If you’re a Mac user who juggles coding, scripting, or managing configuration files, finding the right text editor is more than a convenience—it’s a necessity. As we move into 2024, the range of text editors available for Mac continues to grow, blending classic features with innovative functionalities. Whether you’re looking for a robust tool for high-performance coding on your MacBook or iMac or need something versatile for lighter tasks, the right tool can dramatically boost your productivity.
In this blog post, we’ll dive into the top 10 best text editors for Mac, comparing their features, usability, and how they stack up in terms of value for both amateur and professional users. From free essentials to premium powerhouses, let’s find the perfect text editor to enhance your workflow this year.
Table of Contents
What is a Mac Text Editor?
A text editor is a specialized software application designed for creating and modifying plain text files. Unlike word processors, which include various formatting capabilities, text editors focus on plain text, making them ideal for coding, scripting, and configuration tasks. These applications are equipped with features that facilitate text manipulation, including syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and search-and-replace functions.
The file extension of a text document typically indicates its content type. For instance, HTML files end with .html, while Python scripts use .py. Many text editors can recognize the content type automatically and apply the corresponding features, like syntax highlighting. However, users can manually adjust file extensions according to their needs.
Text editors are invaluable tools for many users, including programmers, web developers, writers, researchers, and students. They enable efficient and rapid creation and editing of text-based content, surpassing traditional applications like word processors in speed and simplicity.
Historically, code editors have evolved from basic text editing tools such as Notepad on Windows and TextEdit on Mac, which were not optimized for programming. Modern code editors offer a significant improvement, providing an array of tools specifically designed to save time and enhance productivity for developers.
Also Read: 5 Best Microsoft Word Alternatives for Mac
10 Best Text Editors for Mac in 2024 – [Free and Paid]
This list includes everything from the easy-to-use Visual Studio Code to the feature-rich Sublime Text. Check out these text editors for Mac and pick the best one for you.
| Rank | Text Editors | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sublime Text | Multiple selections, powerful API, package ecosystem, split editing, instant project switch |
| 2. | Visual Studio Code | IntelliSense (code completion), debugging, built-in Git, extensions, customizable |
| 3. | Atom | Open source, customizable with HTML/CSS/JavaScript, built-in package manager, teletype for collaboration |
| 4. | BBEdit 15 | Advanced search and replace, Git integration, syntax highlighting, scripting support, FTP/SFTP |
| 5. | Brackets | Live preview, preprocessor support, inline editors, focused visual tools for CSS |
| 6. | Nova | Native Mac app, advanced code editor, extension ecosystem, built-in terminal |
| 7. | GNU Emacs | Highly customizable, extensible with Emacs Lisp, built-in documentation, content-aware editing |
| 8. | Vim | Efficient text editing, extensive plugin system, powerful search and replace, keyboard-centric |
| 9. | TextMate | Bundle system, syntax highlighting for multiple languages, macros and snippets, file tabs |
| 10. | CodeEdit | A lightweight, natively-built macOS editor app, open source and free |
1. Sublime Text – Editor’s Choice
Price: Free (Personal license starts at $99 | Business license starts at $65)
Sublime Text is a popular text editor known for its speed, efficiency, and broad range of features that cater to coding and text editing. Designed to enhance productivity and streamline workflows, it offers sophisticated features that cater to developers, writers, and tech enthusiasts alike.
Whether you’re crafting code, managing large data sets, or simply jotting down notes, Sublime Text is engineered to provide a seamless experience. Its easy handling of complex tasks and lightning-fast performance make it a top choice among Mac users looking to optimize their text editing tasks. Here are some of the standout features that make Sublime Text a preferred tool for professionals around the globe.
Best Features of Sublime Text
- It allows developers to choose multiple tabs when writing or editing codes.
- Git integration for text editor components like the status bar, sidebar, diff markers, settings, and Sublime merge integration.
- Jump to definitions and context-aware code completion by scanning all the folders and files in the open workspace using an indexing engine.
