The Best Hex Editors in 2026
We researched hex editors through official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables, and product documentation. Rankings focus on the core job of inspecting and modifying binary data, value for money, and verified features. Compare the strongest options for working directly with bytes and hexadecimal data.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
ImHex#1 of 329.4/10ImHex packs advanced binary analysis, editing, and inspection into a free cross-platform desktop tool.
Free plan
-
Runner-up
010 Editor#2 of 329.2/10A deep cross-platform editor for structured binary work, debugging, and disk analysis.
30-day trial
-
Top-ranked free plan
Hex Editor Neo#3 of 328.9/10A broad free Windows toolkit for binary editing, analysis, comparison, and recovery work.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 32 tools, best first
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Best forUsers wanting a powerful free open-source editor
ImHex packs advanced binary analysis, editing, and inspection into a free cross-platform desktop tool.
- Plugin support
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
9.4/10★★★★★Visit ImHex -
Best forProfessionals needing a deep cross-platform hex editor
A deep cross-platform editor for structured binary work, debugging, and disk analysis.
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
9.2/10★★★★★Visit 010 Editor -
Best forWindows users needing broad free editing tools
A broad free Windows toolkit for binary editing, analysis, comparison, and recovery work.
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Hex Editor Neo -
Best forWindows developers and reverse engineers
A free Windows editor for deep binary inspection, editing, comparison, and analysis.
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Hextor -
Best forOpen-source users needing analysis features
A free, open-source hex editor with scripting, comparison, templates, and disassembly.
- Plugin support
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit REHex -
Best forFree cross-platform large-file editing
A capable free hex editor for large files, raw devices, and binary comparison.
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit wxHexEditor -
Best forForensics and disk-recovery professionals
A specialized Windows toolkit for forensic analysis, recovery, and low-level data editing.
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit WinHex -
Best forPaid users needing grammar-driven binary analysis
A paid hex editor for structured binary analysis, comparison, and scripting.
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
- Scripting support
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Hexinator -
Best forWindows users wanting a capable free editor
A capable free Windows editor for files, disks, memory, and binary analysis.
- Plugin support
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit HxD -
Best forUsers prioritizing platform and integration breadth
A free, open-source hex editor with broad platform coverage and developer-tool integrations.
- Plugin support
- Binary comparison
- Scripting support
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit BinEd -
Best forMac users editing very large binary files
A capable free hex editor for large binary files, with Mac-only availability.
- Disk editing
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Hex Fiend -
Best forMac users needing grammar and scripting tools
A capable macOS binary editor with grammar tools, comparisons, and optional scripting.
- Binary comparison
- Binary templates
- Scripting support
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Synalyze It! -
Best forWindows reverse engineers and format specialists
A focused Windows tool for binary editing, executable formats, and low-level storage work.
- Plugin support
- Disk editing
- Binary templates
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Hiew -
Best forFree, portable binary analysis across devices
A free, portable hex editor with unusually broad analysis and preview tools.
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit HexEd.it -
Best forLinux and Windows users wanting extensible basics
A capable free hex editor for large files, raw devices, and extensible workflows.
- Plugin support
- Disk editing
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit Bless -
Best forWindows and Linux users analyzing executable formats
A capable open-source editor for binary analysis, executable inspection, and format conversion.
- Binary templates
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Q22 -
Best forLinux users needing structure-aware editing
A capable open-source Linux hex editor with structure-aware analysis and editing.
- Plugin support
- Binary templates
- Scripting support
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit KDE -
Best forLinux and macOS users needing diff-oriented editing
A focused, free hex editor for terminal-based binary comparison and editing.
- Binary comparison
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit dhex -
Best forTerminal users wanting a modern cross-platform editor
A focused, free terminal hex editor with interpreted views and large-file support.
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Hecate -
Best forLinux users wanting a simple graphical editor
A focused, free Linux hex editor for straightforward binary and ASCII editing.
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit GHex -
Best forUsers wanting a cross-platform hex and text editor
A capable open-source editor for text, column, and hexadecimal work.
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit wxMEdit -
Best forLinux terminal users who prefer vi-like controls
A focused, free hex editor for Linux users comfortable with vi-like commands.
- Scripting support
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit hexer -
Best forLinux terminal users needing straightforward byte editing
A focused, open-source terminal hex editor for straightforward byte editing on Linux.
