15 Best Text Editor For Windows And Mac In 2023 [Free And Paid]

Here we review and compare the top Text Editors for Windows and Mac to guide you in selecting the best text editor for your requirements:

Text editors are very helpful when it comes to precisely and correctly writing your code while avoiding formatting difficulties.

It is especially common when someone new to programming chooses their first coding method and realizes that the actual code has difficulties, such as producing non-displayable formatting.

The text editors’ finest qualities should be basic, functional, and useful. To do the task the way it was intended, it doesn’t matter whether you’re using Linux, a Mac, or a Windows PC to code; a text editor should be simple to use with necessary features.

Text Editors Review

Text editors may appear mundane to some, yet it is the engine that drives businesses all over the world. Almost everyone has a text and code editor in their workflows. As many of us do, we bounce in and out of them throughout the day.

There are several fantastic tools to let you do this with little or no effort, whether you’re writing PHP or taking notes for a project. We will discuss a variety of amazing text editor options in this tutorial.

Text editors vary markedly depending on their audience: Some are ideal for programmers who have the expertise, while others are best for novices or authors. Collaboration, real-time code exchange, and other services are all available in addition to the above.

The below graph shows the popularity of the developer environments:

According to sitepoint.com, people who work on Python use Sublime text and Vim as their text editors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q #1) What operating system should I use?

Answer: It’s all up to you. Some editors, however, are only accessible on particular operating systems, so if you want to move between them, you may cut down your options.

Doesn’t matter if you choose the best text editor for Windows or the best text editor for Mac, the task can be completed if it runs on your computer, but a cross-platform editor migrating from operating system to operating system is less of a hassle.

Q #2) Which text editor lets you utilize a wide range of technology?

Answer: Most text editors can open any text file, however, few cannot. It works well for writing to oneself when creating personal notes. You may generate rather huge, sophisticated files when you’re working with web development and writing in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

By selecting a text editor that supports the technologies you’re using, you will make things simpler for yourself.

Q #3) Which basic functions should you look for in a text editor?

Answer: Your requirements and objectives will determine your budget.

The following features are beneficial:

• The search-and-replace feature allows you to do repeated searches in one or many documents based on regular expressions or other patterns as needed.
• Jump to a specific line quickly.
• View two sections of a huge document to see whether they mesh together.
• Don’t think about HTML as it will appear in the browser.
• Select text in many locations simultaneously.
• Study the files and folders associated with your project.
• Code beautifier formats your code automatically.
• Verify the spelling.
• Indentation settings are used to auto-indent the code.

Q #4) Is installing more features on your text editor good?

Answer: An extensible editor is less feature-rich than an all-in-one package, but it may be expanded to meet your specific needs. Many tools ship with functionality that the user doesn’t want, or which the user has to enable. For these cases, seek an expandable editor.

The finest editors allow you to have several plugins installed and provide you the option to discover and install new plugins automatically.

Q #5) Should you care about how your text editor looks and feels?

Answer: Some people prefer personalizing every element of the UI (user interface), including the color and position of buttons. Editors may be quite flexible, so inquire about this ahead of time. A text editor that allows you to alter the text color scheme is easy to find, but if you want further functionality, you can choose an IDE.

List of the Best Text Editors

Here is the list of popular and best Text Editor for Windows and Mac:

1. UltraEdit
2. Setapp
3. Visual Studio Code
4. Sublime Text
5. Atom
6. Vim
7. Brackets
8. Notepad++
9. Espresso
10. CoffeeCup-The HTML Editor
11. TextMate
12. Light Table
13. BBEdit
14. Komodo Edit
15. Bluefish

Comparison of Popular Text Editors

Review of the top text editors:

#1) UltraEdit

Best for Developers and System Administrators.

UltraEdit is an excellent choice as your main text editor due to its performance, flexibility, and security. UltraEdit also comes with an all-access package that gives you access to a number of useful tools such as a file finder, integrated FTP client, a Git integration solution, among others.

The main text editor is a very powerful text editor that can handle large files with a breeze.

Features: Text editor, Web Development, System Administration, Power and Performance, Programming/ Development, File Compare

Pricing: $99.95/yr with all access.

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#2) Setapp

Best for a sizeable list of text editing applications for Mac and iPhone in one suite.

Setapp is a different title on this list as it is a subscription-based app that provides you access to a ton of fantastic text editing apps for Mac and iPhone, all in one place. For a small monthly fee, you get access to phenomenal Mac-exclusive text editors like TeaCode, TextSoap, and other such apps that allow you to write code fast in any language.

