We have evaluated over 20 free HTML editors for Macintosh against over 40 different criteria relevant to professional web designers and developers. The following applications are the best free HTML editors for Macintosh, both WYSIWYG and text editors, rated from best to worst. Each editor listed will have a score, percentage, and a link to more information.
Mac OS X is a great operating system for developers, but many of the features important to us are turned off to make the OS more easy to use for everyday tasks, and more secure. Many of the configuration files we need to edit are hidden away in directories that do not show up in the Finder by default. Specifically designed for web designers and developers, and boasting the attention to detail that comes from a designer's eye, Coda is a truly modern Mac app for working on websites. A big leap forward from the initial release, Coda 2 added a ton of features to make editing more streamlined and enjoyable, including code folding, code focus, excellent new clips, and a built-in MySQL editor. TextMate is another Mac-based text editor. This text editor is mostly preferred for programming in Ruby and Ruby on Rails. It is a well-known Code-Editor for developers who code on a Mac system. The application is excellent for development in modern programming languages. Let’s us look at some of its pros and cons. But whether you are a programmer or web developer, an advanced text editor or code editor is a must. The advanced text editor helps to write code faster and increase the productivity. In this article, we’ll provide the list of top 5 best text editor for web development which you can download and use.
Best Value: Komodo Edit
What We Like
Lots of add-ons available.
Built-in FTP client.
Auto-complete and syntax checking features.
What We Don't Like
Slow to load.
Feels cluttered.
Difficult to install color schemes.
Komodo Edit is hands down the best free XML editor available. It includes a lot of great features for HTML and CSS development. Plus, if that isn't enough, you can get extensions for it to add on languages or other helpful features (like special characters).
Komodo Edit is not the best HTML editor out there, but it is great for the price, especially if you build in XML. I use Komodo Edit every day for my work in XML, and I use it a lot for basic HTML editing as well. This is one editor I'd be lost without.
There are two versions of Komodo: Komodo Edit and Komodo IDE.
Best for JavaScript Developers: Aptana Studio
What We Like
Integrated debugger.
Build-in Code Assist feature for tags.
Built-in terminal emulator.
What We Don't Like
No longer in development.
Minimal support for PHP.
Some dependencies.
Aptana Studio offers an interesting take on website development. Instead of focusing on HTML, Aptana focuses on the JavaScript and other elements that allow you to create rich internet applications.
One thing I really like is the outline view that makes it really easy to visualize the document object model (DOM). This makes for easier CSS and JavaScript development.
If you are a developer creating web applications, Aptana Studio is a good choice.
A Full Featured Java IDE: NetBeans
What We Like
Version 9.0 released by Apache after acquisition.
Supports the Jigsaw Module system.
Supports Java Shell, new in JDK 9.
What We Don't Like
Needs high-memory computer to run quickly.
Not many plug-ins.
Auto-completion is buggy.
NetBeans IDE is a Java IDE that can help you build robust web applications. Like most IDEs, it has a steep learning curve because they don’t often work in the same way that web editors do. But once you get used to it you’ll be hooked.
One nice feature is the version control included in the IDE which is really useful for people working in large development environments. If you write Java and web pages this is a great tool.
Best for LAMP Developers: Bluefish
What We Like
Auto-completion and auto-tag closing.
Powerful search and replace.
Quick to start and load files.
What We Don't Like
Not for novice programmers.
User interface looks intimidating.
Too many tabs and toolbars.
Bluefish is a full-featured web editor for Linux. There are also native executables for Windows and Macintosh. There is code-sensitive spell check, autocomplete of many different languages (HTML, PHP, CSS, etc.), snippets, project management, and auto-save.
It is primarily a code editor, not specifically a web editor. This means that it has a lot of flexibility for web developers writing in more than just HTML, but if you’re a designer by nature you might not like it as much.
A Powerful Multi-Language IDE: Eclipse
What We Like
Robust debugging and profiling profile.
Code-completion feature.
Fast deployment and implementation.
What We Don't Like
Slow when working with large files.
Not recommended for large businesses.
Steep learning curve for novice programmers.
Eclipse is a complex, Open Source development environment that is perfect for people who do a lot of coding on a variety of platforms and with different languages.
Eclipse is structured as plug-ins, so if you need to edit something just find the appropriate plug-in and go.
If you are creating complex web applications, Eclipse has a lot of features to help make your application easier to build. There are Java, JavaScript, and PHP plugins, as well as a plugin for mobile developers.
A Swiss Army Knife IDE from Mozilla: SeaMonkey
What We Like
Tabs for WISIWYG editing, HTML tags, HTML code, and browser views.
Suitable for building simple, basic websites.
What We Don't Like
Composer element no longer being maintained.
Generates HTML 4.01 Transitional code.
SeaMonkey is the Mozilla project all-in-one internet application suite. It includes a web browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and Composer, the web page editor.
Text Editor For Mac Free
One of the nice things about using SeaMonkey is that the browser is built-in, so testing is a breeze. Plus it's a free WYSIWYG editor with an embedded FTP client to publish your web pages.
A Basic HTML Writer: Amaya
What We Like
Useful for up to HTML 4.01.
Supports SVG and MathML.
What We Don't Like
Last updated in 2012.
No longer in development.
Amaya is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) web editor and web browser. It validates the HTML as you build your page and displays your Web documents in a tree structure, which is useful for learning to understand the DOM.
