What is Vim and what are its top alternatives?
Top Alternatives to Vim
- Emacs
GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. ...
- Neovim
Neovim is a project that seeks to aggressively refactor Vim in order to: simplify maintenance and encourage contributions, split the work between multiple developers, enable the implementation of new/modern user interfaces without any modifications to the core source, and improve extensibility with a new plugin architecture. ...
- Atom
At GitHub, we're building the text editor we've always wanted. A tool you can customize to do anything, but also use productively on the first day without ever touching a config file. Atom is modern, approachable, and hackable to the core. We can't wait to see what you build with it. ...
- Notepad++
Notepad++ is a free (as in "free speech" and also as in "free beer") source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Running in the MS Windows environment, its use is governed by GPL License. ...
- Sublime Text
Sublime Text is available for OS X, Windows and Linux. One license is all you need to use Sublime Text on every computer you own, no matter what operating system it uses. Sublime Text uses a custom UI toolkit, optimized for speed and beauty, while taking advantage of native functionality on each platform. ...
- Visual Studio Code
Build and debug modern web and cloud applications. Code is free and available on your favorite platform - Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows. ...
- Brackets
With focused visual tools and preprocessor support, it is a modern text editor that makes it easy to design in the browser. ...
- CodeMirror
CodeMirror is a JavaScript component that provides a code editor in the browser. When a mode is available for the language you are coding in, it will color your code, and optionally help with indentation. ...
Vim alternatives & related posts
- Vast array of extensions65
- Have all you can imagine43
- Everything i need in one place40
- Portability38
- Customer config31
- Your config works on any platform15
- Low memory consumption12
- Perfect for monsters11
- All life inside one program9
- Extendable, portable, fast - all at your fingertips7
- Extensible in Lisp4
- Widely-used keybindings (e.g. by bash)4
- Enables extremely rapid keyboard-only navigation4
- Runs everywhere important4
- Powerful multilanguage IDE3
- May be old but always reliable3
- Powerful UI3
- Asynchronous3
- Git integration3
- FOSS Software3
- Hard to learn for beginners3
- So good and extensible, that one can get sidetracked1
- Not default preinstalled in GNU/linux1
related Emacs posts
- Modern and more powerful Vim28
- Fast25
- Asynchronous plugins20
- Stable20
- Edit text fast16
- Vim plugins work out of the box14
- Great community13
- Built-in terminal support8
- Embedable8
- Unix-like7
- Plugins in any language3
- Great Colorschemes2
- External GUIs2
- Extremely customizable0
related Neovim posts
For a Visual Studio Code/Atom developer that works mostly with Node.js/TypeScript/Ruby/Go and wants to get rid of graphic-text-editors-IDE-like at once, which one is worthy of investing time to pick up?
I'm a total n00b on the subject, but I've read good things about Neovim's Lua support, and I wonder what would be the VIM response/approach for it?
We use Neovim because it is the most productive and fastest text-editor/IDE available. We chose Neovim over Vim because of the community behind it. We prefer the vision of Neovim of that of Vim. To stay productive across multiple machines on any OS Neovim is the only solution that we see fit.
- Free528
- Open source446
- Modular design342
- Hackable319
- Beautiful UI316
- Github integration170
- Backed by github147
- Built with node.js119
- Web native113
- Community107
- Packages34
- Cross platform18
- Multicursor support5
- Nice UI5
- TypeScript editor5
- cli start3
- Simple but powerful3
- Open source, lots of packages, and so configurable3
- Chrome Inspector works IN EDITOR3
- Snippets3
- Awesome2
- Code readability2
- Smart TypeScript code completion2
- It's powerful2
- Well documented2
- "Free", "Hackable", "Open Source", The Awesomness1
- works with GitLab1
- full support1
- vim support1
- Split-Tab Layout1
- Consistent UI on all platforms1
- User friendly1
- Hackable and Open Source1
- Made by github. YAY1
- Slow with large files19
- Slow startup6
- Most of the time packages are hard to find.2
- Cannot Run code with F51
- Can be easily Modified1
related Atom posts
I liked Sublime Text for its speed, simplicity and keyboard shortcuts which synergize well when working on scripting languages like Ruby and JavaScript. I extended the editor with custom Python scripts that improved keyboard navigability such as autofocusing the sidebar when no files are open, or changing tab closing behavior.