My personal favorite text editor on Setapp is definitely TeaCode, which comes with over 80 ready-to-use expanders. It works with a majority of native MacOS text editors and also offers plugins for Sublime Text, Atom, Visual Studio Code, etc.

Features:

• Multiple Mac-exclusive text editors in one suite.
• Flexible text editors that work around your code.
• Expedited coding with expanders.
• Apps that fully sync across Mac and iPhone devices.

Pricing: Mac: $9.99/month, Mac and iOS: $12.49/month, Power User: $14.99/month. A 7-day free trial is also available.

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#3) Microsoft Visual Studio Code

Best for Python coders.

Developers have flocked to Visual Studio Code (VS Code) since it is a Microsoft product. It is equipped with several packages and free extensions that are available in its marketplace. You can also modify the code editor to your specifications.

Besides supporting organizations quickly and debugging, Visual Studio Code includes its built-in terminal and provides syntax checking and interaction with a variety of source control technologies. As it proposes completions and on-the-fly pop-ups that reveal the documentation for classes and methods, we consider it to be one of the finest IDEs for Python coders.

Features: Auto-complete, free extensions, community-developed packages.
Pricing: Free

Website: Microsoft Visual Studio Code

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#4) Sublime Text

Best for split editing.

Sublime Text sets the standard for text editors for certain people. The code editor is feature-rich and attractive. In addition to quick shortcuts and search, the device has distraction-free writing mode and split editing.

Shortcuts also help you in displaying and concealing the sidebar, duplicating lines, selecting a certain line number, checking for misspelled words, and more.

A huge repository like Atom’s “open-source library of sample applications, plugins, themes, extensions, documentation,” and more will continue to add new capabilities long after your first installation.

Features: Split editing, distraction-free mode, auto-complete.
Pricing: $99

Website: Sublime Text

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#5) Atom

Best for community-developed packages.

Atom has several community-developed packages, and if something isn’t currently available, you may build it by customizing the CSS on the back end.

On the install side, developers who like lightweight programs may chafe at Atom’s somewhat high install footprint, given it is cross-platform and built on the Electron framework.

Features: Cross-platform editing, Built-in package manager, Smart autocompletion, File system browser, Multiple panes, Find and replace.

Pricing: Free

Website: Atom

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#6) Vim

Best for anyone who prefers performance over anything.

Vim connects with a wide range of tools thanks to its support for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is built for command-line usage and use in GUI.

In 1991, Vim was invented. It was among the most famous text editors, which meant that developers could use a sequence of instructions to produce updates and scripts. Vim has one of the oldest editing suites, and it’s notable that coders worldwide still use it.

Features: Undo tree with several levels, comprehensive plugin system, supports various programming languages and file types, find and change, and integration with numerous tools.

Pricing: Free

Website: Vim

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#7) Brackets

Best for Web designers.

Brackets is a free text editor designed to allow designers to create sites in a browser. Developed specifically for web designers and front-end developers, it has a wide range of tools for coding, including real-time website visualization with changes reflected instantly.

Adobe is responsible for the development of Brackets, which lets users extract colors, gradients, fonts, and measurements in the same format as CSS. As such, it is a must-have tool for any interface designer.

Brackets will no longer be supported from the beginning of September onwards.

Features: Inline Editors, Live Preview, Preprocessor Support
Pricing: Free

Website: Brackets

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#8) Notepad++

Best for working on TXT, HTML, CSS, PHP, and XML.

It is also an open-source project. This text editor is popular with programmers because it lets them easily examine code, paste snippets from FTP clients, and use it without having to wait for their development environment to load. If you compare it to Atom and Sublime Text, it is more frequently used.

This software has several helpful features, including an interface for tabs, support for macros and plugins, and an autosave tool that stores documents temporarily and allows you to save them to another location.

The important program for scripters is Notepad Text Editor. While free and simple to use, this program only supports a few file formats (TXT, HTML, CSS, PHP, and XML), has an antiquated user interface, and lacks numerous capabilities.

Features: Autosave, support plugins, simple user interface.
Pricing: Free

Website: Notepad++

Further Reading => Most Popular Rich-Text Editors of the Year

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#9) Expresso

Best for web design.

Espresso is an affordable single-window web editor that offers quick code editing and more functionality

Espresso is a free, open-source program to arrange your company into three sections. The program has Workstation, Drag-and-drop workflows, and Files and Publish sections. Espresso functions depend on the demands and requirements of a range of developers. This, however, depends on the developer’s expectations and work style.

