Zettlr
by Zettlr
What Zettlr is
Zettlr is a publication workbench for writing projects, from early research notes to journal submissions and book manuscripts. It began as a Markdown editor for academic researchers and is also used by students, journalists, authors, and others who write substantial amounts. The app works offline on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and files remain on the user's computer. It supports standard Markdown and exports to formats supported by Pandoc. Citation manager connections include Zotero, JabRef, and Juris-M, with support for more than 9,000 citation styles. Zettelkasten tools include note IDs, internal wiki-style links, related files, navigation, and graph view. Pandoc-powered profiles can apply templates to papers or prepare presentations for Beamer, reveal.js, or PowerPoint. The app renders LaTeX equations and Mermaid charts, and supports extensive settings and custom CSS. Zettlr is free and open source, with no payment required to download. Its maker says app data is not collected and update checks can be disabled. Older releases are unsupported, and nightly releases may contain many bugs.
Who it suits
Zettlr suits researchers, students, journalists, and authors working on substantial writing projects. Its citation, linked-note, and Pandoc export features may suit people preparing academic papers or manuscripts.
What it does well
- Works offline on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Exports to formats supported by Pandoc.
- Connects with Zotero, JabRef, and Juris-M.
- Supports note IDs, internal links, and graph view.
- Free and open source; no payment required to download.
What to know first
- Older releases are unsupported.
- Nightly releases may contain many bugs.
- Available desktop systems listed are Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free and open source software · no payment required to download | Free |
As zettlr.com lists them, read 8 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open the Zettlr website and choose a download for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
- Install the version that matches your operating system; Windows 10 or newer and macOS 12 or newer are supported.
- Open Zettlr and keep writing files on your computer, including when offline.
- Connect a supported citation manager if needed.
- Use Pandoc-powered profiles to export papers or presentations.
Verdict
Zettlr combines Markdown writing, citation support, linked notes, and publication-oriented exports in a free desktop app. It may suit long-form and academic work, though older releases are unsupported.
Questions
Is Zettlr free?
Yes. The Free plan costs nothing, and the software is free and open source with no payment required to download.
Which operating systems does Zettlr support?
It supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. The download page provides installers for Windows 10 or newer, macOS 12 or newer, and several Linux distributions and formats.
Can I use Zettlr offline?
Yes. Offline access is supported, and the maker says files stay on the user's computer.
Which citation managers does it integrate with?
Zettlr supports Zotero, JabRef, and Juris-M. It also supports more than 9,000 citation styles.
What can Zettlr export?
It supports standard compatible Markdown and export to formats supported by Pandoc. Profiles can prepare papers with templates and presentations for Beamer, reveal.js, or PowerPoint.
Who makes Zettlr?
The maker is Zettlr, founded in 2017.
Facts from Zettlr's own pages
- Audience
- Zettlr began as a Markdown editor built for academic researchers and is also used by students, journalists, authors, and others writing substantial amounts of text. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Citation managers
- Zettlr supports Zotero, JabRef, and Juris-M, and the site says it supports more than 9,000 citation styles. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Customization
- The app renders LaTeX equations and Mermaid charts and supports extensive settings and custom CSS. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Formats and export
- Zettlr supports standard compatible Markdown and export to formats supported by Pandoc. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2017 · zettlr.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · zettlr.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- The maker identifies LanguageTool integration and reference manager support for Zotero, JabRef, and Juris-M. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Note sharing
- Yes · zettlr.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Offline access
- Yes · zettlr.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Supported platforms
- Windows,macOS,Linux · zettlr.com, 20 Sept 2026
- Privacy
- The maker says app data is not collected, files stay on the user's computer, and update checks can be disabled. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Publishing workflows
- Its Pandoc-powered profile system can export papers with templates and create presentation profiles for Beamer, reveal.js, or PowerPoint. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Zettlr is a publication workbench for writing projects from initial notes through journal submission or book manuscripts. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Release limits
- The maker says older releases are unsupported and warns that nightly releases may contain many bugs. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- Users can seek community help through the forum and Discord, consult the manual, or report errors on GitHub. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Supported systems
- The download page provides installers for Windows 10 or newer, macOS 12 or newer, and Linux distributions and formats including Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora/Red Hat, and AppImage. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Website analytics
- The maker says its website uses Matomo with anonymization and GDPR-oriented settings, stores the data on a server in Germany, and does not sell it to third parties. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Writing and notes
- Zettlr supports Zettelkasten workflows with note IDs, wiki-style internal links, related files, navigation, and graph view. · zettlr.com, 8 Oct 2026
Where Zettlr stands on Freedom251
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