SciTE
7.1#27 in text editorsFree planFree planLinuxmacOSWindows
VisitSciTE vs Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
8.2#3 in text editorsFree planFree planWebLinuxmacOSWindows
VisitWhat both publish
| Fact | SciTE | Visual Studio Code |
|---|---|---|
| Column editing | Yes | Yes |
| Customization | Much of SciTE’s behavior can be changed by editing properties files. | Settings Sync shares user settings across VS Code instances, and profiles let users create and switch between sets of customizations. |
| Extension support | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Large-file handling | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-cursor editing | Yes | Yes |
| Privacy | The scintilla.org privacy policy says the site collects logs and that its advertisements collect viewing information through Google Analytics; it says the site collects no personally identifiable information. | VS Code collects telemetry, which users can disable with the telemetry.telemetryLevel setting; extensions may collect separate telemetry. |
| Supported platforms | Windows,macOS,Linux | web,windows,macos,linux |
SciTE plans
- SciTEFree
Visual Studio Code plans
- Visual Studio CodeFree
Pick SciTE if…
SciTE suits people who want a free editor with syntax styling and the ability to build or run source files. Its maker positions it for jobs with simple configurations.
Pick Visual Studio Code if…
VS Code suits developers who want a free editor for desktop or browser coding, with built-in tools and a large extension library. It also fits users who want to combine AI agent workflows with direct coding, provided they have a GitHub account to start building with agents.