15 Best FREE Code Editor & Coding Software In 2024 [UPDATED]

List and comparison of the Most Popular Online Free Code Editors for Windows and Mac Users to Improve Your Coding Speed:

What is a Code Editor?

Code editors or source code editors are software that is designed specifically to help developers with coding. These are text editors with additional functionalities to manage and edit code. It can be standalone or it can be a part of an IDE.

Using the best code editor can improve the speed of coding.

Code editors are programming language-specific. Some editors support one or two programming languages whereas some support multiple programming languages. It can give suggestions and highlights based on language support.

Structure editor is a type of coding editor or we can say that it is the functionality that is included in the editors. Structure editing is used for manipulating the structure of a code based on the syntax tree. The syntax tree is nothing but the structure of the code which is written in a programming language.

The code editors don’t compile the code. It just allows you to write and edit the source code.

Functions:

When developers write code using these editors, it takes care of syntax.

Code editors immediately warn of any syntax errors. Developers don’t have to worry about syntax. Auto indentation & auto-completion saves a lot of time. Some editors, like sublime text and visual studio code, have an integrated terminal.

Core Features:

Enlisted below are the various Features of these Editors:

• Syntax highlighting
• Auto indentation
• Auto-completion
• Brace matching

How are Code Editors Different from IDE and Text Editors?

Code editors have more functionalities than plain text editors. Plain text editors don’t offer features like syntax highlighting and auto indentations. Also, the code editors are not IDE.

IDE includes debugging functionalities, code generators, and many other complex functionalities to help the developers, whereas code editors help developers in coding. According to programming languages, it highlights keywords and syntax errors.

Pros and Cons of Using These Editors:

The code editors are helpful if you are writing the code from scratch. But if you have to edit the existing code which is written by someone else then IDE is the best option. IDE is helpful in understanding the code written by others as code editors cannot compile or debug the code.

Some features of these editors are better than IDE like theme selection and searches, which are important while writing the code. Meanwhile, instead of editing a few lines and constantly debugging with code editors, you can concentrate more on coding.

Another reason for using these editors instead of IDE is that IDE uses more resources like CPU, memory, and disk space. The coding editors don’t use many resources, hence they are fast.

Points to consider while selecting the best editor for your project:

• Supported languages
• Supported operating systems or platforms.
• Features
• Price

Review of the Best Code Editor Software

Comparison of the best Coding Software

Here is the list of the best code editors for programmers. The list includes online editors for Windows and Mac users.

#1) UltraEdit

UltraEdit is an excellent choice as your main text editor due to its performance, flexibility, and security. UltraEdit also comes with an all-access package that gives you access to a number of useful tools such as a file finder, an integrated FTP client, and a Git integration solution, among others.

The main text editor is a very powerful text editor that can handle large files with a breeze. The paid version entitles you to a free upgrade for all future versions, as well as the regular UltraEdit text editor.

Best Features:

• Load and handle large files with unsurpassed power, performance, startup, & file load.
• Customize, configure, and re-skin your entire application with beautiful themes – works for the whole application, not just the editor!
• Supports complete OS integrations such as command lines and shell extensions.

Pros:

• Find, compare, replace, and find inside files at blazing speed.
• Quickly spot visual differences between your codes with a fully integrated file compare.
• Access your servers and open files directly from the Native FTP / SFTP browser or SSH/telnet console in UltraEdit.
• Built-in hex edit mode and column editing mode give you more flexibility in editing your file data.
• Quickly parse and reformat XML and JSON using built-in managers.

Cons:

• Not open source

Tool Cost/Plan Details: $79.95 /yr

#2) Atom

Atom, text, and source code editor is developed by GitHub. It is an open-source tool and the user can use it as an IDE.

Features:

• It has a built-in package manager.
• It provides smart options for auto-completion.
• You can open the tool in multiple panes for comparison.
• It supports cross-platform editing.
• It provides more features for finding & replacing text, and for searching files.

Pros:

• Easy to use.
• It provides some special developer tools.
• Easy to customize UI.

Cons:

• For writing packages, you will need a Coffee Script.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: Atom

Findings: Atom is an open-source tool. They have very good community support. You can use Atom for basic and advanced programming. It can be used as an IDE.

Recommended Reading  =>>For detailed comparison of Atom and Sublime Text

#3) Sublime Text

The sublime text editor is for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

The following is the list of supported languages:

Features:

• It can detect and highlight syntax errors.
• For the whole project, it can automatically create an index for class, method, and function.
• Provides smart options for opening files, jumping to symbols, etc.
• It allows you to edit multiple lines simultaneously.
• With the help of a JSON file, you can customize almost everything.

Cons:

• No package manager.
• The print option is not available

Pros:

• You can select and edit multiple lines.
• Easy to use for beginners.

Tool Cost /Plan Details: You have to buy the license for USD $80. A free trial is also available.

Official URL: Sublime Text

Findings: Sublime Text is the best coding editor for beginners. It is especially best for HTML and PHP. Apart from that, it supports many other programming languages as well.

Further Reading => List of the Top Rich Text Editors in the Market

#4) Notepad++

Notepad++ is a source code editor for Windows, Linux, and UNIX. It can also be used on a Mac using a third-party tool. The latest available version is 7.5.8.

Features:

• It supports Macros recording and playback.
• For ease of use, it provides many features like adding bookmarks, finding and replacing tasks, auto-completion, and syntax highlighting.
• It supports Multi-View and Tab interfaces for Multi-Documents.

Pros:

• Spell check option is provided.
• Easy to use for beginners as well.
• Good community support from GitHub.

