It is always exciting for developers from all over the world whenever they get to showcase their best code editor at computer expos and tech conferences. On that note when we talk about free code editors for Windows and Mac to use in the year 2021, we cannot help but wait in anticipation for brand-new features to use right away.
In this write-up, we will talk about the best coding software for multiple platforms. However, we will lay extra emphasis on Windows OS and Mac OS because they are popular operating systems out there right now.
Code Editor is one of the main functionalities that every programming lover needs. When you start learning code one thing that you will need is a code editor. There are many code editors available all over the internet and some of them are paid and some of them are free. But today we will be covering both paid and free ones only.
Notepad++
One of the most well-known code editors that developers all over the world have been using for quite a while is Notepad++. This amazing application was developed in C++. The initial launch version was very simple. It didn’t have a lot of functions back then, but Notepad++ garnered tons of positive reviews.
Not only developers but casual users also prefer using this tool over Windows’ native notepad application.
Using the pure win32 API, the Notepad++ has an amazing execution speed, which is great for modern gen machines. Thanks to improved execution times, code compilation spans over a matter of a few seconds. This helps programmers to get things done right away.
This application is only compatible with the Windows platform at the moment. It uses a GPL license to work. If you are a Mac fan, don’t worry. We have a couple of code editors appended down the list. Just keep glossing over it.
Key Features
- Auto-completion: Word completion, Function completion
- User-defined Syntax highlighting and folding
- Multi-view and Multi-Language support
- Support syntax highlighting for languages like PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS
- Macro recording and playback
- Entirely customizable GUI
- Autosave
- Guided indentation
- Macros
- Split-screen editing and synchronized scrolling
Pricing
- Free
Kite
Kite is a Code Editor that automatically completes multiple line codes. This editor supports more than 16 languages. It helps you to code faster with no hassle.
Price: Free
Features:
- It offers documentation for various languages
- This editor provides a function signature as you type.
- You will get a tooltip on mouse hover.
- Provides support in email.
- Uses machine learning models for software development.
Atom
One of the most famous and useful code editors on this list is Atom. Used by millions of developers all over the world, it is an amazing application with a very simple UI that increases its usability.
One of the cool features of this best free code editor is that the developers can submit packages straight from the application. Atom is available for download on multiple platforms: Windows, Linux, and Mac devices. If you are a Mac OSX user, this is the perfect time for you to give this app a shot.
Key Features
- Package Manager Integrated for Plugins support
- Supports Command Palette
- The feature of smart autocompletion
- Cross-platform editing
- Built-in package manager
- File system browser
- Find and replace tool
- Smart autocompletion
- Multiple panes
- Packages and themes
Pricing
- Free
Brackets
This is a free text editor macOS 10.14 that is open source and maintained by Adobe Systems — one of the major companies in the industry. One of the outstanding features of Brackets is its beautiful interface. Its unique Extract offering lets you grab font, gradients measurements, and so on from a PSD file into a CSS that is clean and ready for use on the web.
Pros
- It comes with extension support which contains a huge and growing library
- Brackets have inline editors and previews
Cons
- It is slow
- Brackets still do not have certain elementary text editor commands
- Its updater is problematic
Visual Studio Code [VS Code]
Belonging from the Family of software developed by the tech giant Microsoft, Visual Studio Code is an excellent code editor we have on the list. The application is an amazing piece of software that offers deep built-in support for Node.js, TypeScript, and JavaScript.
One of the most effective and time-saving features of this application is its infusion with A.I.
That means that all of the code that the developer writes in the application is read by the software. As a result, it generates auto-responses for code writing. These responses are based on variable types, function definitions, and essential modules.
This application is available for download on Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX.
Key Features
- Code refactoring & debugging
- Easy working with Git and other SCM (Software Configuration Management) providers
- Easily extensible and customizable
- Visual Studio Code CLI
- Live Share
- Helpers (Intellisense, Context Menus)
- Plugins and Themes
- Debugging
- Split Views, Zen Mode
- Integrated Terminal
Pricing
- Free
NetBeans
NetBeans is an open-source code editor tool for developing with Java, PHP, C++, and other programming languages. With this editor, code analyzers, and converters. It is one of the best code editor for Windows that allows you to upgrade your applications to use new Java 8 language constructs.
Platforms: Mac Windows Linux
Price: Free
Features:
- Easy & Efficient Project Management
- This free text editor offers fast & Smart Code Editing
- Rapid User Interface Development
- Helps you to write bug-free code
Bluefish
If you are a fan of working on dozens of different software at once and not wasting time for the code editor to take its sweet time to run your code, then Bluefish is the code editor that was designed with you in mind.
It is an excellent cross-platform editor that can handle many files of code at once and run them simultaneously. One other feature that the developers love about this application is that they can edit their code from their remote working station, which can be anywhere in the world.
This application contains many different options for web developers and programmers that can help them write code, websites, and scripts for quality testing of their software.
This application is available to be used by Windows, Linux, and Mac device owners.
Key Features
- Auto-recovery of changes in modified documents after a crash, kill or shutdown
- Unlimited undo/redo functionality
- Loads hundreds of files within seconds
- Project support feature helps you to work efficiently on multiple projects
- Dialogues for many HTML tags, with all their attributes
- User-customizable toolbar for quick access to often-used functions
- Fully featured image insert dialogue
- Multi-thumbnail generation for easy creation of photo albums or screenshot pages
Pricing
- Free
TextWrangler
Developed by Bare Bones, TextWrangler is another best text editor on macOS 10.14. This tool can be regarded as a lightweight version of BBEdit, also designed by Bare Bones. It has all the features needed by hardcore developers to carry out operations in specific columns in a CSV, or in a server admin for scriptwriting.
Pros
- It offers basic text editing as well as manipulations
- TextWrangler is a free yet ideal alternative to BBEdit
- It has an inbuilt FTP or STFP browser
- It is robust and fast to start up
Cons
- It isn’t maintained any longer
Vim
Another software that is reportedly comprehensive and can be considered an IDE within itself is called: Vim. It is an extremely advanced code editor that is open-source which gives you the ability to modify the application to your liking as a developer.
With the help of Vim editors and UNIX systems embedded in the software, the application can manage all of the text-editing activities of the developers in no time at all, whether the application is used online or on the premises.
This application is available to be used by Linux Devices.
Key Features
- It is command centric which lets you perform complex text related task with few commands
- There are many plug-in available for Vim. Its functionality can be extended in a great manner using these plug-in
- Same as multiple windows, it also supports multiple buffers
- It supports recording features which allow to record and play Vim commands in a repeated manner
- Its memory footprint is exceptionally low
- It is highly configurable and uses a simple text file to store its configuration
- It supports multiple windows. Using this feature screen can be split into multiple windows
- It supports multiple tabs which allow you to work on multiple files
Pricing
- Free
Conclusion:
In addition, we will also fill you in on the most amazing code editors that you and your development team can use feature-wise. Since not all code editors are alike, some of them cannot be used for wide-scale projects.
Likewise, a basic version code editor can be used as a standalone application. If the app itself allows, it can be integrated into an Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
Back in the day, most of us wrote code using a good old Notepad++. When we were developing for Microsoft Windows. But times have changed and so has the IDE experience on a full-fledged Windows installation. Now most of us are working in a text editor. Sometimes you need more than a simple text editor, that’s when you try an IDE. In this article, I listed the best code editors from both paid and free for Mac operating system.