Calmly Writer is a writing editor built to reduce distractions and help users focus.
Best Text Editors in 2026
Text editors serve different kinds of work, from precise code changes to handling large files or shaping a customized editing setup. Compare column editing and multi-cursor editing with macro recording and extension support to see which tools suit your workflow. Large-file handling and supported platforms add practical considerations, while free-plan availability and paid-from pricing help with cost comparisons.…
Zed is a code editor for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with a free Personal plan and paid Pro and Business options.
Visual Studio Code is a free, open-source code editor with AI-assisted development tools for macOS, Linux, Windows and the web.
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Neovim
Neovim is a free, Vim-based text editor designed for extensibility and usability.
Free planAndroidAPILinuxmacOS8.1Free plan - 5
Geany
Geany is a free, lightweight integrated development environment for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Free planOpen sourceLinuxmacOSWindows8.1Free plan - 6
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs is a free, extensible text editor built around an interpreter for Emacs Lisp.
Free planAndroidLinuxmacOSWindows8.0Free plan - 7

Lapce
Lapce is a free, open-source code editor written in Rust for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Free planOpen sourceExtensionLinuxmacOSWindows8.0Free plan - 8

EmEditor
EmEditor is a Windows text editor for text and code, including very large files.
Free planWindows7.8From $5 a month - 9
BBEdit
BBEdit is a professional HTML and text editor for macOS aimed at writers, web authors, and software developers.
Free planmacOS7.7Free plan - 10
Microsoft Editor
Microsoft Editor checks spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation, with additional suggestions for clarity, concision, and formality.
WebExtensionmacOSWindows7.6 - 11
FocusWriter
FocusWriter is a free, open-source word processor for Linux and Windows that keeps the writing area clear.
Free planOpen sourceLinuxmacOSWindows7.6Free plan - 12
Sublime Text
Sublime Text is a text editor for code, markup, and prose, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
LinuxmacOSWindows7.5 - 13
7.5 - 14
Bluefish
Bluefish is a free, open-source desktop editor for programmers and web developers writing websites, scripts, and code.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows7.5Free plan - 15
TextMate
Free planmacOS7.4Free plan - 16
Micro
Micro is a free terminal-based text editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows7.4Free plan - 17
Textastic
iOSmacOS7.4 - 18
Lite XL
Lite XL is a free, lightweight text editor written in C and Lua, with a bundle smaller than 5MB.
Free planAndroidWebLinuxmacOS7.4Free plan - 19
Froala Editor
Froala Editor is a paid JavaScript WYSIWYG HTML editor that adds rich-text editing inside applications.
AndroidiOSWebSelf-hosted7.4From $60 a month - 20

Kate
Kate is a free text editor for Linux, macOS, and Windows, suited to both general text files and code.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows7.3Free plan - 21
Vim
Vim is a configurable text editor for creating and changing text, with uses including programming, composing email and editing configuration files.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows7.3Free plan - 22
SlickEdit
SlickEdit is a cross-platform code editor for working across programming languages, with SlickEdit 2025 listing support for more than 70 languages on…
LinuxmacOSWindows7.3$125 one-time - 23
Avidemux
Free planOpen sourceWebLinuxmacOSWindows7.3Free plan - 24
Textadept
Textadept is a free, open-source text editor for programmers, with graphical and terminal interfaces for Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows7.2Free plan - 25

Notepad++
Free planWindows7.1Free plan


