Best CotEditor Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from text editors ranked against CotEditor on the same published basis.
- 1CotEditor vs Neovim
- 2CotEditor vs Zed
- 3CotEditor vs Visual Studio Code
- 4CotEditor vs EmEditor
- 5CotEditor vs BBEdit
- 6CotEditor vs Kate
- 7CotEditor vs Sublime Text
- 8CotEditor vs Calmly Writer
- 9CotEditor vs Bluefish
- 10CotEditor vs UltraEdit
- 11CotEditor vs Lapce
- 12CotEditor vs Notepad++
- 13CotEditor vs SlickEdit
- 14CotEditor vs Micro
- 15CotEditor vs Vim
- 16CotEditor vs TeXworks
- 17CotEditor vs Fresh
- 18CotEditor vs jEdit
- 19CotEditor vs SciTE
- 20CotEditor vs EditiX
CotEditor alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neovim | 9.1 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 2 | Zed | 9.0 | Free plan | $10/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | Visual Studio Code | 8.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | EmEditor | 8.7 | No | $0.42/mo | Windows |
| 5 | BBEdit | 8.6 | Free plan | $59.99/mo | Mac |
| 6 | Kate | 8.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Sublime Text | 8.4 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Calmly Writer | 8.4 | Free plan | — | Android, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 9 | Bluefish | 8.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | UltraEdit | 8.2 | No | $7.91/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | Lapce | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | Notepad++ | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 13 | SlickEdit | 8.1 | No | $125/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Micro | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Vim | 7.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | TeXworks | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 17 | Fresh | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 18 | jEdit | 7.7 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 19 | SciTE | 7.7 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 20 | EditiX | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
Make your tool an alternative to CotEditor
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about CotEditor alternatives
What is the best alternative to CotEditor?
Neovim, number 1 in text editors with a score of 9.1 out of 10. The others here: Zed, Visual Studio Code, EmEditor and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to CotEditor?
Neovim is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 13 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.