010 Editor vs dhex

010 Editor is a text and hex editor for working with text files and binary data on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its Binary Templates represent files as hierarchical data structures, with variables connected to bytes that can be edited. The maker says templates can parse and edit more than 300 formats, including ZIP, BMP, and WAV. The text editor handles files larger than 50 GB and includes syntax highlighting, column mode, and unlimited undo. Tree-sitter provides real-time parsing for more than 45 syntaxes, including C/C++, Python, Rust, JavaScript, and JSON. Analysis tools include binary comparison, search and replace, data visualization, checksums and hashes, a histogram, and disassembly. C-like scripts can automate edits, run from the command line without a user interface, and use an integrated debugger. An online repository lets users download, install, and submit templates and scripts. The maker describes uses in digital forensics, malware analysis, memory and process analysis, and data recovery. Process editing is available only on Windows. A free 30-day trial and 60-day money-back guarantee are offered. New-user perpetual licenses cost $59.95 as a one-time purchase for home or academic use and $149.95, paid once for commercial use; each is for one user and includes one year of free support and upgrades.

dhex is a free hex editor for inspecting binary files and comparing two of them in diff mode. It uses a terminal interface built on ncurses and is listed for Linux and macOS; the maker also says it is known to run on HP-UX, FreeBSD, NetBSD, MacOS X, IRIX, and Solaris. Search logs can help track changes between file iterations, and the editor supports themes that users can download or submit to the maker. Command-line search can find single words and quoted strings. The .dhexrc configuration file can set header colors, while a base-address option can help when loading partial memory dumps. A correlator introduced in version 0.64 can help match an object file to an executable for comparison. The maker provides downloads including version 0.69, listed as the latest update for the 0.6x branch and dated 19 January 2019. The maker warns that version 0.64 crashes at startup on some systems. dhex is free, with no free trial.