Typst vs Markdown
Markdown for prose and HTML. Typst for academic papers and PDFs. Typst supports markdown-style syntax for the easy parts, then adds what markdown can't do.
The TL;DR
- Markdown: blog posts, READMEs, simple notes, anything → HTML.
- Typst: academic papers, theses, books, technical reports, anything → PDF/print.
- Both work for short docs. Markdown is simpler; Typst gives you typesetting control.
Side-by-side: same content, two languages
# In Markdown
# Heading
This is **bold** and *italic*. Here's a [link](https://example.com).
- Item one
- Item two
Math: $E = mc^2$ (renderer-dependent)
// In Typst
= Heading
This is *bold* and _italic_. Here's a #link("https://example.com")[link].
- Item one
- Item two
Math: $E = m c^2$ (built-in, always renders)Feature comparison
| Feature | Typst | Markdown |
|---|---|---|
| Bold, italic, lists, links | ✓ markdown-style syntax | ✓ native |
| Headings | ✓ # syntax + show rules | ✓ # syntax |
| Math equations | ✓ first-class with $...$ | Depends on renderer |
| Citations / bibliography | ✓ BibTeX native | Pandoc-only |
| Cross-references | ✓ <label> + @label | Limited |
| Tables of contents | ✓ #outline() | Renderer-dependent |
| Page numbers / headers / footers | ✓ first-class | Pandoc-only via LaTeX |
| Multi-column layout | ✓ #set page(columns: 2) | Not supported |
| Custom styles | ✓ #show rules | CSS for HTML, no PDF |
| Programmatic content | ✓ functions, loops, conditionals | No |
| Output formats | PDF (native), SVG, PNG | HTML (native), PDF via Pandoc |
| Compile speed | Milliseconds | Instant (HTML); seconds (Pandoc PDF) |
| Learning curve | Hours | Minutes |
When markdown is enough
- You're writing for the web (HTML output)
- Math, if any, fits in inline KaTeX
- You don't need page numbers, headers, footers
- You don't need a bibliography
- The document is < 5 pages
- Your team already uses Markdown (READMEs, blogs)
When Typst is better
- You're writing for print or PDF distribution
- The document has math beyond the trivial
- You have a bibliography (BibTeX)
- You need precise typography (column layout, page numbering, headers/footers)
- The document is long (papers, theses, books)
- You currently use LaTeX and want something simpler
If you know Markdown, you already know 80% of Typst. The remaining 20% is what makes Typst right for academic writing — and it's easy to pick up.
Try TypeTeX freeFrequently Asked Questions
Markdown is a lightweight markup language for prose with simple formatting (bold, italic, lists, links) — designed to render to HTML for blogs, docs, READMEs. Typst is a full typesetting language for academic and print documents — handles math, citations, complex layouts, page numbering, and produces print-quality PDFs. Typst supports markdown-style syntax for the easy parts but adds the heavy lifting markdown can't do.
Markdown is right for: blog posts, README files, GitHub documentation, simple notes, anything that ends up as HTML. Tooling is everywhere (VS Code, GitHub, Jekyll, Hugo). For prose-heavy content where you don't need precise page layout or complex math, Markdown is simpler and ubiquitous.
Typst is right for: academic papers, theses, books, technical reports, anything destined for PDF/print, anything with non-trivial math, citations from BibTeX, precise page numbering, headers/footers. Typst is what Markdown isn't quite enough for.
Yes. Typst supports *bold*, _italic_, # headings, - lists, [link](url) — all the markdown basics. The Typst layer adds: math with $...$, function calls with #function(), proper figure/table syntax, and bibliography. You can write 80% of a Typst document in markdown-style syntax.
R Markdown (and the modernized Quarto) extends Markdown with code chunks, computational outputs, and citation support — used heavily in data science. Typst is more focused on document layout; R Markdown more on reproducible analysis. They have overlap but different strengths. Quarto can actually compile to Typst output now (since Quarto 1.5).
Pandoc's flavor of markdown adds tables, citations, footnotes, math, and converts to dozens of output formats including PDF (via LaTeX) and Word. It's the closest markdown gets to academic writing. But for serious typesetting, Pandoc still requires LaTeX under the hood. Typst replaces both Pandoc + LaTeX with one tool.
Yes. Pandoc supports Typst as an output format: pandoc input.md -o output.typ. The conversion handles basic markdown well; complex extensions (Pandoc-flavored math, citations) need adjustments. For markdown-heavy documents, you can also write the markdown-style syntax directly in a .typ file and Typst will render it correctly.
Typst by far. Markdown's math support depends entirely on the renderer (KaTeX/MathJax in some, none in others). Typst has built-in math typesetting equivalent to LaTeX — same quality, simpler syntax. For any document with more than 1-2 equations, Typst is the better choice.
Yes — but with caveats. Pandoc compiles Markdown to PDF via LaTeX (slow and adds a LaTeX dependency). Quarto handles this more elegantly. For one-off short docs, Markdown→PDF works. For papers, books, theses, or anything where typography matters, Typst is dramatically better. The 'Markdown to PDF' route uses LaTeX behind the scenes, so you may as well skip the markdown layer.