Best GNU Emacs Alternatives (131)

Looking for a GNU Emacs alternative? We've compiled the best options based on user reviews, features, and pricing to help you find the right fit.

What is GNU Emacs? GNU Emacs is a popular, open source text editor and computing environment. It runs on most operating systems and provides extensibility through an Emacs Lisp interpreter.

Top Alternatives to GNU Emacs

Visual Studio Code is a free, open-source, lightweight code editor developed by Microsoft. It supports debugging, syntax highlighting, intelligent code …

Score: 31

Sublime Text is a popular, lightweight, cross-platform source code editor with a Python application programming interface. It has a minimal …

Score: 31
MacVim

MacVim

Open Source

MacVim is a free, open source GUI version of the popular Vim text editor for macOS. It has a native …

Score: 30
VSCodium

VSCodium

Open Source

VSCodium is an open source alternative to Microsoft Visual Studio Code editor. It is based on the same codebase as …

Score: 30
Neovim

Neovim

Open Source

Neovim is a hyperextensible Vim-based text editor. It aims to improve Vim by refactoring the source code to allow greater …

Score: 30

Zed is a free, open-source code editor developed by the coding community. It has support for hundreds of programming languages …

Score: 29

HTMLPen.com is a free online HTML editor that allows you to write, edit and preview HTML code in real-time. It …

Score: 1
Spacemacs

Spacemacs

Open Source

Spacemacs is a popular configuration layer and distribution based on Emacs. It aims to provide an ergonomic and consistent experience …

Acme is a fictional software company known for their exaggerated and over-the-top products. Their software aims to solve complex problems …

Orwell Dev-C++

Orwell Dev-C++

Open Source

Orwell Dev-C++ is an open-source integrated development environment (IDE) for C and C++ programming. It is fast, lightweight, customizable, and …

Ynote Classic

Ynote Classic

Open Source

Ynote Classic is a free note taking app for Windows. It has a simple interface for creating, organizing, and searching …

TexEdit

TexEdit

Open Source

TexEdit is a free text editor for LaTex and Markdown documents. It has a clean interface and useful features like …

PHP Studio

PHP Studio

Subscription

PHP Studio is an integrated development environment focused on PHP web development. It includes code editing features, debugging, project management …

Taco HTML Edit

Taco HTML Edit

Open Source

Taco HTML Edit is a free, open-source web development editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. It has syntax highlighting, code …

SynWrite

SynWrite

Open Source

SynWrite is a lightweight text editor and code editor for Windows. It has syntax highlighting, code folding, auto-completion, macros, and …

HippoEDIT is a lightweight yet powerful text and code editor for Windows. It has syntax highlighting for many programming languages …

Neon Notepad is a simple text editor and note taking app for Windows. It has a minimal interface with basic …

Bluefish Editor

Bluefish Editor

Open Source

Bluefish Editor is a free, open source text editor aimed primarily at programmers and webdevelopers. It has support for many …

CudaText is a fast, lightweight, cross-platform text editor written in Lazarus. It supports syntax highlighting for over 100 languages and …

MS Paint IDE is a simple image editing software that allows users to draw, color, and edit images in a …

Little Transformer is a free text editor for Windows that includes text-to-speech capabilities. It allows users to write documents and …

Android Studio is an integrated development environment for Android app development. It is the official IDE for Android and includes …

MetroTextual is a lightweight text editor for Windows with a minimal interface. It focuses on fast loading times and includes …

SciTE

SciTE

Open Source

SciTE is a free and open source text editor for Windows. It has syntax highlighting, code folding, and other programming-focused …

FavoText

FavoText

Open Source

FavoText is a free and open-source plain text editor for Windows. It has a minimal interface with basic editing features …

Geany

Geany

Open Source

Geany is a lightweight, fast, and powerful cross-platform text editor. It has support for syntax highlighting for over 150 file …

Jove

Jove

Open Source

Jove is an open-source platform for publishing interactive data science tutorials and lessons online. It allows users to create step-by-step …

Code Writer is a lightweight code editor with support for syntax highlighting, auto-complete suggestions, and other helpful tools for writing …

Diakonos is a lightweight and fast text editor for Linux systems. It has a minimal interface focused on speed and …

wxMEdit

wxMEdit

Open Source

wxMEdit is a cross-platform text editor written in C++ using the wxWidgets toolkit. It is lightweight, fast, and aims to …

