Alternatives to CotEditor
A free, open-source plain-text and code editor made for macOS. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
CotEditor
A free, open-source plain-text and code editor made for macOS.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as CotEditor.
BBEdit
A long-running macOS text and code editor for writers, web authors and software developers.
BBEdit is a macOS editor with grep search and replace across many files and FTP and SFTP editing, with some features locked behind a paid license.
TextMate
An open-source macOS text editor known for bundles, snippets, multiple carets and scoped settings.
TextMate is another free, open-source macOS editor that adds bundles, snippets in any scripting language, multiple carets and scoped per-project settings.
Sublime Text
A fast native editor for code and prose, paid for but with an evaluation that never stops working.
Sublime Text runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and handles very large files with multiple cursors, but it is closed source and paid.
CodeEdit
A lightweight, open-source code editor for macOS, built natively in Swift.
CodeEdit is a free, open-source native Swift editor for macOS aimed at code projects, but it is still in development at version 0.3.6.
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft's code editor, free to use but shipped under a Microsoft licence rather than an open one.
Visual Studio Code moves to a cross-platform Electron editor with extensions, integrated Git and debugging, free to use but not open source and with telemetry by default.
Nova
A native macOS code editor and IDE from Panic with built-in terminals, Git and debugging.
Nova adds terminals, Git, debugging and managed language servers in a native Mac app, but it is paid after the trial and needs macOS 15.6 or later.
Zed
A Rust editor from the people who built Atom, written for speed and for two people editing one file.
Zed is an open-source cross-platform Rust editor with language servers and collaborative editing, going beyond CotEditor's plain text focus.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
MacVim
A port of the Vim text editor that runs as a native macOS application.
Aquamacs
An editor based on GNU Emacs and adapted to feel at home on macOS.
CodeRunner
A lightweight macOS programming editor that runs and debugs code in many languages.
Textastic
A text and code editor for iPad and iPhone with syntax highlighting, SFTP and SSH.
GNOME Text Editor
A simple text editor for the GNOME desktop focused on a pleasing default experience.
Notepad++
The fast Windows text and source code editor that replaced Notepad for a generation of users.