- Hardware acceleration and rendering on Macs using OpenGL.
Programming Languages Supported
- Supports 40+ languages like C, C++, C#, CSS, Go, Java, JavaScript, JSON, LaTeX, Lua, Markdown, Perl, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Shell Script, SQL, XML, YAML, Erlang, HTML, Markdown, Objective-C, PHP, Python, etc.
2. Visual Studio Code
Price: Free
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a versatile and highly popular text editor developed by Microsoft. It stands out as a powerful option for Mac users, offering a rich set of features that cater to developers working in various programming environments. Here’s a deeper look into what makes Visual Studio Code a top choice for Mac users:
Note: Visual Studio is more than a text editor; it’s a full-function IDE for Mac and must not be confused with VS Code.
Best Features of VS Code
- Its cross-platform compatibility lets you work on the same project from Mac, Linux, and Windows machines.
- Its integrated terminal allows developers to run commands and scripts directly within the IDE.
- The IntelliSense feature offers smart code auto-complete based on imported modules, function definitions, and variable types.
- Install extensions from the VS Code Marketplace to write codes in 100+ languages.
Programming Languages Supported
- Built-in support for 20+ coding languages like C++, C#, CSS, Dart, Dockerfile, F#, Go, HTML, Java, JavaScript, JSON, Julia, Less, Markdown, PHP, PowerShell, Python, Ruby, Rust, SCSS, T-SQL, TypeScript, etc.
Overall, Visual Studio Code is an excellent choice for Mac users seeking a powerful, adaptable, and feature-rich text editor that bridges the gap between a traditional text editor and a full-fledged IDE. Its versatility and comprehensive toolset make it suitable for a wide range of programming and markup languages, ensuring it meets the needs of modern developers.
3. Atom Text Editor
Price: Free
Atom is a free, open-source text editor created by GitHub. It features a contemporary, intuitive interface that users can personalize with various themes and packages. Atom has a built-in package manager and file browser, supports multiple panes, and offers other handy tools. A vibrant and engaged community actively contributes to its ongoing development and the expansion of its package ecosystem.
Best Features of Atom Text Editor
- Smart autocompletion – a feature that suggests possible completions for your code as you type. This can help you write code faster and avoid typos.
- It has a built-in package manager and lets you install and update various extensions and plugins that enhance the editor’s functionality.
- It allows you to split your editor window into multiple panes, which can help you view and edit multiple files or parts of your code simultaneously.
- It supports Windows, Linux, and macOS, so you can use it on any device or operating system you prefer.
Programming Languages Supported
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Go, C, C++, Java, Swift, TypeScript, SQL, Markdown, JSON, XML, Perl, COBOL, CoffeeScript, Scala, etc.
4. BBEdit 15
Price: Free (Individual license starts at $49.99)
BBEdit is a top text and HTML editor for macOS, designed for writers, web creators, and software developers. It has many useful features for editing and organizing text, like code or written content. BBEdit gives you a 30-day trial to try out all its features. After the trial, you can use BBEdit for free forever, without any annoying pop-ups or interruptions.
Best Features of BBEdit
- Precise text manipulation and formatting tools.
- Tailor the interface and tools to suit your needs.
- Manage files, folders, disks, and servers directly within the editor.
- Includes grep pattern matching and multi-file search and replace.
- Offers syntax highlighting, code folding, FTP/SFTP support, version control integration, and scripting capabilities.
Programming Languages Supported
- ANSI C, C++, Fortran 95, HTML, Java, JavaScript, Lasso, Object Pascal, Objective-C, Perl, PHP, Python, Rez, Ruby, Setext, SQL, etc.
5. Brackets
Price: Free
Brackets is a free text editor from Adobe that is designed for web developers. It’s easy to use and includes features like Live Preview, which shows browser changes as you code. It supports CSS preprocessors like SCSS and LESS and has Inline Editors to manage CSS directly from HTML files. Brackets is customizable with plugins from its active community, making it suitable for beginners and experienced developers.
