Vim AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Text Editors & IDEsCode Editors for Mac

There are many alternatives to Vim for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. If that doesn't work for you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Vim, but unfortunately only zero of them are Text Editors available for Mac. If you can't find an alternative you can try to remove all filters.

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Vim alternatives are mainly Code Editors but may also be Text Editors or IDEs.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Vim.
Vim iconVim
  1306
  • ...

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.

More about Vim
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Vim alternatives page was last updated Sep 5, 2024
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  1. Visual Studio Code icon
    Visual Studio Code icon

    Visual Studio Code

     1281 likes
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    Visual Studio Code is a free and extensible code editor for building web, desktop, and mobile applications, using any programming language and framework.

    210 Visual Studio Code alternatives
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 1
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 2
    +2
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Customizable
    3.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Autocompletion
    2.  IDE
    3.  Built-in terminal emulation
    4.  Syntax Highlighting
    5.  Code Completion
    6.  Multiple languages
    7.  Git Support
    8.  GitHub Integration
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Supports Python
    11.  C++
    12.  Source code debugging
    13.  Multiple Cursors
    14.  Graphical User Interface
    15.  Support for MarkDown
    16.  Auto Update
    17.  Plug-ins
    18.  Support for Node.js
    19.  Support for Javascript
    Visual Studio Code iconVim Icon

    Visual Studio Code VS Vim

    Is Visual Studio Code a good alternative to Vim?
     
    Comments about Visual Studio Code as an Alternative to Vim
     
       
    IndigoLily

    Can't be used from within terminal

    Negative comment •Sep 13, 2021
    6
    filiphanes

    Visual Studio Code is GUI only full IDE, not terminal based efficient text editor.

    Negative comment •Jul 15, 2022
    0
    Aleksandr Dikov

    VSC has very good Vi extension what helps to mix Vi experience with well-integrated Microsoft solution.

    Positive comment •Aug 10, 2018
    2
    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    Vim Icon
    Visual Studio Code icon

    • Most users think Visual Studio Code is a great Vim alternative.

    • Visual Studio Code is the most popular Web-based, Mac & Linux alternative to Vim.

    • Visual Studio Code is Free and ProprietaryVim is Free and Open Source
    • Visual Studio Code is CustomizableVim is not according to our users
  2. Neovim icon
    Neovim icon

    Neovim

     166 likes
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    Refactored version of Vim, simplifying maintenance, improving developer contributions, and enabling new user interfaces. Features extensible plugin architecture, lightweight resource usage, syntax highlighting, no registration, ad-free, and distraction-free mode.

    100 Neovim alternatives
    Neovim screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Neovim screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Configurable
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  No registration required

    Features

    1.  Lua scripting
    2.  Terminal-based
    3.  Syntax Highlighting
    4.  Asynchronous
    5.  Vim
    6.  Sane defaults
    7.  Distraction-free
    8.  Autocompletion
    9.  Code Formatting
    Neovim iconVim Icon

    Neovim VS Vim

    Is Neovim a good alternative to Vim?
     
    Comments about Neovim as an Alternative to Vim
     
       
    benni347

    A better more modern alternative to vim.

    Top positive comment •Oct 27, 2023
    0
    daviwalle

    Neovim it's like Vim, but without packages that aren't needed

    Positive comment •May 13, 2020
    -1
    Guest

    Clean, faster than Vim but based on that.

    Positive comment •Mar 9, 2020
    0
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    3 of 8 comments
    Vim Icon
    Neovim icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Neovim is a great Vim alternative.

    • Neovim is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
    • Neovim is LightweightVim is not according to our users
  4. VSCodium icon
    VSCodium icon

    VSCodium

     319 likes
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    This repository contains a build file to generate FLOSS release binaries of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code - Open Source ("Code - OSS") project, the open source core of the proprietary Visual Studio Code.

    199 VSCodium alternatives
    VSCodium screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron

    Properties

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Customizable
    3.  Privacy focused
    4.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Prevent telemetry
    2.  IDE
    3.  MIT License
    4.  Autocompletion
    5.  Git integration
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Syntax Highlighting
    8.  Minimap
    9.  Color coding
    10.  Built-in terminal emulation
    11.  Support for MarkDown
    12.  Code navigation
    VSCodium iconVim Icon

    VSCodium VS Vim

    Is VSCodium a good alternative to Vim?
     
  5. Sublime Text icon
    Sublime Text icon

    Sublime Text

     1999 likes
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    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.

