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GNU Emacs vs ne: catalog facts
GNU Emacs	ne
Free Free software under the GPL, part of the GNU Project.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	macOS, Linux, Command line
Extensible in Emacs Lisp at runtime, so any behaviour can be changed without rebuilding Org mode is a genuinely excellent system for notes, tasks and literate documents	Easy to learn compared with vi or Emacs Light on memory and CPU
A steep learning curve, with keybindings unlike any other editor A usable configuration takes substantial time, hence Doom and Spacemacs	Terminal only, with no graphical interface Smaller user community than vi or Emacs
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.