But customization can only get you so far, and there were little things that I still had to use the mouse for, such as scrolling, repositioning lines on the screen, selecting the line number of a failing test stack trace from a separate plugin pane, etc. After 3 years of wearily moving my arm and hand to perform the same repetitive tasks, I decided to switch to Vim for 3 reasons:
- your fingers literally don’t ever need to leave the keyboard home row (I had to remap the escape key though)
- it is a reliable tool that has been around for more than 30 years and will still be around for the next 30 years
- I wanted to "look like a hacker" by doing everything inside my terminal and by becoming a better Unix citizen
The learning curve is very steep and it took me a year to master it, but investing time to be truly comfortable with my #TextEditor was more than worth it. To me, Vim comes close to being the perfect editor and I probably won’t need to switch ever again. It feels good to ignore new editors that come out every few years, like Atom and Visual Studio Code.






We use Visual Studio Code because it allows us to easily and quickly integrate with Git, much like Sublime Merge ,but it is integrated into the IDE. Another cool part about VS Code is the ability collaborate with each other with Visual Studio Live Share which allows our whole team to get more done together. It brings the convenience of the Google Suite to programming, offering something that works more smoothly than anything found on Atom or Sublime Text
- Syntax for all languages that i use101
- Tabbed ui60
- Great code editor56
- Fast and lightweight53
- Plugins38
- Nice GUI28
- Regex & Special Character Search & Replace26
- Fast startup16
- Application is free, and plugins are too9
- Themes9
- Free6
- Very Lightweight4
- 100% Free3
- Column selection2
- Awesome autocomplete1
- Easy edit on FTP servers (NppFTP)1
- Cos it's seck1
- Nice gui. are you kidding me?1
- Open Sourced1
- No default plugin manager2
- Can't install more advanced packets1
related Notepad++ posts
Hey there, I am using Visual Studio for C++ and Notepad++ for web development. Should I switch to Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code for web development?
I have chosen Visual Studio Code after testing a lot of other editors like Atom, Sublime Text (with legal license), Vim or even Notepad++ because it is the sum of all their virtues and none of their defects. It's fast, it has all the tools and plugins I need to work, and it's pretty and very good optimized. It has what I need to work and nothing more. And the main plugins works like a charm. Developing for React or Flutter is amazing. Even the TypeScript plugin works great. I like how IntelliSense works, and all the extra tools to code remotely using #ssh, access #RESTfulAPI or event manage projects or collaborating remotely. Thanks #Microsoft for Visual Studio Code.
- Lightweight722
- Plugins654
- Super fast641
- Great code editor468
- Cross platform443
- Nice UI280
- Unlimited trial259
- Cmd + d is the best command ever154
- Great community92
- Package control, modules47
- Mac OS X support26
- Easy to get started with23
- Monokai22
- Built in Python21
- Everything you need without the bloat21
- Easy18
- Speed14
- Session & edit resuming12
- Package Control10
- Well Designed9
- Multiple selections8
- Nice7
- Fast, simple and lightweight7
- ALT + CMD + DOWN is the best command ever7
- So futuristic and convenient5
- It's easy to use, beautiful, simple, and plugins rule5
- Great5
- ALT + F3 the best command ever5
- Simple and clean design4
- Free4
- Find anything fast within entire project4
- Easy to use3
- UI + plugins3
- Sublime Merge (Git Integration)3
- Pretty3
- Hackable3
- Totally customizable2
- Color schemes and cmd+d2
- Material theme best theme forever2
- Steep learning curve8
- Everything5
- Flexibility to move file4
- Doesn't act like a Mac app4
- Number of plugins doing the same thing3
- Don't have flutter integration2
- Forces you to buy license2
- Not open sourced2
related Sublime Text posts
I've been in the #frontend game for about 7 years now. I started coding in Sublime Text because all of the tutorials I was doing back then everyone was using it. I found the speed amazing compared to some other tools at the time. I kept using Sublime Text for about 4-5 years.