Best Features of Brackets
- Live Preview: See changes in your browser instantly as you code.
- Preprocessor Support: Works with CSS preprocessors like SCSS and LESS.
- Inline Editors: Open related CSS or JavaScript right from HTML files.
- Extensions: Access a variety of community-developed plugins and themes.
- Visual Tools: Simplify CSS editing with visual aids.
- JavaScript Debugging: Built-in debugger for troubleshooting JavaScript.
Programming Languages Supported
- C++, C, VBScript to Java, JavaScript, HTML, Python, Perl, and Ruby.
Brackets is a great choice for web developers looking for a focused and efficient coding environment. Its user-oriented design and powerful features help to smooth the development process, making it a popular choice among front-end developers.
6. Nova
Price: Paid
Nova is a comprehensive text and code editor designed specifically for Mac. It provides a streamlined editing environment, efficient workflows, code debugging capabilities, useful coding tools, various extensions, and extensive customization options.
Best Features of Nova
- Fast and Flexible Editing: Nova’s text editor is quick and adaptable, featuring multiple cursors, smart autocomplete, and matching tag pairs for efficiency.
- Editor Overscroll: This allows you to scroll beyond the last line of code, making it easier to continue working comfortably at the bottom of the document.
- Minimap View: Offers a bird’s-eye view of your entire source code, simplifying navigation and overviewing your project.
- Built-in Debugger: Supports debugging for several programming environments, including Python, PHP, Chrome, Deno, and Node.js, directly within the editor.
Programming Languages Supported
- Nova has built-in support for CSS, Diff, EJS, ERB, HTML, INI, JavaScript, JSON, JSX, Less, Lua, Markdown, Perl, PHP, Python, Regex, Ruby, Sass, SCSS, Shell Script, SQL, Tree-sitter Query, TSX, TypeScript, XML, and YAML.
- You can use the extension browser and API to include support for more languages.
Currently, Panic, the developer of Nova text editor for Mac, is offering a full-featured trial for 30 days.
7. GNU Emacs
Price: Free
GNU Emacs is a highly extensible and customizable text editor that is part of the GNU project. It’s renowned for its powerful and versatile nature, making it a favorite among programmers, writers, and researchers alike. Originally created by Richard Stallman in the 1970s, Emacs has grown into a robust ecosystem of its own, capable of functioning not just as a text editor but as a complete working environment.
Best Features of GNU Emacs
- Content-aware editing modes, including syntax coloring, for many file types.
- Complete built-in documentation, including a tutorial for new users.
- Full Unicode support for nearly all human scripts.
- Highly customizable, using Emacs Lisp code or a graphical interface.
- A wide range of functionality beyond text editing, including a project planner, mail and news reader, debugger interface, calendar, IRC client, and more.
- A packaging system for downloading and installing extensions.
Programming Languages Supported
- Built-in programming support for more than 30 languages like Lisp, Ada, CORBA, IDLWAVE, Makefiles, Object Pascal, etc.
8. Vim
Price: Free
Vim is a highly respected and widely used code editor in UNIX-based systems, including macOS, where it is often pre-installed. For those Macs that don’t come with Vim, it can be easily installed using the Homebrew package manager with the command brew install vim.
Best Features of Vim
- Versatility in Access: Vim can be used locally on any Mac or remotely via an SSH connection, offering flexibility regardless of your location or the machine you are using.
- Efficient Navigation: Vim’s robust keyboard shortcuts allow you to navigate large codebases quickly and efficiently. Commands like
GGto jump to the top of the document,Gto go to the bottom, or13Gto jump to line 13 to streamline movement within the file. - Mouse-Free Editing: Vim is designed to be used without a mouse, offering advanced keyboard inputs that allow you to type, edit, and manage code more quickly and effectively.
