Notepad++ is a widely used text editor for Windows. Its customizable graphical user interface, syntax highlighting and folding, multi-document and multi-view capabilities, as well as macro reading and playback capabilities make it one of the most versatile text editors available for Windows. Notepad++ is so popular that it has a devoted fanbase that refuses to use anything else. Having said that, Notepad++ is not compatible with macOS. So what do you use instead of Windows if you’re switching from Windows to macOS? To be sure, there are a plethora of text editors available for Mac that are comparable to, if not superior to, Notepad++. Therefore, if you’re looking for one, here are ten of the best alternatives to Notepad++ for macOS.
10 Best Notepad++ Alternatives
Notepad++ Alternatives for Mac that you can use.
1. Sublime Text 3
If you’re looking for a replacement of Notepad++ for macOS, you’ve probably heard of Sublime Text. Sublime Text is one of the most highly regarded text editors on Mac, offering a plethora of features such as syntax highlighting and folding, a high level of customization, an intuitive interface, multiple selections, and a robust API and package ecosystem. Indeed, if not for its cost, Sublime Text would have been our first alternative as a Notepad++ alternatives.
Sublime Text’s “Goto Anything” feature is my favorite. The Goto Anything feature, which can be accessed by pressing the simple keyboard combination P, enables you to jump directly to symbols, lines, or words. When combined with features such as split editing, Goto Definition, Command Palette, batch editing, and instant project switching, you’ve got one of the best and most powerful text editors available. Additionally, Sublime Text is cross-platform, supporting all three major operating systems: macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Well, The great part is that it’s completely free to use. It only serves as a gentle reminder every now and then to purchase a license. And frankly, if you’re going to work on it daily, I believe the purchase price is reasonable.
2. BBEdit 13
BBEdit is one of the most well-known and widely used text editors available. The software has been available since 1992, well before the current version of macOS. The fact that BBEdit has been around for over 25 years is sufficient to sing its praises. In addition, it’s one of the best HTML and text editors available for macOS today. Along with straightforward text editing, the app supports rich text editing and HTML.
The app itself is jam-packed with features, including built-in text manipulation tools, Hard Wrap, a comprehensive set of HTML Tools for fast, easy, and correct markup, placeholder options for simplified site maintenance, multiple file manipulation, customizable syntax coloring support for over two dozen built-in languages, and extensive file handling capabilities. Previously, the app was only available for a fee, but it is now available for free with some restrictions.
In the long run, you may need to purchase a license if you wish to use it freely. However, the purchase will make sense at that point. Until then, you can continue to use the free version. Additionally, BBEdit is now available through the Mac App Store. It’s completely free to use and has a subscription-based pricing model for pro plans. If you’re not interested in dealing with the upgrade model, this may make sense for you.
3. Brackets
Brackets is an excellent free text editor for Mac that is heavily focused on web design, making it an excellent choice for front-end developers and web designers. Although Adobe designed Brackets, it is an open-source project with an active and passionate community. Live Preview is probably the best feature of Brackets.
The Live Preview feature enables developers to see the changes they are making to their code in real-time. When you use the Live Preview feature, Brackets will open a Chrome window that will reflect any changes to your code’s CSS and HTML. It’s an excellent tool for visualizing your code.
Another fantastic feature of Brackets is Extract, which allows you to extract color, font, gradient, and measurement data from a Photoshop Document file automatically. Additionally, Inline Editors, Preprocessor Support, Quick Edit, and JSLint are included.
However, just as Atom allows for the addition of features via packages, Brackets allows for the addition of features via extensions. Beautify, Autoprefixer, Emmet, Minifier, Bracket Gits, and Brackets File Icons are some of the most popular Brackets extensions.
4. Visual Studio Code
You’d think that a product created by Apple’s arch-rival Microsoft would perform poorly on macOS, if at all. But, unexpectedly, Visual Studio Code is one of the best text editors available for Mac. It includes syntax highlighting for over 30 languages, keyboard-centric and code-focused editing, a lightning-fast source code editor, Regex support, outlining, autocomplete with IntelliSense, real-time API description, and Git control among other features.
Additionally, Visual Studio Code supports extensions that add a slew of new features. Git Lens, Angular Essentials, Sublime Text Keymap, and Debugger for Chrome are just a few of the most popular extensions. Oh, and did I mention it’s free?
5. Nova 3
Nova 3 is a new native Mac code editor from Panic, the same company that created the now-defunct Coda 2. Unlike the other cross-platform apps on this list, Nova 3 is designed specifically for macOS. The editor in the app includes all necessary features, such as smart autocomplete, multiple cursors, a Minimap, editor overscroll, tag pairs, and brackets.