I find Sublime Text lacks some functionality, after all it is just a text editor rather than a full fledged IDE. I finally converted over to PhpStorm as I was working with Magento and Magento as you know is mainly #PHP based.
This was amazing all the features in PhpStorm I loved, the debugging features, and the control click feature when you click on a dependency or linked file it will take you to that file. It was great.
PhpStorm is kind of slow, I found that Prettier was taking a long time to format my code, and it just was lagging a lot so I was looking for alternatives. After watching some more tutorial videos I noticed that everyone was using Visual Studio Code. So I gave it a go, and its amazing.
It has support for everything I need with the plugins and the integration with Git is amazing. The speed of this IDE is blazing fast, and I wouldn't go back to using PhpStorm anymore. I highly recommend giving Visual Studio Code a try!










At labinator.com, we use HTML5, CSS 3, Sass, Vanilla.JS and PHP when building our premium WordPress themes and plugins. When writing our codes, we use Sublime Text and Visual Studio Code depending on the project. We run Manjaro and Debian operating systems in our office. Manjaro is a great desktop operating system for all range of tasks while Debian is a solid choice for servers.
WordPress became a very popular choice when it comes to content management systems and building websites. It is easy to learn and has a great community behind it. The high number of plugins as well that are available for WordPress allows any user to customize it depending on his/her needs.
For development, HTML5 with Sass is our go-to choice when building our themes.
Main Advantages Of Sass:
- It's CSS syntax friendly
- It offers variables
- It uses a nested syntax
- It includes mixins
- Great community and online support.
- Great documentation that is easy to read and follow.
As for PHP, we always thrive to use PHP 7.3+. After the introduction of PHP 7, the WordPress development process became more stable and reliable than before. If you a developer considering PHP 7.3+ for your project, it would be good to note the following benefits.
The Benefits Of Using PHP:
- Open Source.
- Highly Extendible.
- Easy to learn and read.
- Platform independent.
- Compatible with APACHE.
- Low development and maintenance cost.
- Great community and support.
- Detailed documentation that has everything you need!
Why PHP 7.3+?
- Flexible Heredoc & Nowdoc Syntaxes - Two key methods for defining strings within PHP. They also became easier to read and more reliable.
- A good boost in performance speed which is extremely important when it comes to WordPress development.
Visual Studio Code
- Powerful multilanguage IDE327
- Fast293
- Front-end develop out of the box185
- Support TypeScript IntelliSense152
- Very basic but free137
- Git integration117
- Intellisense101
- Faster than Atom74
- Better ui, easy plugins, and nice git integration48
- Great Refactoring Tools41
- Good Plugins40
- Terminal38
- Superb markdown support36
- Open Source34
- Extensions28
- Awesome UI26
- Large & up-to-date extension community25
- Powerful and fast22
- Portable20
- Best code editor17
- Best editor16
- Easy to get started with15
- Good for begginers14
- Built on Electron14
- Open, cross-platform, fast, monthly updates14
- Crossplatform14
- All Languages Support13
- Lots of extensions13
- Extensions for everything12
- Easy to use and learn11
- Faster edit for slow computer11
- Totally customizable11
- Ui design is great11
- Useful for begginer11
- Extensible11
- "fast, stable & easy to use"10
- Git out of the box10
- Great community9
- Great language support9
- It has terminal and there are lots of shortcuts in it9
- Works With Almost EveryThing You Need8
- Fast Startup8
- Powerful Debugger8
- SSH support8
- Features rich7
- Can compile and run .py files7
- Python extension is fast7
- Great document formater7
- She is not Rachel6
- He is not Michael6
- Awesome multi cursor support6
- Easy azure5
- Extension Echosystem5
- SFTP Workspace5
- Language server client5
- VSCode.pro Course makes it easy to learn5
- Has better support and more extentions for debugging4
- Very proffesional4
- Excellent as git difftool and mergetool3
- Emmet preinstalled3
- Supports lots of operating systems3
- Virtualenv integration3
- 'batteries included'3
- Has more than enough languages for any developer3
- Light2
- CMake support with autocomplete2
- More tools to integrate with vs2
- VS Code Server: Browser version of VS Code2
