Home Mac 11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users – Code Editing. Redefined

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users – Code Editing. Redefined

Are you looking for the best code editors for Mac? If yes, you have stumbled upon the right webpage. This article will share a list of the best code editors for Mac devices.

Whether you are an amateur coder trying to build your skills or a professional with years of experience, the need for Code Editor is always there. Code Editor is an app that lets you write code without any formatting errors or loss in the source.

We have a ton of Code Editors for Mac and in this segment, let us check out some of the best Code Editors for Mac,

So, without any further ado, let’s get started –

Best Code Editors For Mac – Our Top Pick👌👌

Whether an absolute beginner or an advanced programmer, the right code editor can help you make it simple and easy to code without worrying about formatting issues.

However, the right code editor shouldn’t just be simple and easy to use and functional and support integration to enhance functionalities.

While preparing this code editor mac list, we kept all this in mind so that we could help you make the right choice for you. Here, we have the best code editors for Mac –

1. Visual Studio Code

The very first on our list we have Visual Studio Code, aka VS Code. It is a code editor developed by Microsoft but not as a commercial product. It is a free-to-use tool that easily supports almost all major programming languages.

VS Code is available for all major platforms, including Mac, Windows, and Linux. It further offers ARM-compatible installers that can be used to install it on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, and SUSE Linux distributions.

This means that even if you shift from Mac to any other OS in the future, you don’t have to worry about shifting to a new editor, as shifting to a new code editor can be a big concern for many people, especially intermediate programmers.

One of the best things about VS Code is its customizability. It is highly customizable and supports a wide range of extensions and integrations. You can use these extensions to connect to different services, change the UI and theme, add new languages and debuggers, and more.

Similar to other code editors, VS Code also boasts syntax highlighting, but it takes it to the next level with the help of IntelliSense. IntelliSense helps you with auto code completion, smart code hinting, parameter info, and more that can help save you typing.

Best Code Editors For Mac

It also has built-in Git commands that make it easy to work with version control systems as it lets you easily stage files, make commits, review diffs, and more directly from the editor.

You can even pull or push source codes and changes from any source code management service.

The user interface is simple and easy. You may need to spend a couple of days getting your hands on it, but once you learn the shortcuts and functions of VS Code, you will start loving it.

It is also lightweight, and since it is free, there is no reason not to try it.

Learn Visual Studio Code in 7min (Official Beginner Tutorial)

2. Sublime Text – Best code editors for mac with a slick user interface

Next, we have Sublime Text on our list. Many people view Sublime Text as a direct competitor to VS Code, but in my opinion, there is a big difference between Sublime Text and VS Code, which is the cost of using the software. While VS Code is a free code editor, Sublime Text is a paid product.

Sublime Text is priced at $99 for a personal license that provides you three years of regular updates of the product and services. After three years, you will need to pay a small amount to upgrade your membership to receive regular updates.

To be frank, $99 is not too much for a code editor like Sublime Text, but if you are beginning your programming journey, I won’t recommend spending your money on it. That said, let’s talk about the features of this code editor.

Starting with the UI, Sublime Text supports both the Light and the Dark UI. The latest version of Sublime Text also boasts some refreshed UI elements that make it look quite soothing.

The UI now supports auto-dark mode switching and inactive pane dimming functionalities.

Best Code Editors For Mac 1

Besides that, Sublime Text comes with a super powerful syntax highlighting engine. I was already a fan of the engine, but in the latest release, they have significantly improved it.

For example, now it supports features like multi-line constructs, handling non-deterministic grammars, syntax inheritance, and more.

Along with that, the autocomplete engine has also been improved significantly. Now it supports auto-completion based on existing codes written in your project. The suggestions offered by Sublime Text are also augmented, and the code folding works like a charm.

Another good thing about Sublime Text is that it is highly customizable. Using the integrated Package Manager, you can easily find, install, upgrade, or remove any plugin.