In case you’re curious, Nova 3 supports the following natively: CoffeeScript, CSS, Diff, ERB, Haml, HTML, INI, JavaScript, JSON, JSX, Less, Lua, Markdown, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Sass, SCSS, Smarty, SQL, TSX, TypeScript, XML, and YAML. Additionally, you can utilize the extension browser to enhance the capabilities.
In addition, it’s worth noting that Nova allows you to create and run tasks for your projects, which was previously unavailable in Coda. Additionally, you get a handy sidebar with quick access to necessary controls, such as Git source control tools.
6. UltraEdit
While I disagree with UltraEdit’s self-proclaimed title as the world’s best text editor, it is one of the best text editors or Notepad++ Alternatives available. Here, One of the best features of UltraEdit is its support for a large number of different programming languages, including but not limited to C, Objective C, Javascript, XML, PHP, Perl, and Python.
Additionally, it includes a slew of features, such as code highlighting, folding, disk-based text editing, theming, retina display support, spell checking, drag-and-drop editing, and block mode editing.
UltraEdit can also be purchased in conjunction with other Ultra products such as UltraCompare, UltraEdit Suite, UltraFinder, and IDM All Access. Different bundles provide a range of functionality. UltraCompare, for example, enables you to view the history of all your projects and documents and to compare files from any point in time.
7. Textastic
If you’re looking for a robust yet reasonably priced text editor that’s optimized for Mac, look no further than Textastic. It’s the least expensive paid text editor on this list and is optimized for macOS. The app supports over 80 source code and markup languages, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, C, and Objective-C, with auto-completion support for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, C, and Objective-C. Additionally, the app is extremely fast due to its use of native macOS APIs such as Core Text.
One of the best features of this app is that it supports iCloud sync, which ensures that your work is automatically synced across devices. Apart from the Mac version, Texastic also has an iOS app for iPhones and iPads. However, the primary advantage of Textastic is that it offers the majority of the features found in premium text editors at a fraction of the cost.
8. Atom
Atom is the only true replacement for Notepad++ on macOS, in my opinion. To begin, Atom is open-source software that is completely free to use. Second, it is contemporary and approachable yet fundamentally hackable. Finally, Atom is an extremely powerful text editor, which is unsurprising considering it was developed by the GitHub team.
The best part about Atom is how customizable it is. You can install different themes to customize its appearance and feel, tweak the UI’s appearance and feel using CSS/Less, and even add significant features that fit your workflow using HTML and JavaScript.
Atom is based on HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and Node.js integration and is powered by Electron. Although the software is already feature-rich, if you desire additional functionality, you can install any of its thousands of open-source packages.
Several popular packages include features for managing Git conflicts, project management, modal control, customizing the clock in the status bar, cleaning up your code to make it more readable, and searching Stack Overflow. Finally, because the app is developed by the GitHub team, you can rest assured that Atom will receive ongoing support and updates in the foreseeable future.
9. MacVim Text Editor
MacVim is a clone of the well-known, widely used, and extremely powerful Unix text editor Vim for the Mac. The best feature of MacVim is that every plugin available for the original Vim text editor works flawlessly with it as well. Additionally, it has all of Vim’s customizability and power. Finally, it has a sizable and supportive community that is eager to assist you with any questions you may have.
That said, it’s a little difficult to get used to, and I’d recommend it only to those who are already familiar with its interface and user interface. To be clear, MacVim offers a plethora of features and is completely free, but if you’re looking for an easy-to-use text editor and have no prior experience with Vim, you should definitely check out the other text editors on this list.
10. CodeRunner 4
CodeRunner 4 is a cost-effective text editor that has been optimized for the Mac. It is a powerful, highly customizable, and simple-to-use text editor for Mac. The software includes a full-featured integrated development environment (IDE)-level code completion for the majority of languages. In addition, the app supports a variety of languages, twenty-five in total, including AppleScript, C, C++, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and others.
Additionally, it includes error checking and linting, customizable key bindings, a file navigator, support for automatic indentation, intelligent bracket matching, lives run statistics, and multiple selections. Additionally, you get support for dark mode, a documentation sidebar, and the ability to look up functions, methods, and classes. So give CodeRunner 4 a try if you’re looking for an affordable yet powerful text editor for Mac.
Try The Best Alternatives To Notepad++ For macOS:
This concludes our comparison of the top Notepad++ alternatives for macOS. As you are probably aware, there will never be a single app that is optimal for everyone. That is why I would recommend that you try a few of them to determine which one best meets your needs. Well, Due to the fact that the majority of paid ones also offer a free trial period, it will be simple for you to experiment and find the right one for you.
You don’t want to spend an excessive amount of money or time on a text editor only to discover that it isn’t the right one. Well, Try them out and let us know which one you prefer.
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