BBEdit vs Micro

BBEdit is a text and HTML editor for writers, web authors, and software developers using macOS. Its tools include grep pattern matching, multi-file search and replace, syntax coloring, function navigation, code folding, and text completion. For web authoring, it provides HTML markup tools, standards-based syntax checking, and live previews of HTML and Markdown documents. A license adds Git and Subversion support, and licensed users can create in-app worksheets to converse with ChatGPT, Claude, and Ollama. Workflow options include AppleScript, macOS Unix scripting, Automator, Xcode as an external editor, and the Language Server Protocol. BBEdit can open and save text files on FTP and SFTP servers. Free Mode continues after the 30-day evaluation period, though some advanced features require a paid license. The listed BBEdit 16 Individual plan costs $59.99 as a one-time purchase. BBEdit 16 requires macOS 14.0 or later and supports Intel and Apple silicon Macs; Bare Bones says there are no Windows or Linux versions.

Micro is a free terminal-based text editor for Windows, macOS and Linux, intended for people who prefer terminal work or regularly edit files over SSH. It is distributed as a single static binary without dependencies. The editor provides syntax highlighting for over 130 languages and includes splits, tabs, a diff gutter, simple autocompletion, persistent undo, linting notifications, macros, soft wrapping, line numbers and Unicode support. It also offers multiple cursors, mouse selection and an interactive shell inside the editor. Options and keybindings can be changed with JSON, with further configuration through Lua. Its Lua plugin system includes a manager for installing, removing and updating plugins. Micro supports language servers and remote development, and themes can use 16, 256 or truecolor; seven colorschemes are included by default. On Linux desktops, external clipboard access requires xclip or xsel for X11, or wl-clipboard for Wayland. Vim emulation and Vi keybindings are not provided.