The Best Text Editors in 2026
We researched text editors through official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables, and product documentation. Rankings focus on the core job—creating and editing plain-text files—plus value for money and verified features such as search, syntax highlighting, automation, and platform support.
Our top picks
-
Top ranked
Visual Studio Code#1 of 829.4/10A free, open-source editor with broad development features across desktop and web.
Free plan
-
Runner-up
Neovim#2 of 829.3/10A free, open-source editor for keyboard-driven workflows and deep customization.
Free plan
-
Top-ranked free plan
GNU Emacs#3 of 829.2/10A mature, highly customizable editor for users who value breadth and control.
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 82 tools, best first · page 1 of 2
-
Best forDevelopers wanting the broadest free editor
A free, open-source editor with broad development features across desktop and web.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Large-file handling
- Column editing
9.4/10★★★★★Visit site -
Best forPower users wanting maximum free customization
A free, open-source editor for keyboard-driven workflows and deep customization.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Neovim -
Best forMature customization-focused editor users
A mature, highly customizable editor for users who value breadth and control.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
9.2/10★★★★★Visit GNU Emacs -
Best forWindows users wanting a capable free editor
A capable free editor with advanced editing tools, but Windows-only coverage narrows its fit.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
9.1/10★★★★★Visit Notepad++ -
Best forFree cross-platform coding and text editing
A free, open-source editor with broad coding features across Linux, Windows, and macOS.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Column editing
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit KDE -
Best forVim users wanting a mature free editor
A mature, free, open-source editor for users who prefer modal workflows.
- Macro recording
- Column editing
- Extension support
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Vim -
Best forModern teams wanting collaborative editing
A capable free editor for collaborative teams, with paid AI tiers that cost more.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Column editing
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Zed -
Best forMac users writing and deploying web content
A capable Mac editor for web content, code, search-heavy work, and deployment.
- Large-file handling
- Column editing
- Extension support
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit BBEdit -
Best forCross-platform users who value multiple selections
A cross-platform desktop editor built around multiple selections and flexible editing.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Sublime Text -
Best forWindows users working with extreme file sizes
A capable Windows editor for extreme file sizes, with useful free features and costly paid tiers.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit EmEditor -
Best forProfessionals handling very large files
A deep, large-file editor for professionals who need automation and remote connectivity.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit UltraEdit -
Best forFree users wanting broad language and plugin support
A capable free editor for developers who value language coverage, macros, and plugins.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Column editing
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit jEdit -
Best forModal-editing users wanting built-in developer tools
A focused, open-source terminal editor for modal workflows and built-in code intelligence.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Helix -
Best forDevelopers wanting a simple free IDE-like editor
An open-source, cross-platform editor with practical IDE features for everyday code work.
- Macro recording
- Column editing
- Extension support
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Geany -
Best forLightweight free cross-platform editing
A free, open-source editor with capable coding tools and a modest ecosystem.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit SciTE -
Best forUsers wanting a simple free multi-platform editor
A free, flexible editor for plain text and source files across three platforms.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Column editing
- Extension support
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit KDE -
Best forC++ developers wanting integrated debugging and builds
A paid editor whose Pro edition adds C++ navigation, builds, debugging and version control.
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit SlickEdit -
Best forFree developers wanting remote and LSP editing
A free, cross-platform editor with LSP, remote SSH development, and built-in tools.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Extension support
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Lapce -
Best forWeb authors editing code and remote files
A free editor for markup-focused work, with project support and remote-file access.
- Extension support
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Bluefish -
Best forWriters checking grammar and style across apps
A cross-app proofreading assistant with free basics and refinements through Microsoft 365.
7.4/10★★★★☆Try Microsoft Editor -
Best forTerminal users wanting a simple free editor
A focused free editor for terminal users who value simplicity over extensibility.
- Macro recording
- Extension support
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit GNU nano -
Best forMac users wanting a focused free editor
A capable free Mac editor for code, Markdown, TeX, and other plain-text work.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Large-file handling
- Column editing
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit CotEditor -
Best forFree users needing strong language and file support
A free editor with broad language support, large-file handling, and extensibility.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Large-file handling
- Extension support
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit CudaText -
Best forUsers wanting a straightforward free editor
A free, open-source editor with practical features across Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Extension support
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit gedit -
Best forLua users wanting a customizable free editor
A free, Lua-customizable desktop editor with language-aware tools and keyboard macros.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Textadept -
Best forTeX and LaTeX document authors
A focused, open-source TeX editor with PDF preview, SyncTeX, scripting, and templates.
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit TeXworks -
Best forEmbedding rich-text editing in web apps
A flexible embedded editor, but legacy deployments need commercial LTS for security coverage.
