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Text Editors

Alternatives to Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a free, open-source AI code editor for macOS, Linux, Windows, and the web. It supports almost every major programming language, with JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, and HTML included. More than 80,000 extensions, Git source control, an integrated terminal, debugging, build tasks, local history, remote development, and Settings Sync cover varied coding workflows. AI agents can plan tasks, change code, run commands, and iterate, although starting agent development requires a GitHub account.

  1. 01 Neovim

    Neovim suits Vim users who want to retain its editing model while extending it with Lua plugins, RPC, and a documented API.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux · Android
    9.1 Visit Specs
  2. 02 Zed

    Zed suits developers seeking a code editor with Git operations, extension support, and remote development.

    From $10/mo Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    9.1 Visit Specs
  3. 03 GNU Emacs
    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux · Android
    9.0 Visit Specs
  4. 04 EmEditor

    EmEditor suits Windows users who edit text or code, work with large files, or need CSV tools and scripted macros.

    From $5/mo Free plan Windows
    9.0 Visit Specs
  5. 05 Calmly Writer

    It suits writers who want offline editing and tools such as writing targets, document tabs and multiple export formats.

    Free plan Web · Windows · macOS · Linux
    9.0 Visit Specs
  6. 06 Sublime Text

    It suits developers and writers who need a cross-platform editor with navigation, multi-cursor work, package extensions, and large-file handling.

    Free trial Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.8 Visit Specs
  7. 07 Lapce

    Lapce suits developers looking for a cross-platform editor with remote development, modal editing, and plugin support.

    Free plan Open source Windows · macOS · Linux · Browser extension
    8.8 Visit Specs
  8. 08 Geany

    Geany suits developers who want a free desktop IDE across Linux, macOS, or Windows.

    Free plan Open source Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.7 Visit Specs
  9. 09 Bluefish

    Bluefish suits programmers and web developers who want a free desktop editor on Linux, macOS, or Windows.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.7 Visit Specs
  10. 10 BBEdit

    BBEdit suits writers, web authors, and developers who work on macOS and want text, code, and HTML authoring tools.

    From $59.99/mo Free plan macOS
    8.6 Visit Specs
  11. 11 UltraEdit
    From $7.91/mo Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.6 Visit Specs
  12. 12 Microsoft Editor

    Editor suits people who want spelling and grammar help in a browser or within Word and Outlook, with guidance across multiple languages.

    From $0.83/mo Free trial Web · Windows · macOS · Browser extension
    8.6 Visit Specs
  13. 13 Kate

    Kate suits people who want a free text editor across Linux, macOS or Windows, including programmers who need language-aware editing, search tools and plugins.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.5 Visit Specs
  14. 14 Vim

    Vim suits people editing code, email, or configuration files who are willing to learn its editing approach.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.5 Visit Specs
  15. 15 SciTE

    SciTE suits people who want a free editor for programming tasks with simple configurations.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.5 Visit Specs
  16. 16 Textadept

    Textadept suits programmers who want a scriptable editor with both graphical and terminal interfaces.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.5 Visit Specs
  17. 17 Micro

    Micro suits people who want a terminal editor, including those who edit files over SSH.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.5 Visit Specs
  18. 18 jEdit

    jEdit suits programmers who want a free editor with broad language highlighting, configurable controls, and plugin-based additions.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.4 Visit Specs
  19. 19 KWrite

    KWrite suits people seeking a free editor for Linux, Windows, or macOS, including users who want syntax highlighting, multi-cursor or column editing, and Vi input mode.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.4 Visit Specs
  20. 20 SlickEdit
    Free trial Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.4 Visit Specs
  21. 21 TextMate
    Free plan macOS
    8.4 Visit Specs
  22. 22 EditPad Pro
    Free trial Windows · Linux
    8.4 Visit Specs
  23. 23 Altova XMLSpy
    Free trial Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.4 Visit Specs
  24. 24 Notepad++

    Notepad++ suits people editing programming or natural-language text on Windows who want plugin support and editing features such as macros and multi-cursor work.

    Free plan Windows
    8.3 Visit Specs
  25. 25 GNU nano
    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.3 Visit Specs
  26. 26 CudaText

    CudaText suits developers and other desktop users who want a free text editor with broad language highlighting, configurable editing, and Python-based extensions.

    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.3 Visit Specs
  27. 27 Textastic
    Free trial macOS · iOS
    8.3 Visit Specs
  28. 28 gedit
    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.2 Visit Specs
  29. 29 CKEditor 4
    Free plan Web · API · Self-hosted
    8.2 Visit Specs
  30. 30 EditiX
    Free plan Windows · macOS · Linux
    8.2 Visit Specs

Choosing instead of Visual Studio Code

Readers may switch for a Vim-based editing style, a narrower text-editing tool, or a platform-specific choice. The web edition has a limited execution environment, and using Visual Studio Code requires agreement to its license and privacy statement. Telemetry can be disabled, while extensions may access files, make network requests, and run processes with the editor’s permissions. Compare platform coverage, editing features, language and extension needs, automation, privacy, and whether free or paid access fits your work.

Visual Studio Code, head to head