- Easy Vim for Documentation: A simplified version of Vim, known as Easy Vim, provides a Notepad-like interface ideal for technical writers who need straightforward text editing capabilities.
- Automation with Macros: Vim enables the automation of repetitive tasks using macros, significantly enhancing productivity by reducing the need for manual input.
Programming Languages Supported
- C, C++, Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Ruby, Perl, Lua, Shell script (Bash, Zsh, etc.)
- Built-in support for 20+ programming languages like HTML, PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, C++, and more.
- You can extend the number of programming languages supported by installing plugins.
Vim’s blend of advanced functionality and efficient editing capabilities makes it a favorite among developers and technical professionals who value speed and precision in their text editing tasks.
9. TextMate
Price: Free
TextMate is a specialized code editor that is exclusively available for Mac devices. It expertly balances a user-friendly interface with sophisticated features, making it a favorite among developers who prefer a streamlined yet powerful coding environment.
Best Features of TextMate
- Multiple Carets: This feature lets you simultaneously have several active cursors and selection ranges, enabling more efficient multi-line editing and modifications.
- Deep Project Search: Enhances your coding efficiency with capabilities like previewing replacements and exact matches, easy navigation between matches, and streamlining the search and replacement process.
- Advanced Version Control: Integrates a robust version control system, helping you manage changes and collaborate more effectively.
- Dynamic File and Code Monitoring: The built-in file browser updates in real-time to reflect file changes, while the text editor tracks and highlights line alterations in your code, ensuring you are always working with the most current data.
- Snippets: Easily create and access commonly used code snippets to streamline your workflow and reduce repetitive coding tasks.
Programming Languages Supported
- Built-in support for 40+ coding languages like JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, C++, etc.
- You can extend capabilities using extensions and plugins.
10. CodeEdit
Price: Free
CodeEdit is a new and dynamic code editor designed specifically for macOS, providing a seamless and intuitive environment for developers. It is tailored to harness the unique capabilities of macOS, delivering a native experience that feels right at home for Mac users. Whether you’re working on small scripts or large-scale projects, CodeEdit supports development in any programming language, offering speed, efficiency, and reliability.
Best Features of CodeEdit
- Mac-Optimized Design: Built from the ground up to integrate smoothly with macOS, CodeEdit leverages the system’s features and aesthetics to provide a familiar and comfortable user interface.
- Versatile Language Support: Regardless of your programming language, CodeEdit is equipped to handle it, making it a versatile tool for developers across different platforms and technologies.
- Enhanced Performance: Experience faster and more efficient coding sessions thanks to CodeEdit’s focus on performance optimization, which ensures that the software runs smoothly even during complex and demanding development tasks.
Programming Languages Supported
- Supports 30+ coding languages like CSS, C++, Haskell, HTML, JavaScript, Kotlin, etc.
Text Editor Mac: FAQs
Is IDE better than a text editor?
The decision of which is better, an IDE or a text editor is solely based on your individual requirements. The two tools serve distinct purposes; an IDE is used for testing and previewing code projects, while a text editor is just used for creating code.
Can I use Notepad++ on Mac?
Unfortunately, Notepad++ does not offer a Mac-compatible version. Nonetheless, you may use any of the text editors for Mac listed above to meet your needs.
What text editor comes with a Mac?
TextEdit is the default text editor that comes with a Mac. It is a straightforward word processor that can produce and modify basic or rich text documents with formatting and pictures.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the best text editors for Mac that can enhance your coding experience. The best choice for you will depend on your personal coding preferences. If you appreciate some assistance while coding, such as suggestions and autocompletion, Sublime Text or Visual Studio Code might be perfect for you.
On the other hand, if you’re a beginner or a more experienced coder who prefers to write every line of code manually, editors like CodeEdit, Vim, and GNU Emacs offer a more hands-on approach to programming.
What are your thoughts on the text editors I provided for Mac? Have you used any of the editors mentioned, or do you have a favorite I didn’t mention? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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