Best Text Editors in 2026
Updated
82 text editors ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
82ranked
4free plans on this page
$4.08/molowest paid tier
5 Oct 2026last checked
Text Editors, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 1 of the 25 on this page have a public API.
- 26 CotEditor API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.3
- 27 CudaText API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.3
- 28 Textadept API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.3Free
- 29 Visual Regression Tracker API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.3
- 30 gedit API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.2
- 31 CKEditor 4 API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.2
- 32 TextMate API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.2
- 33 Mousepad API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.1
- 34 Fulgur API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.0
- 35 Textastic API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.0
- 36 EditPad Pro API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.0
- 37 Pulsar API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.9
- 38 Nova API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.9$4.08/mo
- 39 PSPad API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.9
- 40 010 Editor API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.9$24.95/mo
- 41 FocusWriter API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 42 Altova XMLSpy API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.8
- 43 Lite XL API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.8
- 44 MacVim API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.7
- 45 XML Marker API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.7$50/mo
- 46 Nextpad++ API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.7
- 47 WriteMonkey API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
- 48 EditPad Lite API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.7
- 49 GNU GLOBAL API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
- 50 Kakoune API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.6
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Multi-cursor editing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | CotEditor | 6.3 | No | — | Yes | — | macOS | Yes |
| 27 | CudaText | 6.3 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes |
| 28 | Textadept | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD | Yes |
| 29 | Visual Regression Tracker | 6.3 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | gedit | 6.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows | — |
| 31 | CKEditor 4 | 6.2 | No | — | Yes | — | web | — |
| 32 | TextMate | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | macos | Yes |
| 33 | Mousepad | 6.1 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
| 34 | Fulgur | 6.0 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes |
| 35 | Textastic | 6.0 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 36 | EditPad Pro | 6.0 | No | — | No | — | Windows | — |
| 37 | Pulsar | 5.9 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Nova | 5.9 | No | $4.08/mo | No | — | macOS | Yes |
| 39 | PSPad | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows | — |
| 40 | 010 Editor | 5.9 | No | $24.95/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 41 | FocusWriter | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Altova XMLSpy | 5.8 | No | — | No | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | — |
| 43 | Lite XL | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes |
| 44 | MacVim | 5.7 | No | — | — | — | macOS | — |
| 45 | XML Marker | 5.7 | No | $50/mo | No | — | windows | — |
| 46 | Nextpad++ | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | macOS, Linux | — |
| 47 | WriteMonkey | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 48 | EditPad Lite | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows | — |
| 49 | GNU GLOBAL | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 50 | Kakoune | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux, macOS | Yes |