Since Sublime Text is one of the oldest code editors, it gets the upper hand in plugins, as it has the broadest collection of third-party plugins.

Sublime Text lets users find and download packages from various SCM, including GitHub, BitBucket, PackageControl, and more. PackageControl is Sublime Text’s repository where you can find loads of plugins designed by the development team of Sublime and other Sublime Text users.

The latest released version of Sublime Text also supports GPU rendering, allowing you to get the fluid UI to up to 8K resolutions while demanding less power.

It has also extended its support to Apple’s Silicon Processors, and ARM64 builds for devices like Raspberry Pi.

How To Run Code In Sublime Text

3. Atom – Open Source The Best code editors for mac

Atom is an open-source, cross-platform code editor that you can use on your Mac. It was originally introduced in 2011 by GitHub and was one of the most popular code editors in 2016-17. Being a GitHub-owned code editor, it integrates many GitHub features by default.

One of the best things about Atom is that it is highly customizable, which is why many people call it a hackable text editor. It lets you customize everything, from appearance and colors to key combinations, shortcuts, and more, to give it a personalized feel.

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

Atom also boasts a teletyping feature that lets you invite others to work on your codebase in real-time. This reduces the effort and time taken to complete a project while improving collaboration in a team environment. You can achieve similar functionalities in VS Code, but you will have to install a plugin.

Since it is a GitHub-owned code editor, it integrates with GitHub repository integration. The tree view comes with color indicators to point out uncommitted files. Another benefit of having Git actions integrated is that it offers a very smooth version control experience.

Atom further supports a wide range of languages, allowing it to offer a smart autocomplete feature. The autocomplete function is powerful and helps you write your codes faster and more efficiently.

It also boasts a fuzzy finder that lets you easily find, preview, and replace texts on the file or the project you are working on.

It also boasts a built-in package manager that allows you to easily install, remove, or upgrade any package. The file system browser of Atom lets you search and open any file, the whole project or multiple projects, in a single window, similar to a web browser.

In the 2021 release, Atom introduced a multiple panes function that lets you split the Atom interface into several panes that can help you compare or edit codes across multiple files. Overall, it is an amazing feature-rich code editor that you can have on your Mac device.

However, Microsoft (since Microsoft now owns GitHub) has recently announced the sunsetting of Atom. According to the official statement, they have said that Atom hasn’t received any significant improvement in the last few years, and therefore, they are discontinuing its development.

It will be discontinued in December 2022, and no new versions or security updates will be released. The tool will likely be available for download.

However, considering that it is open-source software, there are chances that someone might pick it up and continue its development.

10 Essential Atom Editor Packages & Setup

4. WebStorm – Best code editor for mac m1

Unlike other code editors in this list, WebStorm is not just a code editor, instead is a fully-fledged IDE for JavaScript. Being an IDE, WebStorm helps make the development process much easier and more enjoyable, automates routine tasks, and helps you easily manage complex tasks.

It uses advanced next-generation technologies to make the programming process faster and easier. One of the best benefits of having an IDE is that it not only lets you write or debug codes but also lets you run and test them.

IDE also offers some out-of-the-box features that you may never see on any code editor.

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

WebStorm boasts advanced code assistance that features functionalities beyond just code completion. For example, apart from code completion like Sublime Text and VS Code, it also lets you generate code using the pre-built templates by WebStorm to remove the tedious and boring, routine programming tasks.

WebStorm also has advanced built-in developer tools such as linters, terminals, build tools, HTTP clients, and more that can help you test and debug client-side applications. These tools also help you with version control systems and other things.

Similar to Atom, it gives you in-built functionalities to invite teammates. It can be used to work together on big projects while also allowing you to share your project configuration, code styles, settings, and more. It also supports Git and GitHub.

WebStorm is also highly customizable, allowing you to modify everything single thing in the UI. In addition, it has a massive library of predesigned themes and plugins that can be used to change the feel and enhance the functionality of the IDE.

