Quorly compared to the browser-based rivals
As of October 2026 — competitor facts verified against their public sites.
What Quorly is
Quorly is a private, local-first browser writing app: it runs entirely in your browser,
requires no account and sends no cookies, no identifiers and no document content — the only
first-party network request is a cookie-free POST of a single event name (e.g. "started typing",
"exported", "storage limit reached") to our own `/e` endpoint, plus Cloudflare's anonymous visit count.
Everything else stays on your device. It works offline once loaded. Documents stay in this
browser (localStorage for the open draft, IndexedDB for parked snapshots, versions and images).
It exports Markdown, PDF,
plain text and .quorly, has Focus Mode, themes and five typefaces,
a Recents library, and in-browser WebMCP tools for AI agents.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Quorly | Dillinger | StackEdit | Typora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs in browser | Yes | Yes | Yes | No — desktop app |
| Account required | No | No (optional for cloud sync) | No (optional for cloud sync) | No — but $14.99 license |
| Works offline | Yes — full PWA | Yes — once loaded (localStorage drafts) | Yes — service-worker PWA | Yes — local files |
| Documents stored | Local browser only | Browser localStorage (+ optional cloud) | Browser (+ optional cloud) | Local file system |
| Cloud sync | None — never leaves device | GitHub, Dropbox, Drive, OneDrive, Bitbucket | Google Drive, Dropbox, GitHub | None built-in |
| Cookies / identifiers / document content | None sent (named event name only to `/e`) | No privacy claim of no-tracking (third-party analytics likely) | No privacy claim of no-tracking (analytics present) | None needed (local app) |
| Installable PWA | Yes | No — not installable | Partial (service worker, not full install) | N/A (desktop install) |
| Export formats | Markdown, PDF, plain text, .quorly |
Markdown, HTML, PDF | Markdown, HTML (PDF sponsor-only) | Markdown, PDF, Word, HTML, LaTeX, EPUB |
| Rich text editor | Yes — headings, bold/italic, lists, quotes, links, inline code, aligned text, tables, images, code blocks | Markdown source + live preview | Markdown source + live preview | WYSIWYG inline Markdown |
| Focus Mode | Yes | Yes (Zen Mode) | Not present | Typewriter / focus mode |
| Themes + typefaces | Light/dark + 5 fonts, adjustable size/width | Light + dark toggle (default light) | Multiple themes | Custom CSS themes |
| WebMCP / AI agent tools | In-browser (W3C CG draft) | No | No | No |
| Pricing | Free — no tier | Free — no tier | Free — $5 sponsorship unlocks PDF + more | $14.99 one-time (3 devices) |
Sources: dillinger.io (features + compare pages), stackedit.io (features + docs), typora.io/store.typora.io; StackEdit reviews verified via third-party comparison sites (e.g. Phoenix Code comparison, July 2026). All as of October 2026.
Dillinger
What it is. A free, no-signup browser Markdown editor built on the same
Monaco engine that powers VS Code. It offers side-by-side live preview, optional cloud sync
to GitHub, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Bitbucket, and exports to Markdown, styled
HTML or PDF. Drafts persist in localStorage, and it claims to work offline once
loaded. (Verified at dillinger.io and its public
comparison pages, October 2026.)
Where Quorly differs — honestly. Dillinger is a Markdown source editor,
not a rich-text editor: you write Markdown syntax (hashes for headings, asterisks for bold),
and see a rendered preview beside it. Quorly edits the rendered page directly — headings,
bold, italic, lists, quotes, links, inline code, aligned text, tables, images and code blocks
— without switching to source view. Dillinger's cloud sync requires connecting a third-party
account; Quorly has none. Dillinger does not offer an installable PWA, a local document
library with version snapshots, or in-browser agent tools. Its own offline promise is that
"once loaded, the editor keeps working" with drafts in localStorage; Quorly ships
a service worker and IndexedDB snapshots, and keeps working after the browser restarts.
Who Dillinger is for. Writers who prefer source Markdown, want instant cloud sync to GitHub or Dropbox, and don't need a library of saved drafts or agent tools.
StackEdit
What it is. A free in-browser Markdown editor with split-pane live preview, scroll sync, and optional sync to Google Drive, Dropbox and GitHub. Most cloud features require signing in with a Google account; the free tier saves locally. PDF export requires a sponsorship (around $5 for 3 months). It supports Mermaid diagrams and KaTeX math, and offers a service-worker-based offline mode. (Verified at stackedit.io and third-party reviews checked in October 2026; the project's last commit was May 2023.)
Where Quorly differs — honestly. StackEdit is a Markdown source editor; Quorly is a rich-text editor that edits the rendered page. StackEdit's cloud sync requires a Google sign-in; Quorly has zero accounts. StackEdit's offline mode depends on a service worker (partial PWA, not a full install) and lacks an IndexedDB-based document library with snapshots and images. StackEdit does not claim to block tracking, while Quorly sends only named event names (no cookies, no identifiers, no document content) to its own endpoint. StackEdit does not register WebMCP tools.
Who StackEdit is for. Writers who want live Markdown rendering with scroll sync, need Mermaid or math diagrams, and are comfortable with a Google-linked account for cloud features.
Typora — an honest one-line contrast
- Typora is the polished desktop app. It is a native macOS / Windows / Linux application ($14.99 one-time, 3 devices, 15-day trial) with seamless WYSIWYG Markdown editing, custom CSS themes, and extensive exports (PDF, Word, HTML, LaTeX, EPUB). It works on local files, needs no account to write, and works primarily offline. Optional updates and cross-device theme sync may contact the server, but no document content is sent. It does not offer web-based collaboration, an installable PWA, or in-browser agent tools.
- Quorly is the browser-first alternative. It needs no install, runs on any device with a browser, keeps everything in the browser (no desktop files), works offline as a PWA, and includes WebMCP agent tools — at the cost of not being a native desktop experience.
The bottom line
If you want a source Markdown editor that syncs to your cloud accounts, Dillinger or StackEdit are the free browser options. If you want a polished desktop WYSIWYG editor, Typora is the paid standard. If you want a private, local-first browser writing app with no account, no cloud, no tracking, installable offline support, a saved-document library, rich-text editing, and in-browser agent tools — Quorly is built for that.