Claude Code or Codex creates slides through MCP.
Edit the exact HTML and CSS on a visual canvas.
Ship HTML, PDF, or PPTX when the deck is ready.
#Both are code-first
Marp and Variant both reject the idea that slides must live in a binary editor format. Marp's answer is markdown with directives, rendered to HTML or PDF by the Marp CLI or VS Code extension. Variant's answer is real HTML and CSS per slide, with a visual canvas and an MCP server on top.
That format choice drives everything else. Markdown is faster to type and diff. HTML is more expressive and gives an agent or a designer full control over layout.
#Choose Marp when
You want slides as plain text files in your repository, reviewed in pull requests like any other change. You're comfortable with theme CSS for styling, your decks are mostly headings, bullets, and code, and you want a free open-source tool with no account.
#Choose Variant when
You want Claude Code or Codex to generate the deck and keep editing it afterward. Variant's MCP tools let an agent read a slide, change one element, render a preview to check the result, and export to HTML, PDF, or PPTX — and a teammate can fix layout on the visual canvas without touching the source.
#What about agents writing Marp markdown?
Claude Code can write Marp markdown — it's a popular workflow and it works. The limitation is the loop after the first draft: the agent can't see a rendered slide, can't edit one element without rewriting the section, and there's no visual editor to hand off to. Variant's MCP tools exist to close that loop.
| Need | Variant | Marp |
|---|---|---|
| Source format | HTML and CSS per slide | Markdown with directives |
| Visual editing | Canvas and inspector built in | None — edit text, re-render |
| Agent workflow | MCP tools: previews, targeted edits, exports | Agents can write the markdown |
| Design control | Anything HTML and CSS can do | Themes plus CSS, within markdown's structure |
| Lives in git | Deck versions in Variant; export HTML to commit | Plain text files, ideal for git |
| Exports | HTML, PDF, PPTX | HTML, PDF, PPTX via CLI |
| Price | Free tier, paid plans | Free and open source |
#Common questions
Is Marp free while Variant is paid?
Marp is open source and completely free. Variant has a free tier for solo decks, with paid plans for teams and hosted agent features. If budget decides it and markdown slides cover your needs, Marp is a fine answer.
Can Claude Code make slides with Marp?
Yes. Marp decks are markdown, so any coding agent can write them. The difference shows up after the first draft: with Marp the agent edits text blind, while Variant's MCP tools let it preview rendered slides and make targeted element-level edits.
Can I keep Variant decks in version control?
Variant keeps deck versions internally and you can export a self-contained HTML file to commit. If the requirement is that the deck source itself lives in your repo as plain text, Marp or Slidev fit that better.