Best Open Source Alternatives to Sublime Text

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

Curated by open-source.store · Updated November 2026 · 5 alternatives

Sublime Text

Proprietary SaaS

PricingPaid

Platformsmacos, windows, linux

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Sublime Text alternatives compared

Open-source alternatives to Sublime Text, compared by stars, license and platform
Tool		License	Platforms	Self-hosted
VS Code	194,530	MIT	macOSWindowsLinux	No	Nov 2026	Visit
Helix	46,777	MPL-2.0	macOSWindowsLinux	No	Sep 2026	Visit
VSCodium	33,919	MIT	macOSWindowsLinux	No	Oct 2026	Visit
ZeroBrane Studio	2,775	MIT	Linux	No	Sep 2026	Visit
ecode	675	MIT	Linux	No	Nov 2026	Visit

Top open-source Sublime Text alternatives

VS Code194,530MIT

VS Code is an open-source code editor replacing heavy IDEs with a fast multi-process design, decoupled language servers, and deep remote development.

macOSWindowsLinux

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

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Helix46,777MPL-2.0

Helix is a terminal modal code editor alternative to Sublime Text that bundles built-in LSP support, tree-sitter parsing, and zero-config multi-cursors.

macOSWindowsLinux

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

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VSCodium33,919MIT

VSCodium replaces Visual Studio Code with a telemetry-free binary build from source, giving developers full privacy and open-source extension freedom.

macOSWindowsLinux

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

Visit Details