Text editors, aka code editors, are becoming an essential tool. Editing codes or text wouldn’t be a breeze without the right text editor. It plays a major role in developing codes for websites and more. It is highly recommended to own the best text editor for a better outcome. In recent times, code editors are not just used by developers. It is used by publishers, text editors, content creators, and anyone in between. Almost all of the text editors have cross-platform support. This section entirely focuses on the best text editors for Windows PC.
Factors Considered on Best Text Editors for Windows
The best text editor must include the following factors.
- The text editors are simple yet functional.
- Easy to use and works for novice to advanced users.
- Most code editors are robust and support IDE style.
- It supports collaboration and real-time code sharing.
Best Text Editors for Windows
The top rated best text editors for Windows PC are as given below.
- Sublime Text
- Atom
- Notepad++
- Visual Studio Code
- Brackets
- Vim
- UltraEdit
- Komodo Edit
- BlueFish
- GNU Emacs
- EmEditor
- jEdit
Sublime Text – #1 Best Text Editor for Windows
- Has Free version for testing. It costs $80/user.
With Sublime Text, you will get a distraction-free text or code editing. It is a feature-rich and most sophisticated editor. It is a lightweight editor and ensures unmatched responsiveness. The custom UI toolkit gives optimized speed and accuracy. Further, Sublime Text works great for coding, markup, prose, etc.
It is completely customizable with JSON files. The shortcuts are powerful and user-friendly. It supports a lot of markup and programming languages. With the powerful Python API, you can integrate plugins with this text editor.
Atom
- Open source text editor
The best text editor for Windows PC includes Atom. It supports developers to work together for better software development. So, Atoms is all about sharing workspace and editing codes in real-time together. The editor is sleek and includes great organization tools. With a built-in package manager, searching, installing, and creating new packages is easy.
Its smart auto-completion option helps you write codes faster. Computing and editing code across files is easy with multiple panes. Atom’s UI is highly customizable with CSS/Less, HTML, JavaScript. The file system browser makes browsing and opening single or multiple projects easily. For all these and more, it is referred to as a hackable text editor of this century. It is one of the best Text Editors for Ubuntu as well.
Notepad++
- Free source code editor
Access powerful editing components with Notepad++ text editor. It is one of the best text editors for Windows with advanced features. Notepad++ is useful for developers as well as content creators. Since it is based on Microsoft Windows, it uses less computing power.
It supports syntax highlighting and folding with the multi-view editor. Notepad++ includes auto-completion settings. Thus, it completes functions, words, and parameters automatically. The multi-document interface lets you switch between tabs and projects.
Visual Studio Code – #Popular Text Editor
- Free and open source text editor
VScode or Visual Studio Code is one of the best text editors for Windows. It is more preferred by the developers with advanced features support. With IntelliSense, variable types, function definitions, modules get completed automatically. It provides an option to debug the code on the editor itself.
It features an ever-growing library of plugins. With Zen mode, remove all the menus and items from the editor. It is a streamlined code editor and works for development operations. It includes debugging, version control, task running, etc.
Brackets
- Open source text editor
If you want a modern text editor for Windows, then choose Brackets. It is a lightweight yet powerful and easy-to-use editor. Brackets work great for front-end developers and web designers. Writing codes is a breeze with the inline editor support.
The built-in extension manager provides fast and effective extension management. Use the live preview to see the changes in CSS and HTML instantly. Working with a preprocessor is easy as Brackets let you use Quick Edit and Live highlights with LESS and SCSS files.
Vim
- Free and open source editor
Vim is for those with a high level of experience in code development. This best text for Windows is stable and reliable. Vim is an advanced editor accessible from GUI and CLI. It is highly customizable and is referred to as programmer’s editors.
It is compatible with several tools you use for your business needs. Vim supports different programming languages and file formats. Vim is a better text editor, from editing configurable files to creating emails and more.
UltraEdit – #Fastest Text Editor for Windows
- 30-day free trial. Price starts at $79.95/year
If you are looking for the most secured text editor, then choose UltraEdit. This best text editor for Windows has numerous features. It is a flexible editor and has lots of customization options. For instance, users can choose from available themes or create a new theme from scratch. It is the fastest text editor when it comes to finding files and editing codes.
Use the live preview option to view your programming process visually. UltraEdit supports editing even large files without crashing. It has built-in FTP, SSH, Telnet, and other developer features. Its user-interface of this editor is highly customizable.
Komodo Edit
- Free and open source text editor
The best text editor for Windows includes Komodo Edit. It is a powerful yet simple to use best text editor for Windows. Komodo Edit is robust and supports different functions. It includes debugging, code refactoring, code profiling, unit testing, etc. Komodo Edit works for those less experienced and advanced users as well.
This multi-language editor supports auto-complete, multiple selections, toolbox, skins, etc. Thus this editor is most ideal for web development. Get Komodo Edit IDE for more advanced features like slack sharing, docker integration, etc.
Bluefish
- Free text editor
If handling multiple files simultaneously is your target, then get Bluefish. It is the best text editor for web developers, programmers, etc. In addition, it is useful for those who write websites, scripts, and programming codes. With Bluefish, developers can proceed with remote editing.
It loads several hundred files in few seconds. Bluefish auto recovers changes done after a kill, crash, or shutdown. It supports unlimited undo or redo functions.
GNU Emacs
- Free text editor
Emacs is a customizable and extensible text editor that works on Windows PC. It is Unix-based and is a go-to option by programmers, system admins, and more. Emacs features content-aware editing modes like syntax coloring. Beyond text editing, it has a wide range of functions. For instance, debugger interface, IRC client, project planner, etc.
With Lisp code or graphical interface, the text editor is highly customizable. It offers better support for text shaping, Cairo drawing, etc. Above all, installing and downloading extensions is easy with the packaging system.
EmEditor – Extensible Text Editor
- Costs $39.99 after free trial
The best Windows text editor includes EmEditor. It is a lightweight editor that works faster. Get the support of Unicode, powerful macros, and large files. The coding features include syntax highlighting, configurations, multi-selection editing, etc.
It has a customizable interface and tabbed design. EmEditor is versatile with Unicode features, portability, and more. Further, it lets users filter text documents as well as CSV documents.
jEdit
- Open source text editor
jEdit is a Java-based text editor with Windows compatibility. It has built-in macro language support and extensible plugin architecture. jEdit includes an auto-indent and a large number of character encodings. Above all, it supports syntax highlighting in 200+ languages.
It is a highly customizable and configurable text editor. With jEdit, you will get the Word wrap feature. It includes all the basic and advanced features that any text editor will hold.
That was our curated collection of text editors that are compatible with Windows OS. Let us hear your favorite editor and queries from the comments section.