Cons:

• Remote file editing is not available for HTTP, SSH, and WebDAV.
• If you want to use Notepad++ on Mac, then you will have to use a third-party tool.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: Notepad++

Findings: Notepad++ is a free code editor. It is used for coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. Its code highlighting functionality helps in writing the code without error.

#5) Brackets

Brackets is a text editor for web designing or web development. It is an open-source tool. Its latest release is 1.13. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.

Features:

• It is Extensible.
• It is lightweight and powerful.
• Brackets provide the feature of ‘Live Preview’, with the help of which you will be able to see the changes made to your CSS or HTML in your browser instantly.
• It provides Inline Editors.

Pros:

• Provides new features and bug fixes through regular updates.
• Easy to customize.
• You can preview the code which is going to establish the connection.

Cons:

• The auto-complete option is not available.
• Third-party plugins are not supported.
• Full-screen and split-screen options are not supported.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: Brackets

Findings: It is an open-source text editor for Mac. Brackets have good community support.

Recommended Reading => Explore the List of Top XML Editors

#6) Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is an open-source tool. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac and you can run it anywhere.

Visual Studio can be used for:

Features:

• Syntax highlighting.
• Auto-completion of variable types, function definitions, and imported modules.
• Debugging with breakpoints, call stacks, and an interactive console.
• Visual Studio Code is extensible and customizable.

Pros:

• Lightweight tool.
• It doesn’t take much space on RAM.

Cons:

• Sometimes the system runs slow on Linux.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: Visual Studio

Findings: Visual Studio Code is a lightweight application and is mainly used for ASP.Net and C#.

Suggested reading => VS Code Vs Atom: A Comparison

#7) Vim

Vim text editor provides support for hundreds of programming languages. In UNIX and Mac, it is known as vi. The latest available version is 8.1.

Features:

• Syntax highlighting.
• It supports the editing of compressed files.
• It provides support for mouse interaction.
• Spell check.

Pros:

• Recording macros.
• It supports many programming languages.
• Availability of search and replace functionality.

Cons:

• It is difficult to learn.
• It provides limited iDE features.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: Vim

Findings: Vim is a good text editor, however it has a steep learning curve.

#8) Bluefish

Bluefish is a free text editor. It can be used on many operating systems like Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Solaris. This easy-to-use system can be used for programming and website developments.

Bluefish can be used for:

Features:

• Syntax highlighting.
• Auto-completion & Code Folding.
• Code Navigation.
• Bookmarks.
• Bluefish is an extensible system.

Pros:

• It supports multiple encoding.
• It has Unicode character browser.

Cons:

• Sometimes the system gets slow.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: Bluefish

Findings: Bluefish supports many markup languages and it is well known for its high speed.

#9) TextMate

TextMate is a Mac text editor. You can use TextMate for more than 50 languages.

Features:

• Search and replace functionality within a project.
• Auto-paring for brackets.
• You can record Macros without programming.
• It provides some project management features.
• You can select a theme for syntax highlighting.

Pros:

• You can search and replace regular expressions.
• It supports switching between the files within the project in just a few keystrokes.

Cons:

• It doesn’t provide guided code completion facility.
• It doesn’t have a built-in HTML validator.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: Free

Official URL: TextMate

Findings: TextMate is one of the best free text editors for Mac. The option of Smart switching between the files helps a lot.

#10) TextWrangler

TextWrangler is a text and code editor for Mac OS. It is now known as BBEdit. It has integrated support from Mac OS X’s Spelling service.

For syntax coloring and function navigation, it supports the following languages:

Features:

• It supports the comparison of text files.
• It allows for multiple Undo.
• It supports auto indentations.
• You can split the editing windows.
• Extensive FTP & SFTP support.

Pros:

• It supports full-screen mode.
• Powerful search and replace option.
• It has rectangular text selection.

Cons:

• It is available only for Mac OS.

Tool Cost/Plan Details: $49.99

Official URL: TextWrangler

Findings: TextWrangler is the text editor for Mac. It is not free but offers good features at a small price.

Additional Editors to Consider

#11) Light Table: It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is a lightweight open source application. It provides many features like inline evaluation, watches, malleable, and plugin manager.

Official URL: Light Table

#12) Nova: Nova is a text editor for Mac OS. It provides you with a feature of opening and managing local and remote files.

It provides many features like touch bar, fast syntax highlighting, guidance in vertical indentation, plugins, and helps in syncing your sites and passwords. You can buy it for $99.

Official URL: Panic – Nova

#13) jEdit: jEdit can be used on Windows, Mac, UNIX, and VMS. For auto indentation and syntax highlighting it supports more than 200 languages. It is available for free. It has a plugin manager, for managing plugins.

Official URL: jEdit

#14) gedit: gedit is an open source text editor. It can be used on Windows and Mac. It provides many features like editing from remote locations, auto indentation, undo, file reverting, and much more.

Official URL: gedit

#15) CoffeeCup: CoffeeCup HTML editor is easy to use. You can start website designing from scratch or you can use it to edit the existing one. It will provide several features in a cost-effective way. It has two versions, one is free and you can buy another one for $49.

Official URL: CoffeeCup       

Conclusion

The Atom code editor is specially made for developers and is a good option for basic and advanced programming. Sublime text is good for HTML and PHP programming beginners. Notepad++ has good code highlighting functionalities.

Brackets is an inline text editor for web designing. With Brackets, you can view the changes instantly. Visual Studio Code is the best solution for ASP.Net and C#. Vim is a good text editor but the only problem with that is, it has a steep learning curve.

Bluefish is best known as a high-speed PHP editor. TextMate and TextWrangler are the text editors for Mac only. UltraEdit is good for handling large files.

Hope you enjoyed this informative article on Code Editors!!