Amaya has a lot of features that most web designers won’t ever use, but if you want to be certain that your pages follow the W3C standards, this is a great editor to use.
Straightforward and Stable: BBEdit 12
What We Like
Supports HTML5.
Opens large files.
Great customer support.
Rock-solid software.
What We Don't Like
Advanced features require paid version after 30-day free trial.
Must search menus for features and options.
BBEdit is a paid program that has a set of free capabilities (the same capabilities that the now-defunct TextWranger had. While Bare Bones Software, the makers of BBEdit do offer a paid version, you may find the free version does everything you need. You can review a feature comparison here.
Note
If you're using TextWrangler, it is not compatible with macOS 10.13 (High Sierra). However, the free (and paid) version of BBEdit is.
I've been using dreamweaver since I started learning basics in html like a year ago, and now I would like to change to a free alternative, since I don't need the WYSIWYG and other dreamweaver functions anymore.
However, I have tried Notepad++ and first it seemed great, but it sometimes crashes after not being able to connect to ftp. Also I really got used to the ftp/explorer, that dreamweaver has, where you are able to transfer images and other things right through the text editor, not just code files.
So is there an alternative for me?
Anthony Pottsclosed as primarily opinion-based by Quentin, Peter O., Kevin Reid, showdev, nullabilitySep 8 '14 at 20:03
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
17 Answers
If you're doing web development, you probably should use the tools every good coder use: a programmable editor like Vim or Emacs and some version control system (I'd recommend using a decentralised one, like Mercurial, Git or Bazaar).
You shouldn't directly edit code from the FTP. That's aiming a really big gun to your foot. And removing the safety.
Vadim KotovI don't want to appear as 'the vim freak', but that's what I use and recommend. Incredibly powerful once you master search-replace, regexes, macros and commands.
Adriano Varoli PiazzaAdriano Varoli PiazzaAptana is a good one.
rahulrahulIf you have a Mac, Coda and TextMate seem to be favorites.
samozsamozTextmate is my favorite on the Mac. When on Linux, I really like Gedit with lots of plugins. On Windows, e-Editor is great Textmate replacement.
The more web development I do, the less I want a WYSISYG editor, they don't generally look like the final version anyway, so having a couple browsers running is usually a must anyway.
I've switched to Eclipse on my Windows systemm and FileZilla for SFTP to the servers.
acrosmanacrosmanSure, there are plenty of text editors & FTP clients available for free. If you like Notepad++ as an editor, keep it and look for a replacement FTP client.
My Mac recommendation for web dev is Coda, which is an editor and ftp client together.
Taylor EdmistonTaylor EdmistonI currently use Notepad++, but I have found ConTEXT useful in the past
Believe me, using something simple like EditPlus (or Notepad as a matter of fact) is best for normal HTML and JavaScript development.
For anything fancy, you could use IDE (e.g. Visual Studio etc.)
BhaskarBhaskarIf you want just editing, fast, reliable, etc., go with VIM. If you want a full-featured IDE, right now I don't think you can beat Eclipse. You'll pay in memory footprint and speed, but hoo boy the features you can add. Especially for Java, but they've got support for other languages/technologies either directly or as an add-on.
I used to be a big fan of emacs, but it just doesn't have the user community and ongoing development any more.
JEdit for sure:
- because it's written in Java, you get for free: excellent encoding support, java regex (multiline!), stability...
- scriptable & great macros available;
- excellent plugins, my favourites: XML, BufferTabs, Templates;
- lots of edit modes
It depends on what you want to do:
- If you want to do an heavy J2EE app, you should use Eclipse, Netbeans, ...
- If you will mostly do PHP or Python with a bit of CSS/Javascript, you can use PhpStorm, Aptana, Sublime text, ...
- If you want to focus on frontend (HTML, CSS, Javascript), you can go on Espresso, Brackets and the upcoming TweakStyle. Each of them have a different added value depending on what you want to do.
I would definitely recommend a WYSIWYG editor, but you could always give Crimson Editor a try. I used to hear good things about it.
Mike BMike BI agree textmate is great for MAC, yet so is BBEDIT lots of nice features plus with HTML tidy it can clean up and validate your code.
Also a nice all in one would be Espresso its a combination of dreamweaver, textmate, cssedit, with ftp publishing tools. Code hinting and more. With some nice skins and nice plugins.
matthewbmatthewbTextpad is really great, though no Unicode support (boo!)
jwljwlAs for ftp, go with some kind of sync program so you don't have to manually know what to upload (or upload everything all the time).
Maybe something like weex or rsync?
JohanJohanI cannot believe nobody mentioned komodo edit, by activestate. It has tons of features (including some ftp stuff), great autocomplete (just missing some new html5 features in the autocomplete, that's all), treats javascript inside of html files as if it were part of a js file (aptana doesn't treat javascript as javascript unless it is in a .js file, doesn't support embedding it into html files). It support lots of languages (php, js, html, css, asp, ...), auto-indents (something I was surprised not to see in sublime text html), provides a description of functions (e.g. if you type document.getElementById( it will say something like getElementById(string id) returns the element with the specified id, which is sometimes helpful). It also has syntax highlighting, but not just for errors: if you type if(x=f) it will say strict warning: assignment instead of testing. I tried Aptana studio for 10 minutes, noticed that the autocomplete was missing, javascript didn't work in html files, stopped using it. Then I tried sublime text 2, also hated it. It was missing auto indent, autocomplete, and a lot more. I have using komodo edit for months and it is definitely the best.