Emacs Prelude vs GNU Emacs

Struggling to choose between Emacs Prelude and GNU Emacs? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Emacs Prelude is a Development solution with tags like emacs, distribution, defaults, bundles, packages.

It boasts features such as Batteries included - Prelude provides a curated set of plugins that enhance the default Emacs experience., Sensible defaults - Prelude configures Emacs to have more ergonomic defaults., Improved UX - Prelude improves the overall Emacs user experience with plugins for themes, keybindings, completion etc., Easy installation - Setting up Prelude is easy with its automated installation script. and pros including Enhances productivity - Prelude comes with many productivity boosting plugins preconfigured., Saves configuration time - Provides a ready to use Emacs configuration out of the box., Improves Emacs UX - Modernizes Emacs with UI improvements, themes etc., Active development - Prelude is actively maintained and updated..

On the other hand, GNU Emacs is a Development product tagged with text-editor, emacs-lisp, extensible, open-source.

Its standout features include Text editing, Customizable and extensible, Built-in programming language (Emacs Lisp), Supports many programming languages, Cross-platform - runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Plugin ecosystem (packages), Keyboard-focused interaction, Code browsing, Version control integration, Email, IRC, news clients, and it shines with pros like Powerful and customizable, Great for programmers, Open source and free, Active community, Supports many languages, Extensible with Lisp plugins.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Emacs Prelude

Emacs Prelude

Emacs Prelude is an Emacs distribution that aims to enhance the default Emacs experience. It provides sensible defaults, out-of-the-box experience, and bundles many useful Emacs packages.

Categories:
emacs distribution defaults bundles packages

Emacs Prelude Features

  1. Batteries included - Prelude provides a curated set of plugins that enhance the default Emacs experience.
  2. Sensible defaults - Prelude configures Emacs to have more ergonomic defaults.
  3. Improved UX - Prelude improves the overall Emacs user experience with plugins for themes, keybindings, completion etc.
  4. Easy installation - Setting up Prelude is easy with its automated installation script.

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Enhances productivity - Prelude comes with many productivity boosting plugins preconfigured.

Saves configuration time - Provides a ready to use Emacs configuration out of the box.

Improves Emacs UX - Modernizes Emacs with UI improvements, themes etc.

Active development - Prelude is actively maintained and updated.

Cons

Opinionated - The curated set of packages may not appeal to all users.

Manual update - Prelude needs to be manually updated to get latest packages and features.

Steep learning curve - Emacs and Prelude both have a learning curve for new users.


GNU Emacs

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.

Categories:
text-editor emacs-lisp extensible open-source

GNU Emacs Features

  1. Text editing
  2. Customizable and extensible
  3. Built-in programming language (Emacs Lisp)
  4. Supports many programming languages
  5. Cross-platform - runs on Linux, Windows, macOS
  6. Plugin ecosystem (packages)
  7. Keyboard-focused interaction
  8. Code browsing
  9. Version control integration
  10. Email, IRC, news clients

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Powerful and customizable

Great for programmers

Open source and free

Active community

Supports many languages

Extensible with Lisp plugins

Cons

Steep learning curve

Complex interface

Not beginner friendly

Heavy resource usage

Limited WYSIWYG capabilities