VOoM

VOoM

Open Source

VOoM is a free, open-source tool for organizing and cleaning up your computer's messy audio file collection. It helps analyze …

SuperbEdit

SuperbEdit

Open Source

SuperbEdit is a text and code editor for Windows. It has syntax highlighting and autocompletion for many programming languages. It …

RJ TextEd

RJ TextEd

Open Source

RJ TextEd is a simple, lightweight text editor for Windows. It has basic editing features like syntax highlighting, find/replace, and …

Runestone

Runestone

Open Source

Runestone is an open-source e-learning platform for writing interactive textbooks in Python. It allows authors to create web-based course content …

Helix is a version control software system that allows developers to track changes to source code and documents over time. …

JujuEdit

JujuEdit

Open Source

JujuEdit is a free and open source text editor for Windows. It has features like syntax highlighting, auto-completion, multiple document …

Arm DS-5 Development Studio is an integrated development environment and toolchain for Arm-based systems. It provides compilers, debuggers, simulators, and …

Corezoid is a low-code process automation and integration platform that allows users to visually model business processes and integrate various …

Simple Code Editor

Simple Code Editor

Open Source

Simple Code Editor is a lightweight, open-source text editor optimized for editing code. It has syntax highlighting for many programming …

Hekapad

Hekapad

Open Source

Hekapad is a free and open-source notepad application for Windows. It provides basic text editing and formatting features along with …

gEcrit

gEcrit

Free

gEcrit is a free and open source word processor software for Linux. It provides basic word processing features like document …

Textadept is a fast, minimalist, and customizable text editor for programmers. It has syntax highlighting and auto-completion for many programming …

Cursive IDE is a plugin for IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio focused on Clojure development. It provides advanced editing features …

Macchiato is a minimalist browser designed for privacy and security. It blocks ads and trackers by default to protect your …

FoldingText is a lightweight plain text editor for Mac that allows users to focus on writing without the distractions of …

TEXTREME

TEXTREME

Open Source

TEXTREME is a free and open-source text and code editor. It is lightweight, customizable, and supports features like syntax highlighting, …

Java-Editor

Java-Editor

Open Source

Java-Editor is a lightweight, open-source code editor for Java development. It provides syntax highlighting, auto-completion, debugging tools, and integration with …

PICO is a lightweight open-source text editor for Linux and Windows. It has a simple interface and is aimed at …

XML Notepad

XML Notepad

Open Source

XML Notepad is a lightweight XML editor for Windows that provides a simple interface for editing, viewing, and formatting XML …

Notepad++

Notepad++

Free

Notepad++ is a free and open-source text editor for Windows. It supports syntax highlighting for over 100 programming languages and …

SourceKit

SourceKit

Open Source

SourceKit is an open-source framework for IDE services like syntax highlighting, code completion, refactoring, and code formatting. It originated from …

IT-Edit

IT-Edit

Open Source

IT-Edit is a powerful text and code editor for Windows. It has features like syntax highlighting, code folding, file compare, …

Apimac Notepad is a simple text editing software for macOS. It has basic features like find/replace, fonts, colors, etc. but …

Hacker Pad is a real-time collaborative code and text editing platform. It allows multiple people to edit the same document …

Spacevim

Spacevim

Open Source

Spacevim is a distribution of the Vim editor that comes with many additional features and plugins preconfigured to provide a …

LopeEdit

LopeEdit

Open Source

LopeEdit is a free and open source text editor for Windows. It has a simple interface but powerful features like …

CotEditor

CotEditor

Open Source

CotEditor is a lightweight plain-text editor for macOS. It has a simple and intuitive interface with useful features like syntax …

Emacs Prelude is an Emacs distribution that aims to enhance the default Emacs experience. It provides sensible defaults, out-of-the-box experience, …

Zee

Zee

Open Source

Zee is a cloud-based project management and collaboration software designed for teams. It allows users to plan projects, assign tasks, …

Appy Text

Appy Text

Open Source

Appy Text is a simple, lightweight plain text editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. It has a clean interface and …

TextMate

TextMate

Open Source

TextMate is a text editor for macOS that is popular among developers and web designers. It has features like syntax …

