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
5free plans on this page
$0.58/molowest paid tier
8 Oct 2026last checked
Text Editors, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 10 of the 25 on this page can be tried for free.
- 26 Helix
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 27 KWrite
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 28 Microsoft Editor
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 29 NovaPaid from $4.08/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 30 010 EditorPaid from $24.95/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 31 GNU nano
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 32 gedit
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 33 TextMate
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 34 Froala Editor
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 35 CKEditor 4
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 36 Fulgur
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 37 Textastic
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 38 EspressoPaid from $119/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 39 EditPlusPaid from $9/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 40 WriteMonkeyFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 41 FocusWriterFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 42 Pulsar
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 43 EditPad Pro
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 44 Altova XMLSpy
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 45 Lite XL
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 46 GNU GLOBALFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 47 PoePaid from $0.58/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 48 PSPad
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 49 firstobject XML EditorFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 50 Nextpad++
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Multi-cursor editing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Helix | 7.6 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows | Yes |
| 27 | KWrite | 7.4 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux, Windows, macOS | Yes |
| 28 | Microsoft Editor | 7.4 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 29 | Nova | 7.4 | No | $4.08/mo | No | — | macOS | Yes |
| 30 | 010 Editor | 7.4 | No | $24.95/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 31 | GNU nano | 7.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux, Windows, macOS | — |
| 32 | gedit | 7.0 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows | — |
| 33 | TextMate | 7.0 | No | — | — | — | macos | Yes |
| 34 | Froala Editor | 7.0 | No | — | No | — | web, iOS, Android | — |
| 35 | CKEditor 4 | 6.9 | No | — | Yes | — | web | — |
| 36 | Fulgur | 6.9 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes |
| 37 | Textastic | 6.9 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 38 | Espresso | 6.9 | No | $119/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 39 | EditPlus | 6.9 | No | $9/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 40 | WriteMonkey | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 41 | FocusWriter | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Pulsar | 6.7 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | EditPad Pro | 6.7 | No | — | No | — | Windows | — |
| 44 | Altova XMLSpy | 6.7 | No | — | No | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | — |
| 45 | Lite XL | 6.7 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes |
| 46 | GNU GLOBAL | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 47 | Poe | 6.7 | Free plan | $0.58/mo | Yes | $6.99/yr | — | — |
| 48 | PSPad | 6.6 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows | — |
| 49 | firstobject XML Editor | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Windows | — |
| 50 | Nextpad++ | 6.5 | No | — | Yes | — | macOS, Linux | — |