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Best Vim Alternatives in 2026

Updated

20 tools from text editors ranked against Vim on the same published basis.

  1. 1
    Neovim Free plan AndroidapiLinuxMacself-hosted Free9.1
    Vim vs Neovim
  2. 2
    Zed Free plan LinuxMacWin $10/mo9.0
    Vim vs Zed
  3. 3
    Visual Studio Code Free plan LinuxMacWebWin Free8.9
    Vim vs Visual Studio Code
  4. 4
    EmEditor Free trial Win $0.42/mo8.7
    Vim vs EmEditor
  5. 5
    BBEdit Free plan Mac $59.99/mo8.6
    Vim vs BBEdit
  6. 6
    Kate Free plan LinuxMacWin Free8.5
    Vim vs Kate
  7. 7
    Sublime Text Free trial LinuxMacWin 8.4
    Vim vs Sublime Text
  8. 8
    Calmly Writer Free plan AndroidLinuxMacWebWin 8.4
    Vim vs Calmly Writer
  9. 9
    Bluefish Free plan LinuxMacWin Free8.3
    Vim vs Bluefish
  10. 10
    UltraEdit LinuxMacWin $7.91/mo8.2
    Vim vs UltraEdit
  11. 11
    Geany Free plan LinuxMacWin Free8.2
    Vim vs Geany
  12. 12
    Lapce Free plan LinuxMacWin Free8.2
    Vim vs Lapce
  13. 13
    Notepad++ Free plan Win Free8.1
    Vim vs Notepad++
  14. 14
    SlickEdit Free trial LinuxMacWin $125/mo8.1
    Vim vs SlickEdit
  15. 15
    Micro Free plan LinuxMacWin Free8.1
    Vim vs Micro
  16. 16
    Helix LinuxMacWin 8.0
    Vim vs Helix
  17. 18
    TeXworks Free plan LinuxMacWin Free7.8
    Vim vs TeXworks
  18. 19
    Fresh Free plan LinuxMacself-hostedWin Free7.8
    Vim vs Fresh
  19. 20
    jEdit LinuxMacWin 7.7
    Vim vs jEdit
  20. 21
    SciTE LinuxMacWin 7.7
    Vim vs SciTE

Vim alternatives compared

#ToolScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Neovim9.1Free planFreeAndroid, API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
2Zed9.0Free plan$10/moLinux, Mac, Windows
3Visual Studio Code8.9Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Web, Windows
4EmEditor8.7No$0.42/moWindows
5BBEdit8.6Free plan$59.99/moMac
6Kate8.5Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
7Sublime Text8.4No—Linux, Mac, Windows
8Calmly Writer8.4Free plan—Android, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows
9Bluefish8.3Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
10UltraEdit8.2No$7.91/moLinux, Mac, Windows
11Geany8.2Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
12Lapce8.2Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
13Notepad++8.1Free planFreeWindows
14SlickEdit8.1No$125/moLinux, Mac, Windows
15Micro8.1Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
16Helix8.0No—Linux, Mac, Windows
18TeXworks7.8Free planFreeLinux, Mac, Windows
19Fresh7.8Free planFreeLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
20jEdit7.7No—Linux, Mac, Windows
21SciTE7.7No—Linux, Mac, Windows
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Questions about Vim alternatives

What is the best alternative to Vim?

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 Vim?

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.