TabNote

TabNote

Free

TabNote is a free note taking and organization app designed for power users. It allows you to create rich text …

BVRDE

BVRDE

Free

BVRDE is a free, open-source video editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It allows basic video editing like trimming, cutting, …

Pluma

Pluma

Open Source

Pluma is a lightweight text editor for GNOME. It has a simple interface with basic editing features like syntax highlighting, …

Climacs

Climacs

Open Source

Climacs is a free and open-source text editor designed for efficient text editing and programming. It is highly customizable and …

TotalEdit is a text and code editor for Windows with features like syntax highlighting, file comparison, hex editor, FTP client, …

Syncplify.me Notepad! is a free text editor and notepad app developed by Syncplify, Inc. It allows users to take notes, …

Syntaxic is a code editor and IDE designed for web development. It has features like syntax highlighting, code completion, debugging …

SpaceNeovim

SpaceNeovim

Open Source

SpaceNeovim is a lightweight, customizable Neovim GUI focused on speed and usability. It is built with Rust and provides key …

VbsEdit

VbsEdit

Open Source

VbsEdit is a lightweight Windows-based VBScript editor. It provides syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and other features to help create and edit …

Devpad

Devpad

Open Source

Devpad is a lightweight code editor and IDE designed for web development. It has support for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and …

Light Table

Light Table

Open Source

Light Table is an open-source, lightweight integrated development environment with support for live coding. It features a minimalist editor with …

AkelPad

AkelPad

Free

AkelPad is a free and open source text editor for Windows. It supports syntax highlighting for over 50 languages and …

An alternative text browser is a web browser that is designed for simplicity and efficiency, optimized for reading and navigating …

Doom Emacs

Doom Emacs

Open Source

Doom Emacs is a lightweight and modular configuration framework for Emacs focused on enhancing productivity and ergonomics. It comes prepacked …

NoteTab is a text editor and word processor for Windows. It has features like syntax highlighting, file conversion, project management, …

Keypress Editor is a lightweight, keyboard-focused code editor designed for speed and simplicity. It has features like customizable keybindings, smart …

jdTextEdit

jdTextEdit

Open Source

jdTextEdit is a text editor for Windows that focuses on simplicity and ease of use. It has basic editing features …

4coder

4coder

Open Source

4coder is a lightweight, customizable code editor and IDE designed for efficient text editing, navigation, and extension. It supports plugins …

JetBrains Fleet is a software delivery management and optimization platform. It provides visibility, automation, and insights to help development teams …

Heraia

Heraia

Open Source

Heraia is an open-source, self-hosted project management and collaboration platform. It allows teams to plan projects, manage tasks and deadlines, …

PSPad is a lightweight text editor and source code editor for Windows. It has syntax highlighting and code folding for …

Squircle IDE

Squircle IDE

Open Source

Squircle IDE is a lightweight integrated development environment focused on providing a minimalist user interface and robust code editing features …

Kate

Kate

Open Source

Kate is a free and open-source advanced text editor for Linux, UNIX, Windows and macOS. It provides syntax highlighting, project …

Kakoune

Kakoune

Open Source

Kakoune is a modal text editor focused on interactivity and efficiency. It provides vi/vim inspired key bindings and modes along …

The vi editor (short for visual editor) is a classic, ubiquitous text editor common to Unix-like systems. It has a …

Text Edit Plus is a text and code editor for Windows with features like syntax highlighting, macros, code folding, and …

Batch Text File Editor is a software program that allows users to perform bulk editing across multiple text files at …

Lite XL

Lite XL

Open Source

Lite XL is a lightweight, customizable text editor and IDE for software developers. It is open-source, cross-platform, and has features …

TeraPad is a free text editor for Windows that supports large files up to terabytes in size. It has syntax …

BabelPad

BabelPad

Open Source

BabelPad is a free text editor for Windows. It supports many encoding formats and has features like syntax highlighting, find/replace, …

Notepad3 is a fast and light-weight text editor for Windows. It is based on the Scintilla editor component and built …

Lapce

Lapce

Free

Lapce is an open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop focused on photo editing and image manipulation. It has raster and vector …

Beaver Editor is a visual WordPress page builder plugin that allows you to build custom page layouts and designs without …

