Overview

HedgeDoc brings shared notes, revision history and Markdown slides into one web-based workspace. Sharing a note link enables real-time editing, and unlimited revisions give contributors a way to track changes and restore an earlier version. That makes it useful for working notes and lightweight documentation; teams needing a fuller document workflow may find its lack of comments limiting.

Key features

Collaboration and control

Guest access lets people join a note without making every contributor a paid seat, and live editing keeps shared work in one place. HedgeDoc 1.x has six note permissions—Freely, Editable, Limited, Locked, Protected and Private—but only the owner can change them. Owners get useful control over access, though they need to choose settings deliberately. Comments are not supported, so feedback must be worked into the note or handled elsewhere.

Slides, diagrams and embeds

Markdown notes can be presented as slides powered by reveal.js. Support for multiple graph and diagram types and embedded content makes HedgeDoc more capable than a plain text scratchpad, especially for people who want explanatory visuals alongside notes. The presentation workflow remains Markdown-based, which is an advantage for its intended users rather than a fit for everyone.

Hosting and administration

The project provides a ready-to-use bundle and an official Docker image for amd64 and arm64. Administrators can configure authentication through integrations including LDAP, OAuth, SAML, GitHub, GitLab, Keycloak, Mattermost, Nextcloud and Microsoft Entra ID; image uploads can use filesystem, Imgur, S3, MinIO, Azure or Lutim storage. HSTS and Content Security Policy settings are documented, with a warning that disabling CSP significantly weakens security. This breadth is valuable for organizations integrating a self-hosted tool, but it brings operational responsibility: multiple server instances should not share one database because the server process is not entirely stateless.

PDF export

Built-in PDF export is disabled after security vulnerabilities involving the headless Chromium PDF generator. Browser print-to-PDF is the suggested workaround. That may be enough for occasional output, but HedgeDoc is a poor choice for workflows that depend on direct, reliable PDF export.

Pricing

HedgeDoc is free and open source under the AGPL 3.0 license. The HedgeDoc plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes real-time editing, unlimited version history and guest access. There are no paid tiers to trade features against, and comments are not included. Since it can be self-hosted, the price of the software does not remove the need to operate the service yourself.

Platforms

HedgeDoc runs on the web and can be self-hosted. It does not have native app coverage beyond web, so it suits browser-based workflows rather than readers specifically seeking a desktop application.

Who it's for

Choose HedgeDoc if your group already works comfortably in Markdown and wants live collaboration, revision recovery, slides and control over hosting. It is less appropriate for teams that rely on threaded comments, built-in PDF export or a multi-instance server setup against one database. The project supports discussion and questions through its Matrix room and Discourse forum.

Pros and cons

Pro: Real-time editing, guest access and unlimited revisions make it practical to collaborate without losing a route back to earlier work.
Pro: Markdown slides, diagrams and embeds let teams use one tool for notes and visual explanations.
Pro: Self-hosting, authentication integrations and multiple image-storage backends offer administrators meaningful deployment choices.
Con: Comments are absent, leaving no dedicated place for note-level discussion.
Con: Built-in PDF export is disabled, and browser printing is only a workaround.
Con: The server is not entirely stateless, ruling out running multiple instances against the same database.

Alternatives

StackEdit is another free, open-source web option if you want a browser-based Markdown editor without a stated paid plan or usage limits. Choose HackMD if its free plan's allowance of up to three teammates better matches a small group, while noting that the plan also sets limits on invitees, templates, GitHub pushes and image size.

MarkText, Ghostwriter and Zettlr are free Linux, macOS and Windows options for readers who prefer desktop software. Dillinger is a free web alternative with no signup, paywall or usage limits stated. Markra spans Linux, macOS, Windows and web, with core features free and AI features requiring a configured provider. Muesli is a free, open-source option across web, self-hosted and desktop platforms, with API support.

For more choices, browse Markdown editors, Writing Apps, Collaborative Document Software, Document Collaboration Software and Note-taking apps.

Verdict

HedgeDoc is an excellent fit for Markdown-fluent groups that want free collaborative notes, recoverable revisions and self-hosting in one web tool. Its main draw is the combination of live editing with control over deployment; look elsewhere if your workflow depends on comments, built-in PDF export or multiple server instances sharing a database.

	HedgeDoc	Smarkup
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	Free
Open source	No	No
Platforms	self-hosted, Web	Linux, macOS, Windows
Free plan	—	Yes
Supported platforms	—	macOS, Windows, Linux
Cloud sync	—	No
Local file support	—	Yes

HedgeDoc vs Smarkup

HedgeDoc

Smarkup