BinEd vs Hex Fiend

BinEd is a free, open-source binary and hex viewer and editor written in Java. It shows data as hexadecimal codes and text, with binary, octal, and decimal modes. Editing supports Unicode and other character sets, insert or overwrite modes, text or hexadecimal search with highlighted matches, and undo and redo. The maker says the editor supports files up to exabytes; on Android, that capacity is qualified as partial file mode. BinEd runs on desktop platforms supporting Java 8 or later, and is also available as an Android APK and browser demo. The project uses Apache License 2.0, though additional addons may have different licenses. Listed integrations include NetBeans, IntelliJ, Eclipse, JDeveloper, BlueJ, jEdit, Autopsy, and Ghidra. The feature list marks byte-for-byte comparison as complete and search/replace as partial in the editor application. The maker also lists possible Java heap-space freezes after many large modifications, possible delta-mode corruption if another application changes files simultaneously, and memory leaks.

Hex Fiend is a free, open-source hex editor for macOS that can insert, delete, rearrange, and overwrite binary data. It can search large files and compare them while accounting for insertions and deletions. The editor does not keep files in memory or require a full file to be loaded. Its smart saving avoids rewriting unchanged portions and does not require temporary disk space. The maker says it can handle files as large as users can create and reports testing files up to 118 GB. A data inspector interprets values as signed or unsigned integers and floating-point numbers in big- or little-endian formats. Scripted binary templates visualize file structure, and an embeddable framework provides hex and data views under a permissive BSD-style license. The official site lists version 2.18.1 and requires macOS 10.14.6 or later. The Mac App Store distribution collects no data and makes no network requests; the direct-download distribution checks for updates without collecting or storing user data. Hex Fiend is notarized for macOS 10.14 and later.