Compare software

Vim vs VILE: catalog facts
Vim	VILE
Free Free under the Vim licence, which is GPL-compatible charityware and asks for a donation to…	Free Free and open source under the GNU GPL version 2 or later.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, Command line
Already installed on nearly every server you will ever log into Decades of plugins, and configuration knowledge that does not expire	Vi-style editing with multiple buffers and windows Available as source and Windows builds
The learning curve is the standard example of a steep learning curve Language server and completion support needs plugins that Neovim handles better	Not a vi clone, with differences in less frequently used commands and configuration
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Vim	License: GPL-2.0-or-later
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 8, 2026

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