HackMD review

HackMD is a shared Markdown workspace for writing, reviewing and publishing notes. Its main distinction is live collaboration: multiple people can edit the same note in real time, rather than emailing files or passing around versions. Teams can discuss notes with comments and mentions, and use version history to track or recover edits and revisions.

Notes can be shared publicly, and readers can fork public notes. HackMD also lists GitHub syncing and access for AI agents: agents can read notes as Markdown through URLs, a REST API or CLI. That makes the product useful both as a collaborative editor and as a source of shared context for other tools.

A Reddit thread about a student project describes choosing HackMD because other online editors they considered did not offer real-time collaboration. The trade-off is that HackMD is Markdown-first, not aimed at teams that want a visual-first editor.

HackMD makes the most sense when several people need to work directly in Markdown without coordinating file handoffs. Live editing, comments, mentions and revision history cover the core collaboration loop: write together, discuss changes and recover earlier work. GitHub syncing is another fit for teams that want notes connected to a code workflow.

The public-note and agent-access options extend sharing beyond the editor. Readers can view and fork public notes, while agents can read Markdown through URLs, the REST API or CLI. That gives teams a way to expose documentation as context without treating every note as a private file.

The free plan is a practical starting point for a small group, but it has clear ceilings. According to the pricing page, it includes up to 3 teammates, 3 invitees, 3 custom templates and 20 GitHub pushes per month. Prime is listed at $5 per seat per month when billed annually; the pricing note gives $15 total per month. Prime includes unlimited invites, versions and GitHub pushes, plus 20,000 API calls per month. Monthly billing is not published.

HackMD is a weaker fit if the team expects a WYSIWYG-first editor. The product is built around Markdown, and a Reddit discussion asking for a visual editor describes the Markdown-first workflow as a problem for less technically inclined teammates. That is a meaningful adoption issue if people do not want to edit Markdown or switch between source and preview.

The free plan’s caps may also become restrictive: 3 teammates, 3 invitees, 3 custom templates, 20 GitHub pushes a month and images limited to 1MB each. Prime raises image limits to 20MB and includes 20,000 API calls per month, but its $5 per-seat price applies to annual billing; the monthly price is not published. Enterprise pricing is custom, and the price for additional members is not listed. Enterprise adds role-based access control, SSO, a custom domain and priority support, so teams that need those controls cannot price the upgrade from the published figures alone.

HackMD has a free plan, but its caps make the upgrade decision fairly clear. Free allows up to 3 teammates, 3 invitees, 3 custom templates, 20 GitHub pushes per month, and images up to 1MB each.

Prime is listed at $5 per seat per month when billed annually, with a $15 total monthly charge. That is the jump from free; the monthly-billing price is not published, so check the checkout price before committing. Prime removes the invite and version limits, raises image size to 20MB, includes 20,000 API calls per month, and makes GitHub pushes unlimited.

Enterprise pricing is custom. It adds role-based access control, SSO, a custom domain, and priority support on top of Prime. Additional members are available as an add-on, but their price is not listed. The practical gotcha: the annual per-seat rate is published, while the monthly rate and add-on cost are not. Budget around the listed $15 total monthly charge for Prime, not an assumed monthly-billing rate.

HackMD is built around Markdown, so start a migration by checking whether your existing notes can be brought over as Markdown files. The published product details do not confirm bulk import, bulk export, or how comments, mentions, and version history transfer. Test a representative note before moving a workspace, and verify that images and links survive the move.

GitHub sync is a stated feature, but the details here do not say whether it covers every note or serves as a complete backup. Treat it as an integration, not a migration guarantee, until you confirm the workflow. The same caution applies when leaving: data-export steps and formats are not specified on the vendor's site.

We also don’t have Reddit posts or comments in the published material, so we can’t responsibly say what users there report as reasons for leaving. The product fit suggests a likely decision point: HackMD is for real-time Markdown collaboration, not teams that require a visual-first editor. Check export and editing needs before switching either way.