- Extension support
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit CKEditor -
Best forMac users wanting bundle-based text workflows
A focused macOS editor with deep editing, automation, bundle, and preview support.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Column editing
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit TextMate -
Best forUsers needing a minimal free text editor
A focused, free editor for quick text-file work with tabs, search, and restore.
- Column editing
- Extension support
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit Mousepad -
Best forXML and XSLT specialists
A focused desktop toolkit for XML, XSLT, XPath, XQuery, and schema work.
- Large-file handling
- Extension support
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit EditiX -
Best forDevelopers prioritizing remote and container workflows
A terminal-based editor with LSP, Git review, SSH editing, and devcontainer support.
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Fresh -
Best forDevelopers who want an extensible desktop editor
A free, open-source desktop editor with packages, language-server tools, and Git support.
- Extension support
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Pulsar -
Best forUsers editing logs, CSVs, or files over 50 MB
A free, open-source desktop editor with focused tools for large files, logs, and CSVs.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Large-file handling
- Column editing
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Fulgur -
Best forTerminal users wanting free plugins and linting
Micro pairs terminal editing with plugins, linting, and multi-cursor support.
- Extension support
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Micro -
Best forMac developers wanting an integrated paid editor
A capable paid Mac editor with coding, Git, terminal, debugging, and preview tools.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Column editing
- Extension support
5.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Panic -
Best forMac and iOS users needing remote file access
A portable Mac and iOS editor with strong remote-file and preview support.
- Extension support
5.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Textastic -
Best forWindows users needing file tools and remote access
A feature-rich Windows editor for large files, automation, and FTP/SFTP workflows.
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
- Column editing
5.6/10★★★☆☆Visit EditPad Pro -
Best forSpecialists working with XML and related schemas
A specialist editor for XML, schemas, transformations, debugging, and related data workflows.
- Large-file handling
- Extension support
5.5/10★★★☆☆Visit Altova XMLSpy -
Best forLinux users who need a basic desktop text editor
A focused Linux editor for everyday text files, with syntax highlighting and search tools.
5.4/10★★★☆☆Visit site -
Best forTechnical and mathematical document authors
A specialized open-source editor for mathematical, scientific, and technical documents.
5.3/10★★★☆☆Visit GNU TeXmacs -
Best forWindows users needing web and compiler tools
A free Windows editor with coding, web, comparison, macro and compiler tools.
- Macro recording
- Column editing
- Extension support
5.2/10★★★☆☆Visit PSPad -
Best forMac users who prefer a graphical Vim
A free, open-source graphical Vim for Mac users who want native macOS integration.
- Macro recording
- Column editing
- Extension support
5.1/10★★★☆☆Visit MacVim -
Best forLightweight editing across desktop and mobile
A free, open-source editor for flexible text and code work across many platforms.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Extension support
5.0/10★★☆☆☆Visit Lite XL -
Best forWriters seeking distraction-free Markdown editing
A focused Markdown editor with offline apps, cloud-drive links, and a free browser edition.
4.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit Calmly Writer -
Best forUsers editing and analyzing binary files
A focused binary-editing toolkit with templates, comparison, scripting, and disk tools.
4.8/10★★☆☆☆Visit 010 Editor -
Best forWindows XML and JSON editing
A focused Windows editor for validating, formatting, and navigating XML and JSON.
- Large-file handling
4.7/10★★☆☆☆Visit XML Marker -
Best forMac and Linux users wanting a free editor with macros
A Notepad++-style desktop editor with macros, plugins, and broad syntax highlighting.
- Macro recording
- Column editing
- Extension support
4.6/10★★☆☆☆Visit Nextpad++ -
Best forTerminal users wanting selection-centric editing
A focused, free terminal editor for programmers who think in selections.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Extension support
4.5/10★★☆☆☆Visit Kakoune -
Best forTeams embedding rich-text editing in applications
A feature-rich embedded editor for teams building application content workflows.
- Extension support
4.4/10★★☆☆☆Visit Froala -
Best forWindows users wanting a broad free editor toolkit
A broad free Windows toolkit for code and text, with AI chat and optional SFTP.
