Best Code Editors for Windows & Mac

In order to remain competitive and productive, writing good code in minimum time is an essential skill that every software developer must possess. Writing code has become a fundamental requirement for many emerging segments including IoT and AI.

Every year, many new Code Editors are launched, and the developer finds it challenging to choose one. Following is a curated list of Top source code and text editor software for Windows and Mac platforms. All the editors in the list are Free to use. The code editor could be standalone or integrated into an IDE.

The Difference Between IDE and Code Editors

Essentially, an Integrated Development Environment or IDE is a self-contained package that allow you to write, compile, execute and debug code in the same place. On the other hand, a code editor is a text editor with several features that facilitate the process of writing code, either through native capabilities or through optional plugins.

Generally, IDE is focused on a single language and contains the compiler/interpreter and debugger specific to the language. In contrast, code editors are more general purpose in their capabilities, being able to work with a number of programing languages. Code editors are limited to writing code and do not go beyond this stage.

Both IDE and code editors share common features such as code completion, hints, highlighting sections of code and custom folding of sections of code. Choosing between an IDE or code editor is largely a matter of personal preference, the particular programming language and the workflows.

Best IDE for Windows & Mac

PHPStorm

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• Supported Languages: PHP 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and 7.0, HTML and JavaScript
• Price: USD 199 for the first year, Subsequent usage costs less.
• More Information: Code quality analysis, PHPUnit tests, GitHub
• Visit: PHPStorm

Netbeans

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris
• Supported Languages: Java ME & SE, JavaScript, HTML5, PHP, C/C++, XML, Groovy, Javadoc, JSP
• Price: FREE (CDDL or GPLv2)
• More Information: Integration of Subversion, Mercurial, and Git, NetBeans Profiler
• Visit: Netbeans

Aptana Studio

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Plugin for Eclipse
• Supported Languages: JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, DOM, CSS, Ruby on Rails, PHP, Python, Perl
• Price: FREE (GPL)
• More Information: Open source, deployment wizard for RoR.
• Visit: Aptana Studio

Eclipse

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris
• Supported Languages: Ada, ABAP, C, C++, COBOL, D, Fortran, Haskell, Java, JavaScript, Julia, Lasso, Lua, NATURAL, Perl, PHP, Prolog, Python, R, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Rust, Scala, Clojure, Groovy, Scheme, and Erlang, LaTeX, Mathematica.
• Price: FREE (Eclipse Public License)
• More Information: Rich Client Platform, supports Tomcat, GlassFish and other servers, Web Tools Platform.
• Visit: Eclipse

Zend Studio

• Platform(s): Platform(s): Linux, MacOS, Windows
• Code faster with up to 3X performance improvements in indexing, validation, searching of PHP code
• Superior PHP 7.1 support, PHP 7.1 express migration assistant, and seamless integration with Zend Server
• Robust debugging capabilities with Xdebug, Zend Debugger, and Z-Ray integration

Best Editors for Windows & Mac

Sublime Text

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• Supported Languages: All popular languages
• Price: USD 70/license
• More Information: Package Manager
• Visit: Sublime Text

Visual Studio Code

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• Supported Languages: Batch, C++, Clojure, CoffeeScript, DockerFile, Elixir, F#, Go, Pug template language, Java, HandleBars, Ini, Lua, Makefile, Objective-C, Perl, PowerShell, Python, R, Razor, Ruby, Rust, SQL, Visual Basic, XML
• Price: FREE (MIT License)
• More Information: GitHub support, code refactoring, debugger
• Visit: Visual Studio Code

Atom

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• Supported Languages: HTML, CSS, Less, Sass, GitHub Flavored Markdown, C/C++, C#, Go, Java, Objective-C, JavaScript, JSON, CoffeeScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, shell script, Clojure, Perl, Git, Make, Property List (Apple), TOML, XML, YAML, Mustache, Julia & SQL
• Price: FREE (MIT License)
• More Information: Open source, built-in Package Manager, Themes.
• Visit: Atom

Notepad++

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows,
• Supported Languages: Ada, asp, Assembly, AutoIt, Batch, C, C++, C#, Caml, Cmake, COBOL, CoffeeScript, CSS, D, Diff, Flash ActionScript, Fortran, Gui4CLI, Haskell, HTML, INNO, Java, JavaScript, JSP, KiXtart, LISP, Lua, Makefile, Matlab, MS-DOS, INI file, NSIS, Normal Text File, Objective-C, Pascal, Perl, PHP, PostScript, PowerShell, Properties, Python, R, Resource file, Ruby, Shell, Scheme, Smalltalk, SQL, TCL, TeX, Visual Basic, VHDL, Verilog, XML, YAML
• Price: FREE (GPL)
• More Information: Open source, Macro recording and playback, User Defined Syntax Highlighting and Folding
• Visit: Notepad++

Brackets

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• Supported Languages: C++, C, VBScript, Java, JavaScript, HTML, Python, Perl, Ruby
• Price: FREE (MIT License)
• More Information: Live Preview, JSLint, LESS support
• Visit: Brackets

Bluefish

• Platform(s): MAC, Microsoft Windows, Linux
• Supported Languages: HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, PHP, C, C++, JavaScript, Java, Google Go, SQL, Perl, ColdFusion, JSP, Python, Ruby
• Price: FREE
• More Information: Open Source, Cross-platform support
• Visit: BlueFish

Codeanywhere

• Platform(s): iOS
• Supported Languages: Javascript, PHP, HTML, and 72 other languages
• Price:   Free + USD 7 for freelancer and other packages
• More Information: Code beautifier, Multiple cursors , Zen code support
• Visit: Codeanywhere

Komodo Edit

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
• Supported Languages: Python, Perl, PHP, Ruby, Tcl, SQL, Smarty, CSS, HTML, XML
• Price: USD 295/License
• More Information: Package Manager, Vagrant, Docker, Unit Testing
• Visit: Komodo Edit

The right IDE or code editor is more than just a tool for creating code. The code writer has access to some amazing features and tools that streamline the process of writing and debugging code so that the time spent on code production is efficiently used to produce highest quality code.