Side by side

MDXEditor vs Novel

Both stand on rich text editor software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

MDXEditor

Free plan Web

MDXEditor provides a plugin-based Markdown editing component with source, diff, table, image, and code-block features. Its Markdown focus and lack of server rendering or font styling controls are important fit considerations.

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Novel

Free plan ExtensionSelf-hostedWeb

Novel provides a customizable, open-source WYSIWYG editor for React projects, with self-hosting and extension options. Its documented AI command workflow is not yet available, and some framework integrations remain community maintained.

Visit Novel

The facts

	MDXEditor	Novel
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Web	Extension, Self-hosted, Web
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Not published
Plans published	1	None
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	mdxeditor.dev	novel.sh
On rich text editor software	#11 of 37	#15 of 37

MDXEditor: what it does well

Markdown remains a string without intermediate HTML.
Plugins enable features and additional Markdown constructs.
Supports source editing and document diff views.
Image insertion includes URL, local, paste, and drop options.
Code blocks offer syntax highlighting and language-aware editing.

What to know first

Server rendering is unsupported.
HTML tables are not supported.
Text font size, color, and family cannot be changed.

Novel: what it does well

Open-source editor with Apache-2.0 license
Supports web, extension, and self-hosted deployment
Custom styling and component integration
Configurable image uploads with size validation
VS Code Markdown editing extension

What to know first

AI command feature is marked coming soon
Local setup requires OpenAI and Vercel Blob credentials
Image-upload example rejects files over 20 MB
Svelte package lists several unfinished areas

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