Markdown vs Rich Text Notes: Which Lasts Longer? (2026)

Short answer

Markdown notes outlast rich text notes because a markdown file is plain text you can open in any editor, on any operating system, 20 years from now. Rich text and proprietary note formats depend on a specific app or database to render the styling, so they rot when that app changes its format, raises its price, or shuts down.

If you want notes you can still read in 2046, write them as plain markdown. If you need heavy formatting inside one polished app today and do not care about leaving later, rich text is fine. This post on markdown vs rich text notes walks through the longevity test, a side-by-side table, and the cases where rich text earns its keep.

I build Stik, a free macOS app that saves notes as plain .md files, so I have a bias toward markdown. I will keep the comparison honest and tell you where rich text wins.

What markdown is

Markdown is a plain-text formatting syntax. You write # Heading, **bold**, and - list item as visible characters, and an app renders them as styled text. The file stays readable even without a renderer.

A markdown note lives in a .md file that any text editor can show, from TextEdit to VS Code to a terminal. The formatting marks sit in the text itself, so the file carries its own meaning.

What rich text is

Rich text stores formatting as metadata wrapped around your words. The bold, the fonts, the colors, and the layout sit in a structure that an app reads and paints on screen. You see styled text while typing, with no syntax to learn.

Rich text shows up as .rtf files, as .docx documents, and as proprietary blobs inside note apps like Apple Notes or Notion. The styling reaches further than markdown allows. The cost is that the file means little without an app that understands its format.

The longevity test

Open a note from 2006. If you can read it, the format passed. If you cannot, the format failed you.

Run that test against the common storage formats:

• Plain markdown (.md): open it in any text editor today and in 2046. The bytes are letters, with nothing to decode.
• Apple Notes: your notes live in a SQLite database deep inside ~/Library, not as files you open. Apple controls the schema. You can read them inside the app, but you cannot grab a single note as a portable file without an export step. The Apple Notes help describes the app, not a file format you own.
• Rich Text Format (.rtf): readable in 2026 because Microsoft documented it, though the spec is messy and many apps render old .rtf with errors.
• Notion (.notion workspace data): blocks live in Notion's cloud database. Export gives you HTML or markdown, which proves the point. The portable version of a Notion page is markdown.

Format lock-in is the risk that your notes become unreadable, or readable only through one company's app, because the storage format depends on that app. Markdown sidesteps lock-in by staying legible on its own. I made the same argument with more depth in why plain markdown files beat proprietary note formats, and the problem with cloud note apps covers what happens when the database also lives on someone else's server.

Markdown vs rich text side by side

Factor	Markdown	Rich text
Portability	High. A .md file opens anywhere	Low to medium. Tied to an app or a heavy spec
Formatting range	Headings, lists, links, code, tables	Fonts, colors, embedded media, precise layout
Longevity	Decades. Plain text never expires	Depends on the app or format staying supported
Tooling	Works with git, grep, any text editor	Needs a compatible editor to render the styling
Learning curve	A few syntax marks to memorize	None. You type and it styles

Markdown trades visual richness for durability. Rich text trades durability for a polished writing surface. The right pick depends on whether you are optimizing for the next hour or the next decade.

When rich text is the right call

Rich text wins in two honest cases:

• Visual documents: a one-page flyer, a styled meeting agenda, or anything where fonts and colors carry meaning. Markdown cannot express a two-column layout with a brand color.
• Embedded media and hand-drawn tables: rich text apps let you drop images, sketches, and complex tables into a note with no syntax friction.

If your notes are throwaway captures or reference text you will search later, those rich-text advantages do not matter, and the longevity cost is not worth paying. Apple Notes is a capable rich-text app, and I compared it against a markdown-first option in Apple Notes vs Bear.

Moving to markdown

You do not need to convert everything at once. Start writing new notes as markdown and leave the old rich-text archive where it is.

Three steps make the switch low-risk:

1. Pick a markdown app that saves real files. Browse the best markdown note apps for Mac to compare options like Obsidian and Bear.
2. Learn the handful of marks that cover most notes: headings, bold, lists, links. The plain markdown argument shows how little syntax you need.
3. Set a default folder so every note is a file you can back up, sync, and grep.

Stik takes the strict version of this: every note saves as a .md file in ~/Documents/Stik/, captured with a global shortcut, searched on-device with no account or cloud. The source is on GitHub under MIT. If you want quick capture without a database, download Stik and read how to set up quick capture notes on Mac. For the markdown-versus-app debate one level up, see Obsidian vs Apple Notes.

Frequently asked questions

Is markdown better than rich text for note taking?

Markdown wins for notes you want to keep long term, search across, and move between apps, because the file stays readable on its own. Rich text wins when a single note needs precise fonts, colors, or layout. For most reference notes and quick captures, markdown's portability outweighs rich text's styling.

Will my markdown notes still open in 20 years?

Yes, because a .md file is plain text, and plain text has been readable on every computer since before markdown existed. No special app is required to see the words. The formatting marks like # and * stay visible even with no renderer installed.

Can I convert rich text notes to markdown?

Yes. Most apps export rich text or proprietary notes to markdown or HTML, and HTML converts to markdown with tools like Pandoc. The conversion stays clean for text, headings, and lists. Embedded images and exotic layout may need manual cleanup.

Does Apple Notes use markdown or rich text?

Apple Notes uses rich text stored in a private SQLite database, not portable markdown files. You can type formatting and it renders in place, but you cannot open a single note as a .md file in Finder without exporting it. That storage choice is why Apple Notes alternatives appeal to people who want plain files.

Is markdown harder to learn than rich text?

Markdown adds a small learning step because you type a few syntax marks instead of clicking buttons. Most people memorize headings, bold, and lists in an afternoon. After that the syntax fades into muscle memory and you gain files that outlive any single app.