Alternatives to Phoenix Code

An open-source code editor for web development that continues the Brackets project, with live preview. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Phoenix Code.

  • Visual Studio Code

    Microsoft's code editor, free to use but shipped under a Microsoft licence rather than an open one.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Visual Studio Code covers essentially every language through extensions with integrated Git, terminal and debugger, but is not open source and collects telemetry by default.

  • WebStorm

    JavaScript and TypeScript IDE with first-class framework support.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    WebStorm is a JavaScript and TypeScript IDE with framework-aware refactoring for React, Vue and Angular and built-in debugger and test runners, but commercial use requires a paid subscription.

  • VSCodium

    Visual Studio Code built from the same source without Microsoft’s branding, telemetry or licence.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    VSCodium is the MIT-licensed build of VS Code with telemetry disabled and extensions from Open VSX, covering many languages beyond web front-end work.

  • StackBlitz

    A browser-based IDE that runs full-stack Node.js web projects entirely inside the browser tab.

    FreemiumProprietaryWeb

    StackBlitz runs full-stack Node.js projects inside the browser with shareable environments, but it is a closed-source hosted service with no desktop app.

  • Bluefish

    A lightweight open-source code and text editor for programmers and web developers.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Bluefish is a lightweight GPL desktop editor with web development extras for Linux, macOS, Windows and BSDs, but has no live preview or browser version.

  • CodePen

    An online editor for writing HTML, CSS and JavaScript and previewing the result live.

    FreemiumProprietaryWeb

    CodePen is a hosted online editor with live HTML, CSS and JavaScript preview and easy sharing, suited to small demos rather than full projects.

  • Sublime Text

    A fast native editor for code and prose, paid for but with an evaluation that never stops working.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Sublime Text is a fast native editor that handles very large files with multiple cursors, but it is paid, closed source and has no browser version.

  • Zed

    A Rust editor from the people who built Atom, written for speed and for two people editing one file.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Zed is a GPU-rendered Rust editor with language servers and real-time collaboration, and its AI features can use your own key or a local model.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Phoenix Code as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • code-server

    Use a VS Code-based workspace through your browser.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxmacOSSelf-hostedWeb

    Phoenix Code is an open-source editor that runs on the desktop or in a browser, focused on web front-end work with live preview rather than a VS Code workspace.

  • RJ TextEd

    A freeware Unicode text and source code editor for Windows with web preview, hex mode and SFTP.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    Phoenix Code is an open-source web development editor with live preview on the desktop or in a browser, and runs beyond Windows on macOS and Linux.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.