Being an IDE, WebStorm is also very efficient with refactoring and testing codes written in JavaScript and JavaScript-based languages such as TypeScript.

Refactoring makes the code efficient, while testing helps you fix bugs. While you can see these functionalities in other code editors, you will not find them as furnished and tailored as it is on WebStorm.

However, WebStorm isn’t flawless. It has some drawbacks, and the biggest one is that it mainly focuses on web development and, therefore, only supports languages that are JavaScript based. This means that you cannot use WebStorm for Java, Python, or other programming languages that are not JavaScript-based.

Another thing to note here is that it is a proprietary tool, meaning you have to pay for its license. The license will cost you $12.90 monthly or $129 a year.

This may not be a big deal for someone who is continuously into web development, but if you are just starting your programming journey, we recommend starting with any free code editor such as VS Code or Atom.

5. Neovim – Best free ide for mac

Next, we have Neovim on our list. It is an open-source code editor based on Vim. However, one major difference between Vim and Neovim is that Neovim is quite easy to use compared to Vim while having all of the core functionalities of Vim.

Even though you can use Vim, which will offer you much better performance than Neovim, Vim is a bit difficult to get your hands on.

It doesn’t boast any GUI; therefore, you will use the command line for everything in Vim. This makes Vim quite difficult for beginners, especially for people shifting from VS Code or Sublime Text kind of GUI-based code editors.

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

However, that is not the case with Neovim. Neovim boasts a powerful GUI architecture, allowing you to easily use Vim functionalities without getting into the technicality of the terminal user interface. It also makes it easier to maintain code and brings more stability.

But it has features that will make you fall in love, and the open-source nature of the software leaves no reason not to try it. One main reason why I highly recommend Neovim is because of its cross-platform compatibility.

Neovim is available for all major OS, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you shift from Mac to Windows or Linux in the future, you don’t have to worry about the code editor. Also, cross-platform compatibility lets you experiment and test your apps and configs on different platforms.

Another good thing about Neovim is that it is highly customizable. From modifying the low-level commands to the UI of the editor, you can configure many things that will change the complete look and feel of the editor. You can create scripts to automate different tasks for you.

Besides that, Neovim supports almost all major languages and file types, making it a perfect choice for full-stack developers and people working with multiple languages.

It also supports the integration of third-party tools that can help you make the development and deployment process much faster and easier.

You may like to read our guide on the 17 Best Pastebin Alternatives To Store Any Type of Text.

6. Komodo Edit

Next, we have Komodo Edit on our list. Komodo Edit is an open-source text editor that can be used to write both programs and plain texts. Komodo also offers a very powerful IDE named Komodo IDE, which is far more powerful than Komodo Edit.

While Komodo IDE offers awesome tools such as easy version controlling, key bindings, code intelligence, a graphical debugger, and many other workflow and file management tools, it is a commercial product.

Hence, you have to opt for its license, which is a bit costly but worth the price, especially when compared with WebStorm.

One reason is that Komodo IDE supports over 100 languages and its compelling features. However, here, let’s focus on Komodo Edit only.

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

So, Komodo Edit boasts a modern GUI that looks simple and attractive while offering some of the most powerful features. However, if you don’t like the latest updated UI, you can either roll back to the older one or customize it the way you want. 

Komodo Edit lets you open multiple files simultaneously in parallel mode, allowing you to compare the content and easily make changes. It also supports various programming languages such as Python, Java, C++, Perl, HTML, Ruby, Node JS, and more.

It is a great tool for website designers and developers because it supports various JavaScript libraries such as CoffeeScript, Go, jQuery, AngularJS, and more. There is also a massive collection of templates that you can use to kickstart your new project. 

The automatic indentation and code completion function works great and saves time. When you select your language, it also helps you check the syntax to help you understand if you have made any mistakes.

Besides that, if you want to enhance functionality, you can install add-ons from its add-on library. Komodo Edit is a cross-platform code editor for all major OS, including macOS, Windows, and Linux.

