Best Open Source Alternatives to BBEdit

Compare the best free and open-source alternatives to BBEdit — self-hosted and desktop replacements you fully control, ranked by GitHub stars, license and platform support.

Curated by open-source.store · Updated August 2026 · 3 alternatives

BBEdit

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BBEdit alternatives compared

Open-source alternatives to BBEdit, compared by stars, license and platform
Tool		License	Platforms	Self-hosted
VS Code	188,107	MIT	macOSWindowsLinux	No	Aug 2026	Visit
Helix	45,684	MPL-2.0	macOSWindowsLinux	No	Jul 2026	Visit
VSCodium	32,609	MIT	macOSWindowsLinux	No	Jul 2026	Visit

Top open-source BBEdit alternatives

VS Code188,107MIT

Extensible, open source code editor.

macOSWindowsLinux

vs BBEdit: a free, open-source option you fully control, licensed MIT.

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Helix45,684MPL-2.0

Modern terminal text editor in Rust.

macOSWindowsLinux

vs BBEdit: a free, open-source option you fully control, licensed MPL-2.0.

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VSCodium32,609MIT

Telemetry-free binary distribution of VS Code.

macOSWindowsLinux

vs BBEdit: a free, open-source option you fully control, licensed MIT.

Visit Details