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit hx -
Best forLinux users needing a minimal device editor
A focused, free Linux hex editor for direct byte and device-file work.
- Disk editing
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit GNU hexedit -
Best forBudget Windows users editing specialized formats
A focused Windows hex editor with free personal use and a $10 perpetual license.
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Dataescher -
Best forWindows users needing structured byte editing
A capable structured hex editor for Windows, but its legacy status limits its appeal.
- Binary templates
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Catch22 -
Best forWindows users needing a basic free editor
A focused free option for basic binary and hexadecimal editing on Windows.
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Frhed -
Best forTerminal users needing customizable scripting
A focused open-source hex editor for terminal workflows and customizable scripting.
- Scripting support
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit HEdit -
Best forSimple paid Windows hex inspection
A focused Windows hex editor with comparison, dumping, and analysis tools.
- Binary comparison
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit MiTeC -
Best forMinecraft Bedrock world visualization
A free, open-source world-file viewer for detailed Bedrock map inspection.
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Bedrock Viz -
Best forUsers seeking video editing rather than hex editing
Avidemux is a capable free video tool, but it is not a hex editor.
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Avidemux -
Best forFocus-stacking photography users
A focused, free tool for stacking macro photos—not for hexadecimal editing.
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit CombineZP
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Binary templates | Scripting support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ImHex | Yes | Free | windows, macos, linux | Yes | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | 010 Editor | No | $59.95/user one-time | windows, macos, linux | Yes | Yes | 9.2 |
| 3 | Hex Editor Neo | Yes | windows | Yes | Yes | 8.9 | |
| 4 | Hextor | Yes | Free | Windows | Yes | Yes | 8.7 |
| 5 | REHex | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.6 |
| 6 | wxHexEditor | Yes | Free | windows, macos, linux | Yes | 8.4 | |
| 7 | WinHex | No | $130.90/yr | windows | Yes | Yes | 8.3 |
| 8 | Hexinator | No | $19.99/user one-time | Windows, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.1 |
| 9 | HxD | Yes | Free | windows | 8.0 | ||
| 10 | BinEd | Yes | Free | web, windows, macOS, Linux, Android | Yes | 7.9 | |
| 11 | Hex Fiend | Yes | Free | macos | Yes | Yes | 7.8 |
| 12 | Synalyze It! | Yes | $14.99/user one-time | macos | Yes | Yes | 7.7 |
| 13 | Hiew | No | $25 one-time | Windows | Yes | Yes | 7.5 |
| 14 | HexEd.it | Yes | Free | web, windows, macos, linux, ios, android | 7.4 | ||
| 15 | Bless | Yes | Free | linux, windows | No | 7.3 | |
| 16 | Q22 | Free | Linux, Windows | Yes | 7.2 | ||
| 17 | Okteta | Free | Linux | Yes | Yes | 7.1 | |
| 18 | dhex | Yes | Free | linux, macos | No | No | 7.0 |
| 19 | Hecate | Yes | Free | windows, macos, linux | 6.9 | ||
| 20 | GHex | Yes | Free | linux | 6.8 | ||
| 21 | wxMEdit | Free | Windows, Linux, macOS | 6.7 | |||
| 22 | hexer | Yes | Free | linux | Yes | 6.6 | |
| 23 | hx | Yes | Free | linux | 6.5 | ||
| 24 | GNU hexedit | Yes | Free | linux | No | No | 6.4 |
| 25 | Dataescher HexEditor | Yes | $10/unit one-time | windows | 6.3 | ||
| 26 | Catch22 HexEdit | Free | windows | Yes | 6.2 | ||
| 27 | Frhed | Yes | Free | windows | 6.1 | ||
| 28 | HEdit | Free | Yes | 6.0 | |||
| 29 | MiTeC HexEdit | No | €30/user one-time | windows | 6.0 | ||
| 30 | Bedrock Viz | Yes | Free | 6.0 | |||
| 31 | Avidemux | Yes | Free | 6.0 | |||
| 32 | CombineZP | Yes | Free | windows | 6.0 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- ImHex vs 010 Editor
- ImHex vs Hex Editor Neo
- ImHex vs Hextor
- ImHex vs REHex
- ImHex vs wxHexEditor
- ImHex vs WinHex
- ImHex vs Hexinator
- 010 Editor vs Hex Editor Neo
- 010 Editor vs Hextor
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How we rank hex editors
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update