and the ## is there at the start of it, gone again when you leave. Same for a quote's > and a task's - [x] — the whole line's source is there.
Folding Mirror does a fair bit that Typora does not, and the interface did not get busier for it: still four icons in the top bar. To insert a table, a formula, code or a diagram, type a slash on an empty line and the list appears under the caret. The assistant is a column on the right that stays shut until you ask for it. The four colour schemes hang on that half-dark circle in the top bar. The rest of it only starts to matter once you have a few hundred documents:
- Checkpoints for the whole library. Go back to a given day and see what the whole folder looked like, not just one file's history. Nothing to set up, and no git to learn.
- Wiki links, backlinks and a graph. Each document ends with a list of what mentions it. Once you have written enough to lose track of it, the graph finds things faster than search.
- A canvas and diagrams inside the document. An Excalidraw drawing sits in the page; double-click to draw in it. Mermaid works in a fence, or as its own
.mmdfile you open like any other document. - An assistant that checks with you. It reads the whole library and rewrites a section, and it stops for your confirmation before anything lands on disk.
The same page, twice
Both columns are sentences rather than ticks and crosses. Half of these rows are not a win for either side, just a difference in approach.
| Folding Mirror | Typora | |
|---|---|---|
| Price and licence | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| Price | $25.90 one-time (early bird $14) | $14.99 one-time |
| Devices per licence | 3, across platforms | 3 |
| Trial | 14 days, no account | 15 days |
| Updates | One year included; the version you have keeps working afterwards, renewal optional | One-time, no renewal fee; their EULA allows charging for a major version update (1.x → 2.x) |
| Refund | 30 days, no reason needed | 30 days, counted from when the trial starts |
| Where it runs | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| Platforms | macOS 12 and later; Windows and Linux are planned | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Where your files live | An ordinary folder on your own disk, one .md per document | Same — both are local plain text, so moving between them needs no export |
| Writing | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| Live preview | The line under your caret shows its source; every other line stays set | Single-pane WYSIWYG. Inline marks such as ** are, in their words, “hidden or displayed smartly”; block marks such as ### and - [x] are “hidden once the block is rendered” |
| Seeing the whole source | ⌘/ to toggle, or fold the sheet into two draggable halves | Source code mode, also ⌘/ |
| Tables | Real tables edited in place; add, remove and align from the right-click menu | Edited in place |
| Formulas | KaTeX; rendering waits until the caret leaves the pair, so a half-typed formula never snaps shut | Yes, MathJax |
| Mermaid diagrams | In a fence, or as a standalone .mmd file you open like any document | In a fence |
| Drawing canvas | An Excalidraw canvas embedded in the page; double-click to enter it | No |
| Once you have a pile of them | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| Wiki links and backlinks | Yes; each document lists what mentions it | It can link to another file or heading, but there is no backlink list |
| Graph view | Yes | No |
| Version history | Checkpoints for the whole library; go back to any day and read what was there | On macOS it hooks into the system's Revert To, one file at a time; not on Windows or Linux |
| The assistant | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| AI | Built in; it can read and edit your documents, and every write waits for your approval | No |
| Making it yours | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| Themes | Four built in, switched from one button in the top bar, or following the system | Write your own CSS; ten years of community themes to draw on |
| Getting it out | Folding Mirror | Typora |
| Export | PDF, HTML, or just hand over the .md | PDF and HTML built in; DOCX, ODT, RTF, EPUB and LaTeX need Pandoc installed |
Checked against both vendors' own pages on 2026-08-21. Prices change and this page will not follow them, so check Typora's own site before you decide.
Coming over
There is no import step. Both sides store ordinary files, so there is nothing to convert.
- Your files stay put. Point Folding Mirror at the folder Typora has been opening. The
.mdfiles, the images and the subfolders are all where they were, and nothing gets converted or renamed. - You can run both at once. On the same folder, for as long as you like, each picking up what the other saved. Take your time comparing.
- The shortcuts are mostly the same. Where Typora had one, Folding Mirror was set to match it.
- What you lose is your theme. Typora's CSS themes are written for its own renderer and do not carry over. Folding Mirror has its four built-in ones.
Asked before buying
Can Folding Mirror open my Typora files?+
Yes, and there is nothing to import. Both editors write ordinary Markdown into an ordinary folder on your disk. Point Folding Mirror at the folder you have been using and it is all there: same files, same images, same folder names. You can keep using both on that folder while you decide.
Is it worth $25.90 when Typora is $14.99?+
Not if what you want is what Typora already is. It does that job well and costs less. The extra buys the things it does not have: version checkpoints for the whole library, wiki links with backlinks, a graph, an embedded drawing canvas, and an assistant that edits your documents with your approval. If none of those are on your list, the cheaper one is enough.
Does Folding Mirror run on Windows or Linux?+
Not yet. Folding Mirror is macOS 12 and later for now; Windows and Linux are planned, but there is no date to announce. Typora runs on all three, so if you need one of those today, that is the answer.
What happens after the one-year update period?+
The version you have keeps working. Nothing nags you and no feature switches off. Renewing buys another year of updates, and costs less than buying the app again.
The table is done.
Now try it.
The trial needs no account and no card, and it opens the folder you already have.