So, you don’t have to worry about future shifts from Mac to Windows or Linux.

7. TextMate – Best code editors for mac feature declarative customizations

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

TextMate is a Mac-based coding editor that is particularly useful for coding in bulk. The Syntax highlighting feature works flawlessly, and the autocomplete will add missing syntax when needed.

TextMate is a formidable choice, especially if you want to minimize errors and manage your code much better.

8. Textastic

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

Texttastic is one of the slightly advanced Mac-based code editors. It offers extremely useful features like Auto Completion and is deeply integrated with iCloud. Another useful bit is that Textastic lets you sync the code across different Mac devices.

For instance, you can continue coding on your iMac in the office right from the spot where you left it on your MacBook. The UI is also pretty intuitive, and the code editor is fast without lags.

9. BBEdit – mac only code editor

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

BBEdit is yet another useful code editor that improvises on Sublime Text. The BBEdit offers a comprehensive set of HTML coding options that allow you to manipulate web pages within the app.

Uploading to the server is also responsible for the FTP and SFTP support. So if you are into HTML coding, BBEdit is one of the best options.

10. Brackets

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

Brackets is powered by Adobe and aims to serve the coders who write a lot of code. The app takes care of Syntax errors and missing Syntax.

The best part is that it comes with a Live HTML Development feature that shows the output of the code in real time. And rest assured that Adobe will take care of timely updates and fixes for the Brackets code editor app.

11. Netbeans

11 Best Code Editors For Mac Users - Code Editing. Redefined

Netbeans development environment is a Java-based IDE that allows you to build applications. This application falls into the category of HTML editors and works in line with other web editors.

This app is specifically useful if you write code Java and web pages. As a side note, I would like to mention that this app is also useful for folks who are working in larger development environments.

📗FAQ on the best code editors for mac list

What Is The Best Coding Platform For Mac?

If you want to code on your MacBook or iMac, you can use coding platforms like Sublime Text, VSCode, Atom, Vim, and WebStorm.

You will find other code Editors for Mac, but we recommend you go for those mentioned in this list. The coding platforms we mentioned are lightweight, and you will find support for various languages. 

What Is The Best Free Code Editor?

There are both free and paid code Editors for Mac. If you are looking for the best free code editor, you can go for Visual Studio Code.

There are other free code Editors that you can use, like Notepad++, and code editors that you can use, like Notepad++, Vim, Bracks, etc.  

Does Mac Come With A Text Editor?

Yes, every operating system comes with a text editor, and so does Mac. On macOS, you will get TextEdit, the default Text Editor for Mac devices.

You can create files in RTF (Rich Text Format) or TXT (Plain Text Format). However, you can switch to any other text editor if you want.  

Which Code Editor Is Most Used?

The coder popularly uses VSCode. It is an open-source code/text editor that people worldwide use.

This text editor supports various languages, and there are multiple extensions that you will find helpful while coding. There are other text editors as well, but many users prefer VSCode. 

What Is the Alternative For Notepad++ in Mac?

Notepad++ is a lightweight code editor. However, if you are looking for an alternative to this software, you can go for Atom, Vim, Geany, or Gedit.

There are other alternatives as well that you can go for on Mac based on your requirement. 

Which IDE Is Best For Mac M1/M2? 

If you are looking for IDE for Mac M1/M2, then you can try using Xcode, PhpStrom, CLion, Espresso, Brackets, AppCode, Ninja-IDE, etc. 

Closing Comments on best code editors for mac

There you have it – a list of the six best code editors for Mac.

The internet is flooded with code editors for Mac, but most of them are worth spending your time on. Some code editors could have made their way to this list, such as TextMate, GNU Emacs, and Coda, but they have some limitations in functionality, so we decided not to include them on this list.

While picking code editors for this list, we kept a few things in mind, such as the user experience, ease of learning, extensibility, and speed, so we can help you pick the best one.

With that said, here I am wrapping up this article. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot them in the comment section below. Our team will try to respond ASAP.