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Head-to-head · Text Editors

Kate vs EmEditor

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Kate #5 in Text Editors 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit KDE
EmEditor #10 in Text Editors 8.5/10 Free plan · 7-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit EmEditor

Kate leads on 0 checks, EmEditor on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreKate · 9.0/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly EmEditor
  • Most featuresEmEditor · 5 of 5

Kate scores higher on our rubric for text editors: 9.0 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #10.

Kate is the better fit for free cross-platform coding and text editing. EmEditor is the better fit for windows users working with extreme file sizes.

  • Kate fits best

    Free cross-platform coding and text editing

  • EmEditor fits best

    Windows users working with extreme file sizes

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Side by side

Feature Kate 9.0/10 Visit ↗ EmEditor 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.5
Ranking #5 in Text Editors #10 in Text Editors
Best for Free cross-platform coding and text editing Windows users working with extreme file sizes
Pricing model Free Free plan + paid
Starting price Free plan $5/device/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — 7 days
Deployment Desktop Desktop
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux Windows
Support Community, Docs Email, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Kate 4/5 · EmEditor 5/5
Multi-cursor editing ✓ ✓
Macro recording ✓ ✓
Column editing ✓ ✓
Large-file handling Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Extension support ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported platforms Linux, BSD, Windows, macOS Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019 or later; legacy support includes Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
Our review
Pros
  • Supports syntax highlighting for more than 300 languages
  • Combines multi-cursor editing, macros, projects, and split views
  • Includes terminal, Git, LSP, DAP, plugins, and scripting
  • Handles files up to 16 TB, with a controller for larger files
  • Supports column editing, multi-selection, macros, and regex replacement
  • Free edition includes plugins, external tools, and advanced editing features
Cons
  • Its documented integration surface is narrower than broader editor ecosystems
  • Its programming features may exceed the needs of basic text editing
  • Language and debugging workflows center on LSP and DAP support
  • Windows-only support limits use across other operating systems
  • Free edition is restricted to personal home or school use
  • Professional annual pricing starts at $60 per computer per year
Our verdict

Kate is a free, open-source, multi-document text editor developed by KDE for programmers and others working with text files. It runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS, and supports tabs, horizontal or vertical split views, syntax highlighting…

Read the review →

EmEditor is a Windows text editor for programmers, editors, database administrators, and server administrators. Its feature set covers ordinary text editing, syntax highlighting, regular expressions, CSV processing, macros, plug-ins,…

Read the review →
  1. KateText Editors 9.0Free plan
  2. EmEditorText Editors 8.5Free plan · 7-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Kate — where it wins

    • Supports syntax highlighting for more than 300 languages
    • Combines multi-cursor editing, macros, projects, and split views
    • Includes terminal, Git, LSP, DAP, plugins, and scripting

    Where it doesn't

    • Its documented integration surface is narrower than broader editor ecosystems
    • Its programming features may exceed the needs of basic text editing
    • Language and debugging workflows center on LSP and DAP support

  • EmEditor — where it wins

    • Handles files up to 16 TB, with a controller for larger files
    • Supports column editing, multi-selection, macros, and regex replacement
    • Free edition includes plugins, external tools, and advanced editing features

    Where it doesn't

    • Windows-only support limits use across other operating systems
    • Free edition is restricted to personal home or school use
    • Professional annual pricing starts at $60 per computer per year
  • Kate9.0/10 · Free plan

    A free, open-source editor with broad coding features across Linux, Windows, and macOS.

    Visit KDEFull verdict →
  • EmEditor8.5/10 · Free plan · 7-day trial

    A capable Windows editor for extreme file sizes, with useful free features and costly paid tiers.

    Visit EmEditorFull verdict →

More comparisons

All text editors comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update