Best Text Editors in 2026
Whether you edit code, structured text or large files, the right editor depends on the features and platforms your workflow calls for. Compared on column editing, multi-cursor editing, macro recording, extension support and large-file handling, these entries also show supported platforms, free-plan availability and paid-from pricing. Check which capabilities matter for your day-to-day work and whether the editor fits the systems you use. Neovim, Visual Studio Code and Zed lead the opening entries, with GNU Emacs and EmEditor next. The ranking orders the options, while the comparison details let you weigh editing flexibility, extensibility and platform fit.
55 text editors ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Neovim | 8.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows, Android | View |
| 2 | Visual Studio Code | 7.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | web, windows, macos, linux | View |
| 3 | Zed | 7.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $10/mo | Yes | $10/yr | macOS, Windows, Linux | View |
| 4 | GNU Emacs | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, BSD, Haiku, Solaris, MS-DOS/FreeDOS | View |
| 5 | EmEditor | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.42/mo | Yes | $5/yr | Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019 or later; legacy support includes Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 | View |
| 6 | Kate | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Linux, BSD, Windows, macOS | View |
| 7 |  BBEdit | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $59.99/mo | Yes | — | macOS | View |
| 8 |  Vim | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | View |
| 9 | CudaText | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | View |
| 10 | Notepad++ | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows | View |
| 11 | Lapce | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | View |
| 12 | UltraEdit | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $7.91/mo | No | $10,495/yr | Windows, macOS, Linux | View |
| 13 |  Textadept | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD | View |
| 14 |  jEdit | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, Unix/Linux, Mac OS X, VMS, OS/2 | View |
| 15 | Helix | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows | View |
| 16 |  CotEditor | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | macOS | View |
| 17 |  Textastic | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 18 |  Lite XL | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | View |
| 19 |  Geany | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | View |
| 20 |  PSPad | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows | View |
| 21 | EditPad Pro | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Windows | View |
| 22 |  PolyEdit | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows | View |
| 23 | Nova | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $4.08/mo | No | — | macOS | View |
| 24 | KWrite | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Linux, Windows, macOS | View |
| 25 |  gedit | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which text editor is ranked first on Inferse?
Neovim is ranked #1 of 55 with a score of 8.9. Visual Studio Code is second and Zed third.
How many of these have a free plan?
22 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, EmEditor has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.42/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.