BBEdit Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to BBEdit for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is Visual Studio Code, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to BBEdit and loads of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to BBEdit are Sublime Text, Zed Editor, Eclipse and Kate.

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Most BBEdit alternatives are Text Editors, but you can also narrow the list to Code Editors or IDEs. Other popular filters are Linux, iPad, Mac and Windows. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.
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Alternatives
BBEdit alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Visual Studio Code icon
     1502 likes

    Free and extensible code editor with built-in Git support, smart IntelliSense, integrated debugger, 30,000+ extensions, works offline, supports markdown and syntax highlighting for numerous languages.

    241 Visual Studio Code alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Snapcraft
    • Chocolatey
    Good alternative?
     
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  2. Sublime Text icon
     2079 likes

    Powerful editor blending code, markup, and prose editing with enhanced features like multi-tab selection, side-by-side definition viewing, and multiple selection tools for swift code navigation.

    222 Sublime Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
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  3. Zed Editor icon
     152 likes

    Blazing fast code editor offering real-time multi-user collaboration, language-aware syntax highlighting, integrated terminal, multi-buffers for tab-free editing, built-in Vim mode, searchable outline, AI coding assistance, advanced keyboard commands, and cross-platform support.

    123 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
  4. Eclipse icon
     1158 likes

    Eclipse is an extensible development platform with runtimes and application frameworks for building, deploying and managing software across the entire software lifecycle. Many people know Eclipse as a Java IDE, but it is much more than that- Eclipse actually consists of over 60...

    150 Eclipse alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Good alternative?
     
  5. Kate icon
     337 likes

    The Kate project develops two main products: KatePart, the advanced editor component which is used in numerous KDE applications requiring a text editing component, and Kate, a MDI text editor application.

    167 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Good alternative?
     
  6. gedit icon
     701 likes

    Extensible text editor with UTF-8 support, syntax highlighting for several programming and markup languages, remote editing, file reverting, print preview, clipboard operations, powerful search, customizable fonts and colors, line numbering, and plugin support.

    214 gedit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
    • US flagUnited States
    The Default look under GNOME with Adwaita
    Good alternative?
     
  7. GNU nano icon
     299 likes

    GNU nano is a small and friendly text editor. Besides basic text editing, nano offers many extra features like an interactive search and replace, go to line and column number, auto-indentation, feature toggles, internationalization support, and filename tab completion.

    169 GNU nano alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Gram icon
     12 likes

    Gram is a powerful and modern source code editor. It features solid performance and is highly configurable, yet comes with batteries included out of the box. Gram supports many popular programming languages and file formats, and can use Zed extensions to support additional...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Gentoo
    • Homebrew
    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
  9. PhpStorm icon
     260 likes

    Enjoy productive PHP and web development with PhpStorm. Take advantage of deep code understanding, top-notch coding assistance, and support for all major tools and frameworks.

    43 PhpStorm alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  10. Athas icon
     20 likes

    Lightweight, open-source code editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux featuring Vim keybindings, built-in Git support, agentic AI editing with multiple models, syntax highlighting, LSP for intelligent completion, fast performance, and efficient workflows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  11. TextMate icon
     270 likes

    TextMate brings Apple's approach to operating systems into the world of text editors. By bridging UNIX underpinnings and GUI, TextMate cherry-picks the best of both worlds to the benefit of expert scripters and novice users alike.

    178 TextMate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  12. CotEditor icon
     48 likes

    Syntax Highlighting: Colorize more than 50 pre-installed major languages like HTML, PHP, Python, Ruby or Markdown. You can also create your own settings.

    180 CotEditor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
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