Calmly Writer vs Helix

Calmly Writer is an editor designed to help users focus on writing. It renders Markdown formatting as text is entered and includes word and character counts, custom writing targets, reading time, a table of contents, comments and document tabs. The apps import Word documents and export to Word, PDF, Markdown or HTML. Users can customize themes, fonts and layout, and turn on smart punctuation, type sounds or OpenDyslexic mode. Desktop and Android apps work offline, storing documents, backups and previous versions on the device. Files can also be saved in Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive folders for syncing. The browser editor is a limited preview for quick edits; backups, version history, writing targets and PDF export are available in the apps instead. Online documents are saved in browser storage, and the maker says it does not store writing on its servers. The desktop app has a 14-day trial. The Android app costs $16.99, paid once, with no subscription, and requires Android 7.0 or later.

Helix is a free, terminal-based text editor for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its editing model centers on multiple selections, so commands can act on several selections at once; it also supports multi-cursor editing and macro recording. Tree-sitter integration provides syntax highlighting, indentation calculation, and code navigation. Built-in language server support offers completion, go to definition, documentation, and diagnostics, though users need to install language servers for their chosen programming languages. Helix can select and navigate functions, classes, comments, and syntax tree nodes. Other included tools are a fuzzy finder for files and symbols, project-wide search, themes, automatic bracket pairing, and surround integration. Written in Rust, it can run in a terminal, over SSH, or in tmux. Configuration can be global or project-specific, including themes, keybindings, and language-specific settings; language servers and formatters can be configured through languages.toml files. Helix has no plugin system currently, although one is intended for the future. A graphical frontend is described as a future possibility.