Compare the Top Free Code Editors as of April 2025

What are Free Code Editors?

Code editors are software tools that allow developers to write, edit, and debug source code for programming and web development. These editors provide essential features like syntax highlighting, code completion, auto-indentation, and error detection to enhance productivity and reduce coding errors. Many code editors also offer integrations with version control systems (like Git), debuggers, and build tools, allowing developers to manage their code and workflows efficiently. While some code editors are lightweight and focused solely on text editing, others offer extensive features and customization options through plugins and extensions. By providing a streamlined environment for coding, code editors are essential for software development, web development, and scripting tasks. Compare and read user reviews of the best Free Code Editors currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.

  • 1
    Apache NetBeans

    Apache NetBeans

    Apache Software Foundation

    Apache NetBeans is a versatile, open-source Integrated Development Environment (IDE) used for developing applications across a wide range of programming languages, including Java, JavaScript, PHP, HTML5, and C/C++. Known for its modular architecture, NetBeans provides robust tools and features that cater to the needs of developers working on desktop, mobile, and web applications. It includes intelligent code editing, debugging, and profiling capabilities, along with a built-in visual GUI builder for designing Java-based user interfaces. NetBeans also offers support for version control systems like Git, SVN, and Mercurial, facilitating seamless team collaboration. As an Apache Software Foundation project, NetBeans benefits from an active community that continuously improves and expands its functionality, making it a reliable and flexible choice for developers across various domains.
    Starting Price: Free
  • 2
    PearAI

    PearAI

    PearAI

    Ask questions or generate code with the context of your codebase for accurate results. This also works with choosing specific folders, online docs, terminal content, files, and more. PearAI can directly code in your files, and allow you to see diffs. Try CMD+I (CTRL+I on Windows). Here, we ask PearAI to help us add error handling and comments. Without writing a single line of code, we were able to make a new feature in an unfamiliar codebase: adding a documentation page to the PearAI landing page. Speed up your development process by seamlessly integrating AI into your workflow. PearAI's goal is to reduce the time it takes for an individual to go from idea to creation. Coding itself is a crucial tool in product development, and we believe that with the advancement of AI, it may drastically change over the coming years. We aim to build the environment that will encompass these changes, both in the short-term and long-term.
    Starting Price: $15 per month
  • 3
    Theia

    Theia

    Theia

    Eclipse Theia is an extensible platform to develop multi-language Cloud & Desktop IDEs with state-of-the-art web technologies. Not sure whether you need a web or desktop version or both? With Theia you can develop one IDE and run it in browsers or native desktop application from a single source. The Theia project is hosted at the Eclipse Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation, and is developed by a diverse community. Unlike other "open-source" projects, projects hosted at an Open-Source Foundation are protected against single-vendor decisions against the interest of the diverse community. Theia is designed in a modular way to allow extenders and adopters customizing and extending every aspect of it. Composing a custom IDE-like product is as easy as listing all needed extensions in a package.json file. Adding new functionality by implementing your own extensions is easy, too and provides all the flexibility you need.
    Starting Price: $0
  • 4
    Boost Note

    Boost Note

    Boost Note

    Boost Note is a powerful, lightspeed collaborative workspace for developer teams. Built to empower developers productivity with the most solid note taking experience for developers. Not just a GitHub flavored markdown. Put diagrams with Charts.js, Mermaid, and PlantUML in documents to maximize visibility. Choose from keymaps like Vim, over 150 themes, and more to create your own Markdown editor. Manage your documents programmatically. Grab an authentication token and access Boost Note's APIs via simple HTTP requests. Automate your documentation work with over 2,000 external tool integrations via Zapier. Collaborate with your colleagues and share information your way. Have all your teams in one shared workspace. Write documents as a team with Boost Note's realtime editing. Check revision history of a doc. You can easily roll back to one of the previous versions in one click. Keep your important data safe through granula access control based on workspace.
    Starting Price: $3 per member per month
  • 5
    CodeLite

    CodeLite

    CodeLite

    CodeLite is a free, open-source, cross-platform Integrated Development Environment (IDE) designed primarily for C, C++, PHP, and JavaScript development. It offers a lightweight and highly customizable environment with support for multiple compilers, including GCC, Clang, and Microsoft Visual C++. CodeLite features an intuitive code editor with syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and code refactoring capabilities. It also includes an integrated debugger with support for GDB, making it easy to set breakpoints, inspect variables, and trace call stacks. Additionally, CodeLite supports Node.js and TypeScript development, making it a versatile choice for both desktop and web-based applications. Its flexibility, cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, and Linux), and integration with popular version control systems like Git and Subversion make it a go-to IDE for developers seeking a lightweight alternative to more resource-intensive environments.
    Starting Price: Free
  • Previous
  • You're on page 1
  • Next