Features: Code syntax highlighting, CodeSense, easy-to-use snippet implementation.
Pricing: $99

Website: Expresso

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#10) Coffee Cup- The HTML Editor.

Best for web developers.

HTML Editor from CoffeeCup is one of the most powerful and robust text editors available for coding and general site design management. The editor offers a free trial, but it requires a $29 one-time subscription. The freemium version is available as well, although it lacks functionality.

For producing HTML pages, you can choose CoffeeCup. If you’re interested in learning about HTML or PHP, then consider using CoffeeCup, as it can save you time.

You’ll only be getting one license with this purchase, so if you have a complete team in need of the text editor, you’ll have to pay for several licenses.

Features: Visual code selector, live preview, customizable templates, tag highlighting.
Pricing: $29

Website: Coffee Cup- The HTML Editor

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#11) TextMate

Best for quick edits and a web developer’s Unicode environment.

It is a custom to use TextMate on macOS to get started on your text-editing journey. It seems simple, but it has a lot of functionality built-in. Find, search, and replace features, completion, and board management are commonly included in text editors.

While TextMate supports every programming language, it also has a separate utility designed specifically for Xcode applications.

Features: Custom commands, multiple carets, file search.
Pricing: Free

Website: TextMate

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#12) Light Table

Best for any fast-paced environment.

Light Table offers quick feedback that lets you correct mistakes on the fly, go over code, and look up related documentation. Abstractions are developed in an execution environment that offers rapid feedback.

To avoid needing programmers, to do experiments as they write code, the development team created software that visualizes the changes a programmer makes in real-time.

Initially, the software supported just Clojure; however, the framework has been updated to provide support for Python and JavaScript. Programming time may be reduced by up to 20 percent using the software.

Features: Open source, inline evaluation, plugin manager.
Pricing: Free

Website: Light Table

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#13) BBEdit

Best for Developers and Web Designers.

BBEdit is limited to Mac. It boasts a wide range of cutting-edge features, but it also tries to seem basic, like the acronym BB. Git integration and auto-completion are excellent features of BBEdit.

For easy editing, they provide syntax highlighting and fast lookups and editing windows you can split apart and position next to one other. At the moment, BBEdit has a single-user license for $49.99. Additionally, you may update to new versions for less money.

Features: Split windows, syntax highlighting, git integration, auto-completion.
Pricing: $49.99

Website: BBEdit

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#14) Komodo Edit

Best for beginners.

Komodo Edit seeks to provide something strong, but also simple enough for beginners to understand. The Mac and Windows versions of Komodo Edit are available for download. It’s free and open-source, so beginners can work with it on simpler tasks.

The Komodo IDE’s developer features like code profiling and unit testing are very valuable if you require these sophisticated tools. Komodo IDE includes full support for all languages and frameworks, making it an excellent choice for web development. Additionally, the upgrade is completely free because it is an open-source project.

Features: Multi-Language Editor, Auto-Complete & Calltips, Unit Testing, Print Debugging, Live Previewing, Project Wizard, Dependency Detector.

Pricing: Free

Website: Komodo Edit

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#15) Blue Fish

Best for programmers and web developers.

Bluefish is an open-source freeware text editor with several features for web development and programming. This tool supports HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, Java, and other such programming languages, and shell coding languages.

Ubuntu One is available for macOS, Linux, and Windows and integrates with GNOME, although it may also be used as a stand-alone program.

Meant to work as a middle ground between free-form text editors and programming IDEs with heavy IDE capabilities, Bluefish is required lesser space, is quick, and is accessible to newer users while including numerous IDE functions. The translations are available in seventeen languages.

Features: Combine external filters, undo/redo as many times as you want, line-by-line spell checks, all changes can be recovered automatically, Unicode characters have a character map.

Pricing: Free

Website: Blue Fish

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Conclusion

If you still have a little ambiguity about which text editor you may pick, here’s a summary- Sublime Text, Atom, and Notepad++ are some of the best text editors for developers.

Sublime Text is lightweight with little resource consumption, while Atom is a collaborative tool. UltraEdit does the work you need to transfer and edit big files. Komodo Edit is a good option if you’re an expert or newbie, but you may need to download the correct version.

Our Research:

• We ran through 30 text editors to come up with the top 14 best text editors.
• The time taken for research: 20 hours.