- Multi-cursor editing
- Macro recording
- Large-file handling
4.3/10★★☆☆☆Try Text Editor Pro
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Column editing | Extension support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visual Studio Code | Yes | Free | web, windows, macos, linux | Yes | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | Neovim | Yes | Free | Linux, macOS, Windows, Android | Yes | Yes | 9.3 |
| 3 | GNU Emacs | Yes | Free | GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, BSD, Haiku, Solaris, MS-DOS/FreeDOS | Yes | Yes | 9.2 |
| 4 | Notepad++ | Yes | Free | Windows | Yes | Yes | 9.1 |
| 5 | Kate | Yes | Free | Linux, BSD, Windows, macOS | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| 6 | Vim | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.9 |
| 7 | Zed | Yes | $10/mo | macOS, Windows, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.8 |
| 8 | BBEdit | Yes | $59.99 one-time | macOS | Yes | Yes | 8.7 |
| 9 | Sublime Text | No | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.6 | |
| 10 | EmEditor | Yes | $5/device/mo | Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019 or later; legacy support includes Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | Yes | 8.5 |
| 11 | UltraEdit | No | $94.96/user/yr | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.4 |
| 12 | jEdit | Yes | Free | Windows, Unix/Linux, Mac OS X, VMS, OS/2 | Yes | Yes | 8.3 |
| 13 | Helix | Yes | Free | Linux, macOS, Windows | No | 8.2 | |
| 14 | Geany | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.1 |
| 15 | SciTE | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 8.0 |
| 16 | KWrite | Yes | Free | Linux, Windows, macOS | Yes | Yes | 7.9 |
| 17 | SlickEdit | No | $125 one-time | Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi | 7.7 | ||
| 18 | Lapce | Yes | Free | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes | 7.6 | |
| 19 | Bluefish | Yes | Free | Yes | 7.5 | ||
| 20 | Microsoft Editor | Yes | 7.4 | ||||
| 21 | GNU nano | Yes | Free | Linux, Windows, macOS | Yes | 7.3 | |
| 22 | CotEditor | Yes | Free | macOS | Yes | Yes | 7.2 |
| 23 | CudaText | Yes | Free | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes | 7.1 | |
| 24 | gedit | Yes | Free | Linux, macOS, Windows | Yes | 7.0 | |
| 25 | Textadept | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD | Yes | Yes | 6.9 |
| 26 | TeXworks | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | 6.7 | ||
| 27 | CKEditor 4 | Yes | web | Yes | 6.6 | ||
| 28 | TextMate | macos | Yes | Yes | 6.5 | ||
| 29 | Mousepad | Yes | Free | Linux | Yes | Yes | 6.4 |
| 30 | EditiX | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | 6.3 | |
| 31 | Fresh | Free | 6.2 | ||||
| 32 | Pulsar | Free | Yes | 6.1 | |||
| 33 | Fulgur | Yes | Free | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | 6.0 | |
| 34 | Micro | Yes | Free | Yes | 5.9 | ||
| 35 | Nova | No | macOS | Yes | Yes | 5.8 | |
| 36 | Textastic | Yes | Yes | 5.7 | |||
| 37 | EditPad Pro | No | Windows | Yes | 5.6 | ||
| 38 | Altova XMLSpy | No | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | 5.5 | ||
| 39 | GNOME Text Editor | Free | 5.4 | ||||
| 40 | GNU TeXmacs | Yes | Free | 5.3 | |||
| 41 | PSPad | Yes | Free | Windows | Yes | Yes | 5.2 |
| 42 | MacVim | Free | macOS | Yes | Yes | 5.1 | |
| 43 | Lite XL | Yes | Free | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes | 5.0 | |
| 44 | Calmly Writer | Yes | 4.9 | ||||
| 45 | 010 Editor | No | $59.95/user one-time | 4.8 | |||
| 46 | XML Marker | No | $50 one-time | windows | 4.7 | ||
| 47 | Nextpad++ | Yes | Free | macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | 4.6 |
| 48 | Kakoune | Yes | Free | Linux, macOS | Yes | 4.5 | |
| 49 | Froala Editor | No | web, iOS, Android | Yes | 4.4 | ||
| 50 | Text Editor Pro | Yes | Free | Windows | Yes | 4.3 |
Head-to-head All 28 comparisons →
- Visual Studio Code vs Neovim
- Visual Studio Code vs GNU Emacs
- Visual Studio Code vs Notepad++
- Visual Studio Code vs Kate
- Visual Studio Code vs Vim
- Visual Studio Code vs Zed
- Visual Studio Code vs BBEdit
- Neovim vs GNU Emacs
- Neovim vs Notepad++
Explore other topics All topics →
- AI Tools 303 directories · 8,267 tools ranked AI Writing Tools · AI Video Generators · Text-to-Speech Software
- Web Hosting & Domains 275 directories · 6,107 tools ranked Shared Web Hosting · Managed Cloud Hosting · Dedicated Server Hosting
- Productivity 157 directories · 4,948 tools ranked Note-Taking Apps · Calendar Apps · Project Management Software
- Marketing 135 directories · 3,978 tools ranked SEO Tools · Influencer Marketing Platforms · Email Marketing Software
- Sales & CRM 152 directories · 4,161 tools ranked Real Estate CRM Software · CRM Software · Proposal Software
- Customer Service 55 directories · 1,547 tools ranked Chatbot Builders · Knowledge Base Software · Call Center Software
How we rank text 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