- Fast and ruby is built right in2
- Better autocompletes than Atom2
- Customizable1
- Big extension marketplace1
- Microsoft1
- Slow startup43
- Resource hog at times26
- Poor refactoring20
- Poor UI Designer13
- Microsoft12
- Weak Ui design tools11
- Poor autocomplete10
- Poor in PHP7
- Huge cpu usage with few installed extension6
- Poor at Python5
- Super Slow5
- Poor intellisense. poor java4
- Microsoft sends telemetry data4
- Poor in Python3
- No Built in Browser Preview3
- Dilshad3
- No color Intergrator3
- No built in live Preview3
- Very basic for java development and buggy at times3
- Bad Plugin Architecture2
- It's MicroSoft1
- Electron1
- Terminal does not identify path vars sometimes1
related Visual Studio Code posts
























Our whole DevOps stack consists of the following tools:
- GitHub (incl. GitHub Pages/Markdown for Documentation, GettingStarted and HowTo's) for collaborative review and code management tool
- Respectively Git as revision control system
- SourceTree as Git GUI
- Visual Studio Code as IDE
- CircleCI for continuous integration (automatize development process)
- Prettier / TSLint / ESLint as code linter
- SonarQube as quality gate
- Docker as container management (incl. Docker Compose for multi-container application management)
- VirtualBox for operating system simulation tests
- Kubernetes as cluster management for docker containers
- Heroku for deploying in test environments
- nginx as web server (preferably used as facade server in production environment)
- SSLMate (using OpenSSL) for certificate management
- Amazon EC2 (incl. Amazon S3) for deploying in stage (production-like) and production environments
- PostgreSQL as preferred database system
- Redis as preferred in-memory database/store (great for caching)
The main reason we have chosen Kubernetes over Docker Swarm is related to the following artifacts:
- Key features: Easy and flexible installation, Clear dashboard, Great scaling operations, Monitoring is an integral part, Great load balancing concepts, Monitors the condition and ensures compensation in the event of failure.
- Applications: An application can be deployed using a combination of pods, deployments, and services (or micro-services).
- Functionality: Kubernetes as a complex installation and setup process, but it not as limited as Docker Swarm.
- Monitoring: It supports multiple versions of logging and monitoring when the services are deployed within the cluster (Elasticsearch/Kibana (ELK), Heapster/Grafana, Sysdig cloud integration).
- Scalability: All-in-one framework for distributed systems.
- Other Benefits: Kubernetes is backed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), huge community among container orchestration tools, it is an open source and modular tool that works with any OS.
I've been in the #frontend game for about 7 years now. I started coding in Sublime Text because all of the tutorials I was doing back then everyone was using it. I found the speed amazing compared to some other tools at the time. I kept using Sublime Text for about 4-5 years.
I find Sublime Text lacks some functionality, after all it is just a text editor rather than a full fledged IDE. I finally converted over to PhpStorm as I was working with Magento and Magento as you know is mainly #PHP based.
This was amazing all the features in PhpStorm I loved, the debugging features, and the control click feature when you click on a dependency or linked file it will take you to that file. It was great.
PhpStorm is kind of slow, I found that Prettier was taking a long time to format my code, and it just was lagging a lot so I was looking for alternatives. After watching some more tutorial videos I noticed that everyone was using Visual Studio Code. So I gave it a go, and its amazing.
It has support for everything I need with the plugins and the integration with Git is amazing. The speed of this IDE is blazing fast, and I wouldn't go back to using PhpStorm anymore. I highly recommend giving Visual Studio Code a try!
- Beautiful UI51
- Lightweight40
- Extremely customizable25
- Free plugins20
- Live Preview13
- Free themes13
- Clean8
- Easy7
- Integration with photoshop6
- Perfect for web development4
- Simple4
- Fast4
- Awesome UI2
- Clean UI2
- Code suggestions2
- Not good for backend developer3
- You have to edit json file to set your settings.1
- Bad node.js support1
related Brackets posts
- Integrable in your application6
- Better content manipulation methods4
- Easy Custom Mode3
- JavaScript based1
- Easy setup1