Emacs Prelude vs Spacemacs

Struggling to choose between Emacs Prelude and Spacemacs? 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, Spacemacs is a Development product tagged with vim, emacs, spacemacs, text-editor, keyboard-shortcuts, autocompletion, syntax-highlighting.

Its standout features include Vim-style key bindings, Evil mode for Vim emulation, Support for many languages and frameworks, Preconfigured with many plugins, Easy customization and extension, Great documentation and community support, and it shines with pros like Very customizable and extensible, Combines the power of Emacs with Vim key bindings, Out of the box configuration for many use cases, Active community and ecosystem, Well documented.

Feature	Emacs Prelude	Spacemacs
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Development	Development

Product Overview

Emacs Prelude

Description: 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.

Spacemacs

Description: Spacemacs is a popular configuration layer and distribution based on Emacs. It aims to provide an ergonomic and consistent experience by adopting vim-style key bindings and integrating extensions like auto-completion and syntax checking.

Key Features Comparison

Emacs Prelude Features

• 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.

Spacemacs Features

• Vim-style key bindings
• Evil mode for Vim emulation
• Support for many languages and frameworks
• Preconfigured with many plugins
• Easy customization and extension
• Great documentation and community support

Pros & Cons Analysis

Emacs Prelude

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.

Spacemacs

Pros

• Very customizable and extensible
• Combines the power of Emacs with Vim key bindings
• Out of the box configuration for many use cases
• Active community and ecosystem
• Well documented

Cons

• Steep learning curve for new users
• Complex configuration system can be overwhelming initially
• Performance not as fast as vanilla Emacs
• Breaking changes between versions

Pricing Comparison

Emacs Prelude

• Open Source

Spacemacs

• Open Source