CKEditor 5 vs ProseMirror

CKEditor 5 is a TypeScript and JavaScript framework for building WYSIWYG rich-text editing experiences. Its editing tools cover text formatting, images, media embeds, links, tables, and lists, with HTML or Markdown output. Collaboration features include comments, change tracking, restricted editing, and revision history. It can export content to PDF or Word and import DOCX documents. Official integrations are documented for Angular, React, Next.js, Nuxt, Vue, Salesforce, Svelte, Spring Boot, jQuery, SharePoint SPFx, and Drupal. Setup options include npm, CDN, and ZIP. The self-hosted editor can be used without an account under the GPL, subject to compliance, and displays a Powered by CKEditor logo; commercial self-hosting requires a custom plan and sales contact. A free plan includes 1,000 monthly editor loads, then $60 per extra 1,000. Paid plans start at $144 per month billed annually, and a 14-day premium-features trial requires no credit card. Cloud plans count monthly loads, charge for additional blocks of 1,000, and do not roll unused loads over.

ProseMirror is a toolkit for developers building rich-text editors on the web. It supports structured documents through a WYSIWYG-style interface while letting applications define document shape and content. Instead of treating a document as an HTML blob, it gives application code control over a custom data structure. Schemas and plugins provide ways to customize that structure and extend editor behavior. Four core modules handle the document model, editor state, view, and transformations; additional modules offer commands, key bindings, undo history, input macros, collaboration, and a basic schema. Multiple people can edit together in real time. Examples cover Markdown, image uploads, custom schemas, menus, code editors, footnotes, and track changes. ProseMirror is free, open source, and legally usable commercially; it can be self-hosted and is installed through npm. It works in recent Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Edge versions, as well as Internet Explorer 11. It is a modular toolkit rather than a ready-made editor component, and implementation generally involves a bundler.