Best Coding Software | Text Editors for Windows & Mac

1) Notepad++

Every year, many new Code Editors are launched, and the developer finds it challenging to choose one. Following is a curated list of Top 15 source code and text editor software for Windows and Mac platforms. All the editors in the list are Free to use. The code editor could be standalone or integrated into an IDE.

Notepad++ is a popular free to use code editor written in C++. It uses pure win32 API which offers greater execution speed and small program size. It is one of the best code editor that runs only in the window’s environment, and it uses GPL License.

Platform: Windows

Price: Free

Features:

This free text editor supports syntax highlighting for languages like PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS

Auto-completion: Word completion, Function completion

This free code editor provides macro recording and playback

User-defined Syntax highlighting and folding

Entirely customizable GUI

Multi-view and Multi-Language support

Download link:

Kite is a Code Editor that automatically completes multiple line codes. This editor supports more than 16 languages. It helps you to code faster with no hassle.

Price: Free

Features:

It offers documentation for various languages

This editor provides a function signature as you type.

You will get a tooltip on mouse hover.

Provides support in email.

Uses machine learning models for software development.

3) Atom

Atom is useful code editor tool preferred by programmers due to its simple interface compared to the other editors. Atom users can submit packages and them for the software.

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

Price: Free

Features:

Package Manager Integrated for Plugins support

The feature of smart autocompletion

Supports Command Palette

Multiple panes

This Mac code editor allows cross-platform editing

Download link: https://atom.io/

4) Visual Studio Code [VS Code]

Visual Studio Code is an open source code editor software developed by Microsoft. This free text editor offers built-in support for TypeScript, JavaScript, and Node.js. It’s autocompleted with IntelliSense features provides smart completions based on variable types, essential modules, and function definitions.

Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux

Price: Free

Features:

Easy working with Git and other SCM (Software Configuration management) providers

Code refactoring & debugging

This code editor for Mac is easily extensible and customizable

Download link:

Webuilder is a powerful, fast, and intelligent code editor for web developers. It helps you to create and manages HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, ASP, SSI and Perl code. You can integrate tools and let you validate, format, reuse, and deploy your code quickly and efficiently.

Platform: Windows

Price: Paid

Features:

Webuiler Offers highly advanced and up to date coding features

You can edit directly on your web server or publish local development copy updates.

It’s PHP editor comes with auto complete, syntax check, debugger, beautifier and more.

Provides code snippet library and code templates with assignable shortcuts

It offers a code snippet library and code templates with assignable shortcuts.

6) NetBeans

NetBeans is an open-source code editor tool for developing with Java, PHP, C++, and other programming languages. With this editor, code analyzers, and converters. It is one of the best code editor for Windows that allows you to upgrade your applications to use new Java 8 language constructs.

Platforms: Mac Windows Linux

Price: Free

Features:

Easy & Efficient Project Management

This free text editor offers fast & Smart Code Editing

Rapid User Interface Development

Helps you to write bug-free code

Download link:

7) Bluefish

Bluefish a is a cross-platform editor is a speedy tool which can handle dozens of files simultaneously. It is one of the best coding apps for PC which allows developers to conduct remote editing. This code editor tool offers many options to programmers and web developers, to write websites, scripts, and programming code.

Price: Free

Platforms: Mac Windows Linux

Features:

It is one of the best IDE for Mac that loads hundreds of files within seconds

Auto-recovery of changes in modified documents after a crash, kill or shutdown.

Project support feature helps you to work efficiently on multiple projects.

Unlimited undo/redo functionality.

Download link:

8) VIM

Vim is an advanced text editor open source tool which is also considered to be an IDE in its way. This tool allows managing your text editing activities with vim editors and UNIX System which can be used on-premise or online.

Price: Free

Platform: Linux

Features:

Extensive plugin support

Powerful search and replace

This programming editor integrates with many tools

Macro recording and playback

Support for hundreds of programming languages and file formats

Download link:

9) Geany

Geany is a text editor which uses GTK+ toolkit. It also has certain basic features of an integrated development environment. The tool supports many filetypes and has some nice features.

Price: Free

Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux

Features:

Allows you to add a note for applying the indent settings in the project preferences

Navigating through the source code

This source code editor allows popup menu on message window notebooks and sidebar

Show status message on attempt to execute empty context action

Download link:

10) Komodo Edit

Komodo edit is an easy to use and powerful code editing tool. It is one of the best free text editor which allows you to do debugging, unit testing, code refactoring. It also provides code profile, plus integrations with other technologies like Grunt, PhoneGap, Docker, Vagrant and many more.

Price: Free Trial

Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux

Features:

Multi-Language Editor

A lot of contemporary color schemes

Native Unicode support and Unicode compatibility checking

Easily integrates into the desktop environment.

Download link:

11) Emacs

Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.

Price: Free

Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux

Features:

Complete built-in documentation

Full Unicode support for many human scripts

This lightweight code editor is highly customizable, using Emacs Lisp code.

A packaging system for installing and downloading extensions

Download link:

12) jEdit

jEdit, a code editor program which is written in Java. This open source tool supports hundreds of plugins and macros. It offers a large collection of plugins maintained by a worldwide developer team.

Features:

Built-in macro language & extensible plugin architecture

This coding software for PC allows copy and paste with an unlimited number of clipboards

You can download plugins with the help of the plugin manager.

Register contents are saved across editing sessions.

Allows auto indent, and syntax highlighting over 200 languages

Price: Free

Platform: Mac, Windows & Linux

Download link:

13) TextMate

TextMate is a versatile plain text editor for mac with unique and innovative features. The tool offers support for many programming languages, writing prose in structured formats such as blogging, running SQL queries, writing screenplays, etc.

Price: Free

Platform: MAC

Features:

Auto-Indent for Common Actions

CSS-like Selectors to find the Scope of Actions and Settings

Dynamic Outline for Working With Multiple Files

Function Pop-up for Quick Overview and Navigation

Run Shell Commands from Within a Document

Visual Bookmarks to Jump Between Places in a File

Download link:

14) gedit

Gedit tool is designed as a general-purpose text editor. It offers simple and eases to use GUI. It includes features for editing source code and structured text like markup languages.

Price: Free

Platforms: Mac & Windows

Features:

Support for syntax highlighting for languages like C, C++, Java, HTML, XML, Python, etc.

Editing files from remote locations

Support for text wrapping and auto indentation

Search and replace with the support of regular expressions

A flexible plugin system which allows you to add new features

Download link:

15) Light Table

Light Table is an IDE and text editor tool for coding software. It is one of the best free code editor tool that offers fast feedback and allowing instant execution, debugging and access to documentation.

Price: Free

Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux

Features:

Inline Evaluation

Light Table is a lightweight, clean, and sleek interface.

Powerful editing and plugin manager

The feature of println to keep track of critical values in your code

Download link:

16) Blue Griffon

BlueGriffon is an open source HTML editor powered by Gecko, which is Firefox’s rendering engine. This programming editor has a simple interface and most usual features needed to create web pages that are compliant with W3C web standards.

Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux

Features:

Easy to change the color of font or to adjust the border style

Opens Tabs from Last Session

Shortcuts for CSS Editing

Multiple Themes for Source View

Download link:

FAQ

❓ What is Code Editor?

A Code Editor is a special text editor program designed to write and edit source code and computer programs. It helps programmers write and edit source code and programs easily by differentiating elements and in-built routines.

Tomasz David
Tomasz David

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