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Vim vs Neovim: catalog facts
Vim	Neovim
Free Free under the Vim licence, which is GPL-compatible charityware and asks for a donation to…	Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, with some parts under the Vim licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Already installed on nearly every server you will ever log into Decades of plugins, and configuration knowledge that does not expire	Built-in LSP client for semantic code inspection and refactoring Tree-sitter parsing for fast, accurate highlighting, navigation and text objects
The learning curve is the standard example of a steep learning curve Language server and completion support needs plugins that Neovim handles better	Modal editing is a real learning curve if you have not used Vim A usable setup usually means assembling plugins or adopting someone else’s configuration
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Vim	License: Apache-2.0
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 September 20, 2026

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