What is the best alternative to BBEdit on Mac?

CotEditor is our top pick. It shares Developer tools and Writing & notes with BBEdit and has 14 upvotes from the community. Raycast and Sublime Text are close behind.

What is the best free alternative to BBEdit on Mac?

CotEditor is the best-ranked free alternative to BBEdit. 8 of the alternatives listed here are completely free.

Is there an open-source alternative to BBEdit?

Yes. 6 alternatives are open source, including CotEditor, iTerm2 and Ghostty.

How many alternatives to BBEdit are there for Mac?

Mac App Index lists 24 apps that share a category with BBEdit: 8 completely free, 9 free to start and 6 open source.

Best BBEdit alternatives for Mac

BBEdit is a free-to-start app in Developer tools and Writing & notes. We found 24 Mac apps that cover the same ground. Of those, 8 are completely free, 9 are free to start and 6 are open source. CotEditor leads on overlap and community votes, followed by Raycast and Sublime Text.

The app you want to replace

BBEdit

Professional text and code editor

Free + in-app · Developer tools and Writing & notes

View BBEdit

24 alternatives to BBEdit

How we picked: every app here shares at least one category with BBEdit. Apps that also share features rank higher, and community upvotes break ties. Price and licence never buy a better spot. How we rank apps

1
CotEditor
Plain-text editor built for macOS
14FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Also in Writing & notes
- Free
- Open source
2
Hot
Raycast
A faster launcher with superpowers
140Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Keyboard-driven
3
Sublime Text
Fast text editor for code and prose
54$99Developer tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Keyboard-driven
- One-time purchase
4
Drafts
Capture text first, decide later
38Free + in-appProductivity
- Also in Writing & notes
- Keyboard-driven
5
iTerm2
Terminal replacement for macOS
38FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Keyboard-driven
- Free
- Open source
6
Ghostty
Fast, native terminal emulator
26FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Keyboard-driven
- Free
- Open source
7
Obsidian
Markdown notes stored on your own disk
23Free + in-appProductivity
- Also in Writing & notes
- Keyboard-driven
8
iA Writer
Focused Markdown writing app
5$49.99Writing & notes
- Also in Writing & notes
- Keyboard-driven
- One-time purchase
9
Bear
Markdown notes that feel effortless
178Free + in-appWriting & notes
- Also in Writing & notes
10
Featured
Craft
Docs and notes with beautiful structure
163Free + in-appProductivity
- Also in Writing & notes
11
Pages
Apple's word processor
103FreeWriting & notes
- Also in Writing & notes
- Free
12
Typora
Markdown editor with live preview
103$14.99Writing & notes
- Also in Writing & notes
- One-time purchase
13
Postico 2
PostgreSQL client for Mac
85$69.99Developer tools
- Also in Developer tools
- One-time purchase
14
Transmit 5
File transfer for servers and cloud storage
84SubscriptionDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
15
Zed
Code editor built for speed and collaboration
83Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Open source
16
Proxyman
Inspect and debug HTTP traffic
82Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
17
MarkEdit
Lightweight Markdown editor
78FreeWriting & notes
- Also in Writing & notes
- Free
- Open source
18
Day One
Private journal with photos and places
74Free + in-appLifestyle
- Also in Writing & notes
19
Ulysses
Distraction-free writing, synced
66SubscriptionWriting & notes
- Also in Writing & notes
20
Logseq
Outliner for linked notes
54FreeProductivity
- Also in Writing & notes
- Free
- Open source
21
NotePlan
Markdown notes, tasks and calendar together
49SubscriptionProductivity
- Also in Writing & notes
22
Xcode
Apple's IDE for every Apple platform
43FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Free
23
Agenda
Date-focused notes
42Free + in-appProductivity
- Also in Writing & notes
24
Tot
Seven tiny notes, always at hand
41FreeMenu bar
- Also in Writing & notes
- Free

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to BBEdit on Mac?: CotEditor is our top pick. It shares Developer tools and Writing & notes with BBEdit and has 14 upvotes from the community. Raycast and Sublime Text are close behind.
What is the best free alternative to BBEdit on Mac?: CotEditor is the best-ranked free alternative to BBEdit. 8 of the alternatives listed here are completely free.
Is there an open-source alternative to BBEdit?: Yes. 6 alternatives are open source, including CotEditor, iTerm2 and Ghostty.
How many alternatives to BBEdit are there for Mac?: Mac App Index lists 24 apps that share a category with BBEdit: 8 completely free, 9 free to start and 6 open source.