Hex Fiend
Hex Fiend is a fast and clever open source hex editor for macOS. It has a simple, easy-to-use interface for viewing and editing binary files in hexadecimal or ASCII. Useful for analyzing raw data, inspecting disk images, patching software, and more.
Hex Fiend: Fast Open Source Hex Editor for macOS
Hex Fiend is a fast and clever open source hex editor for macOS. It has a simple, easy-to-use interface for viewing and editing binary files in hexadecimal or ASCII. Useful for analyzing raw data, inspecting disk images, patching software, and more.
What is Hex Fiend?
Hex Fiend is a popular and full-featured hex editor for macOS. As an open source tool, it is completely free to download and use. Hex Fiend enables users to view and edit the raw hexadecimal data of files on their system.
With its simple and intuitive interface, Hex Fiend makes inspecting and modifying binary files quick and easy. It has versatile find-and-replace options as well powerful tools for analyzing data. Users can easily navigate between hexadecimal and ASCII views. The software also calculates checksums for data verification.
Key features and uses of Hex Fiend include:
- Viewing and editing disk images like DMG files
- Analyzing and editing executables, libraries, and application resources
- Inspecting raw data from devices or file formats
- Patching/modifying software by hex editing binaries
- Validating files by checking checksums
- Parsing through unknown file types
With its light footprint and responsiveness, Hex Fiend is a valuable addition to any developer or IT specialist's toolkit for examining raw binary files on macOS systems.
Hex Fiend Features
Features
- Hexadecimal and ASCII viewing modes
- Fast searching and replacing
- Checksum generation
- File comparison
- Data inspector
- Syntax highlighting
Pricing
- Free
- Open Source
Pros
Lightweight and fast
Clean and intuitive interface
Powerful search and replace
Free and open source
Cons
Limited to macOS
No collaboration features
Less features than some paid hex editors
Official Links
Reviews & Ratings
Login to Review4.1
★
★
★
★
★
26 reviews
Rating Breakdown
Ease of Use
★
★
★
★
★
4.0
Features
★
★
★
★
★
4.0
Value for Money
★
★
★
★
★
4.8
Customer Support
★
★
★
★
★
3.2
Overall Experience
★
★
★
★
★
4.2
Recent Reviews
Lisa Miller
Apr 13, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Essential Tool for Tinkering on macOS
Hex Fiend has been my go-to hex editor for years because it's incredibly fast, even with massive files, and it just works. The clean interface makes it easy to jump between hex and ASCII views, which is perfect for reverse …
M
Michael Taylor
Apr 10, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Powerful but quirky, a solid free option
Hex Fiend is impressively fast and handles huge files without breaking a sweat, which is fantastic for my work with disk images. However, the interface feels a bit dated and some basic features, like search and replace, can be clunky …
D
Dakota Thomas
Apr 09, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Powerful but a bit dated - great for free, but lacks polish
Hex Fiend is incredibly fast and handles huge files without breaking a sweat, which is perfect for my work with disk images. However, the interface feels very dated and clunky compared to modern hex editors, lacking some quality-of-life features like …
D
Dakota Johnson
Apr 09, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Fast, Powerful, and Surprisingly Intuitive
Hex Fiend makes hex editing feel effortless. I use it regularly for inspecting binary files and the speed is impressive, even with large files. Its clean interface and straightforward tools like the data inspector make complex tasks simple.
Oliver Davis
Apr 09, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Indispensable tool for macOS developers
Hex Fiend has become my go-to hex editor for everyday tasks like poking around in app bundles and examining disk images. It's incredibly fast, even with large files, and the clean, no-nonsense interface gets out of the way so I …
Rating Distribution
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