Best GNU nano Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from text editors ranked against GNU nano on the same published basis.
- 1GNU nano vs Neovim
- 2GNU nano vs GNU Emacs
- 3GNU nano vs Visual Studio Code
- 4GNU nano vs Zed
- 5GNU nano vs Textastic
- 6GNU nano vs Kate
- 7GNU nano vs BBEdit
- 8GNU nano vs EmEditor
- 9GNU nano vs Notepad++
- 10GNU nano vs Lapce
- 11GNU nano vs UltraEdit
- 12GNU nano vs Geany
- 13GNU nano vs Froala Editor
- 14GNU nano vs Vim
- 15GNU nano vs CudaText
- 16GNU nano vs EditPad Pro
- 17GNU nano vs Textadept
- 18GNU nano vs Nova
- 19GNU nano vs EditiX
- 20GNU nano vs Helix
GNU nano alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neovim | 9.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 2 | GNU Emacs | 9.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | Visual Studio Code | 8.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Zed | 8.2 | Free plan | $10/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Textastic | 8.1 | No | — | iOS, Mac |
| 6 | Kate | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | BBEdit | 7.9 | Free plan | $59.99/mo | Mac |
| 8 | EmEditor | 7.9 | No | $0.42/mo | Windows |
| 9 | Notepad++ | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 10 | Lapce | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | UltraEdit | 7.3 | No | $7.91/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | Geany | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | Froala Editor | 7.1 | No | — | Android, iOS, Web |
| 14 | Vim | 7.0 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 15 | CudaText | 6.9 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | EditPad Pro | 6.8 | No | — | Windows |
| 17 | Textadept | 6.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 18 | Nova | 6.7 | No | $4.08/mo | Mac |
| 19 | EditiX | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 20 | Helix | 6.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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Questions about GNU nano alternatives
What is the best alternative to GNU nano?
Neovim, number 1 in text editors with a score of 9.7 out of 10. The others here: GNU Emacs, Visual Studio Code, Zed and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to GNU nano?
Neovim is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.