GNU Emacs AlternativesOnly apps from the EU

The best alternative to GNU Emacs is Notepad++, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to GNU Emacs and many of them are so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting alternatives to GNU Emacs are Vim, Geany, Kate and PSPad.

GNU Emacs iconGNU Emacs
  379
  • ...

GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of...

More about GNU Emacs
More about GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs alternatives page was last updated Aug 13, 2024
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
  1. Notepad++ icon

    Notepad++

     4875 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Notepad++ is a free, open-source code editor supporting several languages, offering features like syntax highlighting, plugin support, dark mode, portability, privacy, and efficient resource usage, making it highly customizable and suitable for various programming needs.

    228 Notepad++ alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad++ screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Code Formatting
    2.  Portable
    3.  Tabbed interface
    4.  Search and Replace
    5.  Text formatting
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Multiple Open Tabs
    8.  Multiple languages
    9.  Color coding
    10.  Support for Javascript
    11.  Built-in themes
    12.  Auto-saving

    Notepad++ VS GNU Emacs

     
    Comments about Notepad++ as an Alternative to GNU Emacs
    Guest
    Positive May 12, 2017
    0

    Many possibilities for all languages and the plugins are great.

    GNU Emacs Icon
    Notepad++ icon

    • Most users think Notepad++ is a great GNU Emacs alternative.

    • Notepad++ is the most popular Open Source alternative to GNU Emacs.

    • Notepad++ is Free and Open SourceGNU Emacs is also Free and Open Source
    • Notepad++ is LightweightGNU Emacs is not according to our users
  2. Vim icon

    Vim

     1319 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Vim ("Vi IMproved") is an advanced text editor that allows syntax highlighting, word completion and has a huge amount of contributed content. It also has a GUI version called GVim.

    206 Vim alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Vim screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Keyboard focused
    3.  Customizable
    4.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Hackable
    4.  Well documented
    5.  Modal editor
    6.  Command line interface
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Support for MarkDown
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Portable
    11.  Batch Editing
    12.  Terminal-based

    Vim VS GNU Emacs

     
    Comments about Vim as an Alternative to GNU Emacs
    Most Recent Comment
    TheBlueRuby
    Positive Aug 27, 2023
    1

    More lightweight, preinstalled on most Linux distros and follows the Unix philosophy

    Guest
    Negative Jul 27, 2021
    1

    Vim is nowhere near as extensible as Emacs. Vim is designed to do 1 thing and do 1 thing well. In comparison, Emacs is supposed to do everything.

    ThomasSankara
    Positive Nov 29, 2023
    -1

    Vim is the best overall alternative to emacs in my opinion because they share a lightweight and keyboard-focused development experience. However, it is not nearly as extensible as VSCodium, for example.

    GNU Emacs Icon
    Vim icon

    • Most users think Vim is a great GNU Emacs alternative.

    • Vim is Free and Open SourceGNU Emacs is also Free and Open Source
    • Vim is Lightweight and CustomizableGNU Emacs is not according to our users
  4. Geany icon

    Geany

     568 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Geany is a powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.

    145 Geany alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    Geany screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Minimalistic
    4.  Customizable
    5.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Multiplatform
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Code navigation
    4.  Automatic Indentation
    5.  Shell integration
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Ad-free
    8. LaTeX icon  Support for LaTeX
    9.  Hierarchical Structure
    10.  Live Preview
    11.  Debian package compatible
    12.  Shortcut keys

    Geany VS GNU Emacs

     
  5. Kate icon

    Kate

     296 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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.

    137 Kate alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Native application
    2.  Themes
    3.  Syntax Highlighting
    4.  Built-in terminal emulation
    5.  Editable text color schemes
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Tabbed interface
    8.  Code Formatting
    9. Git icon  Git Support
    10.  Support for MarkDown
    11.  Spell Checking
    12.  Full-Text Search

    Kate VS GNU Emacs

     
  6. PSPad icon

    PSPad

     203 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    PSPad is a freeware programmers editor in 8 languages for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Some features are highlighted syntax, ftp, projects and so on. Code explorer for Pascal, C/C++, INI, HTML, XML, PHP and more in development, internal web browser with APACHE support.

    165 PSPad alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CZ flagCzechia
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main Window - Project Settings

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Support for scripting
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Portable
    6.  WYSIWYG Support
    7.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    8.  Code Formatting
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Hex Editor
    12.  ASCII to Hex

    PSPad VS GNU Emacs

     
  7. JetBrains Fleet icon

    JetBrains Fleet

     12 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Built from scratch, based on 20 years of experience developing IDEs. Fleet uses the IntelliJ code-processing engine, with a distributed IDE architecture and a reimagined UI.

    190 JetBrains Fleet alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CZ flagCzechia
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    JetBrains Fleet screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Code Formatting
    4.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    5.  Autocompletion
    6.  Support for MarkDown

    JetBrains Fleet VS GNU Emacs

     
  9. RustRover icon

    RustRover

     5 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Enjoy full support when running your code inside the Rust IDE, be it for testing purposes, debugging, benchmarking, profiling, or targeting different platforms.

    License model

    • Free Personal • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CZ flagCzechia
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    RustRover screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Code Formatting
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Dark Mode
    6. Git icon  Git Support
    7.  Autocompletion
    8.  Rust

    RustRover VS GNU Emacs

     
  10. Kakoune icon

    Kakoune

     20 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Vim inspired text editor with support for multiple selections and scores of other "out of the box" features.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Cygwin
    Kakoune screenshot 1

    Kakoune Features

    1.  Autocompletion
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Modal editor
    4.  Works in a terminal
    5.  Multiple Cursors

    Kakoune VS GNU Emacs

     
  11. Spacemacs icon

    Spacemacs

     27 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Spacemacs is an beautiful Emacs distribution designed for both GNU Emacs and Vim users.

    39 Spacemacs alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Spacemacs screenshot 1

    Spacemacs Features

    1.  EMACS
    2.  Vim Key Mapping
    3. GNU Emacs icon  Emacs integration

    Spacemacs VS GNU Emacs

     
  12. MacVim icon

    MacVim

     32 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    MacVim is a port of the text editor Vim to macOS. MacVim supports multiple windows with tabbed editing and a host of other features such as:

    87 MacVim alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    MacVim screenshot 1

    MacVim Features

    1.  No registration required

    MacVim VS GNU Emacs

     
10 of 29 GNU Emacs alternatives