    198 Sublime Text alternatives
    Sublime Text screenshot 1

    License model

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Sublime Text screenshot 1
    Sublime Text screenshot 2
    +1
    Sublime Text screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Customizable
    4.  No Tracking
    5.  Works Offline

    Features

    1.  Package Control
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  IDE
    4.  Multiple Cursors
    5.  Text editing
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Simple text editor
    8.  Tabbed interface
    9.  Plugin manager
    10.  Git integration
    11.  Support for MarkDown
    12.  Distraction-free
    13.  Git Support
    14.  Plugin API
    15.  Configuration Management
    16.  Fullscreen support
    Sublime Text iconVim Icon

    Sublime Text VS Vim

    Is Sublime Text a good alternative to Vim?
     

    • Most users think Sublime Text is a great Vim alternative.

    • Sublime Text is the most popular commercial alternative to Vim.

    • Sublime Text is Paid and ProprietaryVim is Free and Open Source
    • Sublime Text is Lightweight and CustomizableVim is not according to our users
  6. GNU Emacs icon
    GNU Emacs icon

    GNU Emacs

     377 likes
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    GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. The features of GNU Emacs include:

    175 GNU Emacs alternatives
    The GNU Emacs Manual calls Emacs the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Homebrew
    • Snapcraft
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    GNU Emacs screenshot 1
    GNU Emacs screenshot 2
    +6
    Emacs integrates with GDB to provide an IDE

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  No Tracking

    Features

    1.  Extensibility
    2.  Org-mode
    3.  Self-documenting
    4.  IDE
    5.  Terminal-based
    6.  Multi OS
    7.  Syntax Highlighting
    8.  Support for scripting
    9.  Command line interface
    10.  IDE All Languages
    11.  Editable text color schemes
    12.  Code Completion
    13.  Package Control
    14.  Spell Checking
    15.  Support for MarkDown
    GNU Emacs iconVim Icon

    GNU Emacs VS Vim

    Is GNU Emacs a good alternative to Vim?
     
    Comments about GNU Emacs as an Alternative to Vim
     
    Guest

    Maybe much better than Vi? ;)

    Positive comment •Mar 21, 2021
    0
    Vim Icon
    GNU Emacs icon

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

    • GNU Emacs is the most popular Android alternative to Vim.

    • GNU Emacs is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
    • GNU Emacs is CustomizableVim is not according to our users
  7. Kate icon
    Kate icon

    Kate

     288 likes
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    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.

    142 Kate alternatives
    Kate screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
    Kate with an ATOM color scheme using some RegEx to find and replace.

    Properties

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Native application
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Themes
    4.  Editable text color schemes
    5.  Built-in terminal emulation
    6.  IDE
    7.  Tabbed interface
    8.  Git Support
    9.  Code Formatting
    10.  Support for regular expressions
    11.  Spell Checking
    12.  Full-Text Search
    13.  Support for MarkDown
    14.  Built-in themes
    Kate iconVim Icon

    Kate VS Vim

    Is Kate a good alternative to Vim?
     
  9. Geany icon
    Geany icon

    Geany

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

    147 Geany alternatives
    Geany screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Geany screenshot 1
    Geany screenshot 2
    +5
    Geany screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Minimalistic
    4.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    5.  Ad-free

    Features

    1.  Multiplatform
    2.  IDE
    3.  Syntax Highlighting
    4.  Code navigation
    5.  Automatic Indentation
    6.  Shell integration
    7.  Debian package compatible
    8.  Support for LaTeX
    9.  Shortcut keys
    10.  Distraction-free
    11.  Autocompletion
    12.  Code Formatting
    13.  Batch Editing
    14.  Hierarchical Structure
    15.  Support for Large File
    16.  Built-in terminal emulation
    Geany iconVim Icon

    Geany VS Vim

    Is Geany a good alternative to Vim?
     
  10. Zed Editor icon
    Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     46 likes
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    Zed is a blazing fast, multi-user, productivity-focused text editor. From the creators of Atom, Electron and Tree-sitter, the editor features built-in Vim mode with tooltips for key-bindings, language-aware...

    68 Zed Editor alternatives
    Zed Editor screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Zed Editor screenshot 1
    Zed Editor screenshot 2

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Optimal performance
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Support for Themes
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  IDE
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Built-in terminal emulation
    5.  Autocompletion
    6.  Real time collaboration
    7.  Rust
    8.  Multiple Cursors
    9.  Fuzzy Finder
    10.  Refactoring
    11.  Distraction-free
    12.  Support for MarkDown
    13.  Git Support
    14.  Command palette
    Zed Editor iconVim Icon

    Zed Editor VS Vim

    Is Zed Editor a good alternative to Vim?
     
    Comments about Zed Editor as an Alternative to Vim
     
    Guest

    it's blazing fast, has Elm support, and is the only tool that's not frustrating for remote pairing.

    Positive comment •Feb 13, 2024
    0
    Vim Icon
    Zed Editor icon
    • Zed Editor is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
    • Zed Editor is LightweightVim is not according to our users
8 of 23 Vim alternatives