Hex Fiend vs HexEd.it

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.

HexEd.it is a browser-based editor for inspecting and changing binary files and hexadecimal data. Processing takes place in the browser, and the site says it does not send file data to its server. Once the app has been downloaded during a first visit, it can also work offline. Analysis and editing tools include viewing data in multiple numeric formats, bit-wise changes, search and replace, bookmarks, and multiple selections. HexEd.it can decode and encode Motorola S-Record and Intel HEX files, and identify more than 20,000 file types. Its hash lookup can query Google, VirusTotal, MetaDefender Cloud, BitBaan MALab, and Hybrid Analysis without uploading the file. The feature page says it can process files up to several terabytes; the manual reports testing on files up to 150 GiB. The site lists HTTPS, a restrictive Content Security Policy, Feature Policy, and Subresource Integrity as security measures. It is free for commercial and non-commercial use, but the maker says it is not open-source.