Open Source Vim Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to Vim for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Linux alternative is Neovim. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Vim and loads of them are open source and available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Linux alternatives to Vim are VSCodium, Zed Editor, GNU Emacs and Kate.

filter to find the best alternatives

Vim alternatives are mainly Text Editors, but if you're looking for Code Editors or IDEs you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows, Linux and Mac. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Vim.
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Alternatives list

  1. Neovim icon

    Neovim

     188 likes

    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.

    105 Neovim alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chocolatey
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
    Neovim screenshot 1
     
    |
    8
    Comments about Neovim as an Alternative to Vim
    Top Positive Comment
    benni347
    0

    A better more modern alternative to vim.

    daviwalle
    Positive
    -1

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

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Clean, faster than Vim but based on that.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 8 comments
    Neovim icon
    Neovim icon
    • Neovim is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
  2. VSCodium icon

    VSCodium

     407 likes

    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.

    197 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VSCodium screenshot 1
     
  4. Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     109 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.

    89 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Zed Editor screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Zed Editor as an Alternative to Vim
    Guest
    Positive
    0

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Zed Editor icon
    Zed Editor icon
    • Zed Editor is Freemium and Open SourceVim is Free and Open Source
  5. GNU Emacs icon

    GNU Emacs

     387 likes

    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:

    181 GNU Emacs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    • Homebrew
    The GNU Emacs Manual calls Emacs the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor
     
    |
    1
    Comments about GNU Emacs as an Alternative to Vim
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Maybe much better than Vi? ;)

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GNU Emacs icon
    GNU Emacs icon
    • GNU Emacs is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
    • GNU Emacs is Privacy focusedVim is not according to our users
  6. Kate icon

    Kate

     312 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.

    146 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
     
  7. Geany icon

    Geany

     576 likes

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

    153 Geany alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Haiku
    Geany screenshot 1
     
  9. gedit icon

    gedit

     695 likes

    Official text editor of the GNOME desktop environment. Has syntax highlighting and is suitable for programming, with support for several languages. It is extensible with plugins.

    192 gedit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
    • Flathub
    The Default look under GNOME with Adwaita
     
  10. GNU nano icon

    GNU nano

     290 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.

    153 GNU nano alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    GNU nano screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about GNU nano as an Alternative to Vim
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    No where near the shortcut capabilities, and also no built-in syntax highlighting!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GNU nano icon
    GNU nano icon
    • GNU nano is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
  11. Micro icon

    Micro

     83 likes

    Micro is a terminal-based text editor that aims to be easy to use and intuitive, while also taking advantage of the full capabilities of modern terminals.

    44 Micro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenBSD
    Micro screenshot 1
     
    |
    2
    Comments about Micro as an Alternative to Vim
    Jala015
    Positive
    1

    Intuitive keybindings, easy to configure, powerful out of the box and extensible via plugins.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Micro is really easy to use and intuitive.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Micro icon
    Micro icon
    • Micro is Free and Open SourceVim is also Free and Open Source
    • Micro is Privacy focusedVim is not according to our users
  12. Edit icon

    Edit

     19 likes

    Open-source command-line text editor for Windows with a modern interface inspired by MS-DOS Editor, featuring key bindings, lightweight build under 250KB, multi-file handling with ctrl + P, keyboard-optimized navigation, and direct file editing for developers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Edit screenshot 1
     
  14. Lite XL icon

    Lite XL

     53 likes

    Lite XL is a lightweight text editor written mostly in Lua — it aims to provide something practical, pretty, small and fast, implemented as simply as possible; easy to modify and extend, or to use without doing either.

    60 Lite XL alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Lite XL screenshot 1
     
12 of 92 Vim alternatives