MD vs RTF
Ein detaillierter Vergleich von Markdown und Rich Text Format — Dateigröße, Qualität, Kompatibilität und welches je nach Workflow zu wählen ist.
Markdown
Documents & TextMarkdown is a lightweight markup language that uses plain text formatting syntax. It is widely used in software development, technical documentation, and content management systems.
Über MD-DateienRich Text Format
Documents & TextRTF is a cross-platform document format that supports basic text formatting like bold, italic, fonts, and colors. It is readable by virtually all word processors, making it useful for maximum compatibility.
Über RTF-DateienVorteilsvergleich
MD Vorteile
- Readable as plain text even before rendering — fits in version control beautifully.
- Dead-simple: 90% of needs covered in 10 minutes of learning.
- Converts trivially to HTML, PDF, EPUB, and DOCX via Pandoc.
- Every modern IDE, note-taking app, and developer tool renders it natively.
- Lightweight — a typical Markdown file is kilobytes, not megabytes.
RTF Vorteile
- Plain ASCII — portable, grep-able, and diff-friendly.
- Supported by every word processor on every OS since 1990.
- Cannot carry macros or embedded code — relatively safe to open.
- Simple enough to parse by hand or generate with a small script.
- Good interchange format when DOCX compatibility is shaky.
Einschränkungen
MD Einschränkungen
- No formal authoritative spec — CommonMark, GFM, and MultiMarkdown differ on edge cases.
- Tables and complex layouts are clunky; footnotes and math require extensions.
- Links to images stay external — no embedded media unless you base64-inline.
- Styling is limited to what HTML allows — custom branding requires CSS outside Markdown.
RTF Einschränkungen
- Frozen in 2008 — no modern features (no comments, poor styles, no track changes).
- File sizes are bigger than DOCX for the same content (no compression).
- Images are base64-encoded inline, inflating files further.
- Visual fidelity drifts between Word versions despite the spec.
Technische Spezifikationen
| Spezifikation | MD | RTF |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | text/markdown | application/rtf |
| Extensions | .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd | .rtf |
| Standard | CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) | RTF Specification 1.9.1 (2008) |
| Encoding | UTF-8 (conventional) | — |
| Companion spec | RFC 7763 (2016) | — |
| Character set | — | ASCII with Unicode escapes (\u) |
Typische Dateigrößen
MD
- README 1-15 KB
- Blog post 2-30 KB
- Full technical manual 50 KB - 2 MB
RTF
- Short formatted letter 15-50 KB
- 20-page report with styling 150 KB - 1 MB
- Document with embedded images 2-20 MB
Bereit zum Umwandeln?
Wandle zwischen MD und RTF online um, kostenlos und ohne Installation. Verschlüsselter Upload, automatische Löschung in 60 Minuten.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Markdown is a lightweight text-based markup language created by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz in 2004. A .md file uses simple conventions (*italic*, **bold**, # headings, - lists) that compile to HTML. It became the default writing format for GitHub READMEs, Stack Overflow posts, Discord messages, and most developer documentation.
Markdown files are plain text — open in any text editor. For formatted preview use VS Code (built-in preview), Typora, Obsidian, or upload to GitHub/GitLab which render Markdown automatically. Every note-taking app (Notion, Bear, Joplin) handles Markdown natively.
Use KaijuConverter's Markdown-to-PDF converter, or command-line Pandoc (the gold standard — installed with one command, converts MD to PDF/HTML/DOCX/EPUB in a single line). VS Code with Markdown PDF extension also works locally.
Markdown for almost everything — it's 10× faster to write, version-control-friendly, and compiles to HTML automatically. Write raw HTML only when you need fine control over layout, embedded JavaScript, or features Markdown doesn't support (complex tables, forms). Static-site generators (Hugo, Astro, Jekyll) compile MD to HTML for you.
Markdown never had a formal spec for its first decade. CommonMark (2014) and GitHub Flavored Markdown (2017) standardized the core syntax, but edge cases (nested lists, HTML embedding, table syntax) still differ across renderers. For portability, stick to basic GFM features.
Yes — most modern doc tools are built on Markdown. MkDocs, Docusaurus, Astro Starlight, GitBook, and Read the Docs all accept Markdown input. For documentation needing rich features (tabs, callouts, versioning), MDX (Markdown + JSX components) extends MD with React-style embeds.