react-markdown vs Turndown
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A React component that renders Markdown text as React elements, without raw HTML injection.
Open source · MIT
A JavaScript library that converts HTML into Markdown, in Node.js or the browser.
The short answer
Choose react-markdown if you need…
- React developers who need to display Markdown content such as comments, docs, or posts
- Beginners who want safe Markdown rendering without writing HTML parsing code
- Projects that want to replace rendered tags like h2 with custom React components
- Teams that need GitHub Flavored Markdown tables, task lists, or strikethrough via a plugin
Choose Turndown if you need…
- Developers who need to convert HTML content, such as web pages or rich text editor output, into Markdown
- Node.js or browser projects that want a JavaScript-only conversion step
- Projects that need custom conversion rules for particular HTML tags
- Teams that want GitHub-flavored Markdown tables or strikethrough via the turndown-plugin-gfm plugin
Side-by-side
| react-markdown | Turndown | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 15.9k | 11.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | HTML |
| Last code update | 33 days ago | 19 days ago |
What each one is
react-markdown
react-markdown is a React component you give a string of Markdown, and it turns that text into React elements on the page. It avoids dangerouslySetInnerHTML, so it is designed to be safe by default against XSS. You can add plugins to change how Markdown is processed and swap normal HTML tags for your own React components.
Turndown
Turndown is a JavaScript library that takes HTML and outputs Markdown text. You can call it from Node.js code or run it in a web page. It lets you customize how specific HTML elements are converted by adding rules, keeping or removing elements, or using plugins.
Best for
react-markdown
- React developers who need to display Markdown content such as comments, docs, or posts
- Beginners who want safe Markdown rendering without writing HTML parsing code
- Projects that want to replace rendered tags like h2 with custom React components
- Teams that need GitHub Flavored Markdown tables, task lists, or strikethrough via a plugin
Turndown
- Developers who need to convert HTML content, such as web pages or rich text editor output, into Markdown
- Node.js or browser projects that want a JavaScript-only conversion step
- Projects that need custom conversion rules for particular HTML tags
- Teams that want GitHub-flavored Markdown tables or strikethrough via the turndown-plugin-gfm plugin
Strengths
react-markdown
- Safe by default, with no dangerouslySetInnerHTML needed according to the README
- Lets you replace rendered elements with custom React components
- Supports plugins from the unified ecosystem such as remark-gfm
Turndown
- Simple API: create a service and call turndown() on HTML input, as shown in the README
- Configurable through documented options and extendable with custom rules and plugins
- Works in both Node.js and the browser, with UMD builds available for RequireJS
Not ideal for
react-markdown
- People who want JavaScript or JSX embedded inside Markdown files; the README points to MDX for that
- Developers who already know unified well and want a hooks-based alternative; the README points to react-remark or rehype-react
- Projects that are not using React
Turndown
- Non-programmers who want a point-and-click converter, since the README only documents code usage
- Anyone who needs to convert Markdown back into HTML, since the README covers only HTML-to-Markdown conversion
- Projects needing exact round-trip fidelity, because the README notes its escaping rules can be quite aggressive
Trade-offs
react-markdown
- The package is ESM only, which may need configuration in older build setups
- Async plugins need MarkdownAsync or MarkdownHooks rather than the basic synchronous component
- Full GFM support requires adding a separate plugin
Turndown
- Escaping is handled with regular expressions and the README says the rules can be quite aggressive, which may alter text
- The README documents only the JavaScript API, so non-developers will need programming skills to use it
- Some features such as GFM tables depend on a separate plugin package
Getting started
react-markdown
Install with npm
npm install react-markdownFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between react-markdown and Turndown?
react-markdown: A React component that renders Markdown text as React elements, without raw HTML injection. Turndown: A JavaScript library that converts HTML into Markdown, in Node.js or the browser. react-markdown suits react developers who need to display markdown content such as comments, docs, or posts, while Turndown suits developers who need to convert html content, such as web pages or rich text editor output, into markdown.
Are react-markdown and Turndown free?
react-markdown: Free and open source. Turndown: Free and open source.
Is react-markdown or Turndown more popular?
react-markdown has more GitHub stars (15.9k) than Turndown (11.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to react-markdown and Turndown?
Other options people compare them with include MDX, Vditor, markdown-it, Showdown, Editor.md.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.