Leo Editor

Leo Editor

Open Source

Leo Editor is a free and open-source outlining and literate programming editor, useful for organizing and developing software code. It …

EdytorNC

EdytorNC

Free

EdytorNC is an open source text editor for Windows. It provides basic text editing features like syntax highlighting, autocorrect, bookmarks …

Openldev

Openldev

Free

Openldev is an open-source integrated development environment for developing and testing Landsat algorithms. It provides tools for downloading Landsat data, …

SlickEdit is a cross-platform, multi-language code editor that provides advanced coding assistance and tools for developers. It has features like …

Veonim

Veonim

Open Source

Veonim is a free and open-source text editor primarily designed for Vim and Neovim users. It provides Vim modal editing …

edile

edile

Open Source

Edile is an open-source CMS and blogging platform built with Python and Django. It is designed to be lightweight, flexible, …

Ox editor

Ox editor

Open Source

Ox is a simple and lightweight text editor that can be used as an alternative to notepad on Windows and …

Haroopad

Haroopad

Open Source

Haroopad is a markdown editor with live preview, useful for writing documentation, articles, and more. It supports various export formats …

Leafier is a content creation and marketing automation platform that helps businesses boost traffic and leads. It allows easy creation …

Editra

Editra

Open Source

Editra is a free and open source text editor for developers and programmers on multiple operating system platforms. It has …

Eclipse

Eclipse

Open Source

Eclipse is a popular open-source integrated development environment (IDE) used for developing software. It supports multiple programming languages and offers …

TextPad is a text editor for Windows. It has features for editing plain text, source code, and markup languages. It's …

Aquamacs Emacs

Aquamacs Emacs

Open Source

Aquamacs Emacs is a free open-source text editor and command-line interface for macOS based on GNU Emacs. It has an …

Leafpad

Leafpad

Open Source

Leafpad is a simple, lightweight text editor for Linux. It has basic editing features like search and replace, drag and …

Embitz

Embitz

Open Source

Embitz is an open-source platform for developing and managing embedded systems. It provides tools for writing, building, deploying and debugging …

BDV Notepad

BDV Notepad

Open Source

BDV Notepad is a simple text editor for Windows. It has basic features like syntax highlighting, find/replace, bookmarks and more. …

Mystix

Mystix

Free

Mystix is an open-source configuration management tool that allows administrators to manage the configuration of servers and other devices. It …

Vimflowy

Vimflowy

Open Source

Vimflowy is a free, open-source outlining app that works like workflowy but is designed forVim keybindings. It allows users to …

GetDiz

GetDiz

Open Source

GetDiz is an open-source personal asset manager and organization software. It helps you track personal belongings, manage inventory, organize paperwork …

EncryptPad

EncryptPad

Open Source

EncryptPad is an open-source end-to-end encrypted text editor. It allows users to securely create, store, and share text documents and …

Suplemon

Suplemon

Open Source

Suplemon is a modern open-source text editor for developers. It has an intuitive and clean interface, with features like multiple …

BinHex CryPactor is an email encryption software program developed in the early 1990s for Mac OS. It uses public key …

GNOME Builder is an integrated development environment (IDE) for creating applications on the GNOME platform and for the Linux environment. …

Eddie

Eddie

Open Source

Eddie is an open-source network monitoring tool that monitors networks for problems like broken links, latency issues, and bandwidth issues. …

Lines code editor

Lines code editor

Open Source

Lines is a modern, lightweight code editor with a focus on speed and usability. It has a simple yet powerful …

More Similar Software

GNU Emacs Overview

GNU Emacs is a powerful, customizable, open source text editor and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. This extensibility allows Emacs to provide far more than your average text editor.Beyond text editing, Emacs provides an environment for email, web browsing, debugging, file management, and more. Its intuitive keyboard shortcuts and extensibility have attracted a loyal following of programmers, writers, engineers, scientists, and others …

Pricing: Free

Quick Comparison

SoftwarePricingScore
GNU EmacsFree
Visual Studio Codefree31
Sublime TextPaid31
MacVimOpen Source30
VSCodiumOpen Source30
NeovimOpen Source30
Zed Code EditorFree29
HTMLPen.comN/A1
SpacemacsOpen Source
acmeN/A
Orwell Dev-C++Open Source

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