Best Code Editors For Developers 2022

As a modern-day web developer, you may take many things for granted. For example, now you can open any application on your computer (be it Linux, Mac, or Windows) and you can write code using best code editors with ease, aided by diverse plugins and extensions.

  1. Atom
  2. Brackets
  3. Visual Studio Code
  4. Notepad++
  5. Ultra Edit
  6. Sublime Text
  7. Jetbrains Webstorm

It hasn't always been this way.

A seasoned programmer will remember how it felt to work in vi, ed, and Notepad-like applications. Not so comfortable, heh? In this post, we are going to explore what you need to know about the latest and best code editors for web developers.

IDE is a term referring to Integrated Development Environment. IDE allows you to write your code and debug it with a compiler or linter in the same program.

With IDEs, you can also use automatization tools, multiple programming languages, and out-of-the-box functionality.  You will need an IDE for doing big projects on different platforms. In other cases, an editor with enough functions will do.

Front-end developers need the features and tools that are seldom used by back-end developers or administrators. That’s why there are “programming text editors” and code editors.”

code editor

In this article, we'll consider seven IDEs you can use for editing and debugging code. 

If we have missed something, please let us know in the comments!


Atom

best code editor

Atom is an open-source UI and UX coding software. You will appreciate the free access and tools that it offers.

best code editor
online code editor

You can work in one of the panes or in several at once. Written in Node.js and developed by GitHub, this is a community-built application. You can download free extensions and personalize them.

Atom is web-based and its API is open to integrations. It is available for all major platforms, is completely portable, and lightweight, and has a great developer community. You can use custom snippets for repeated tasks. Atom is a comfortable environment for small English-only projects.


Brackets

online code editor
html code editor
code editor windows
code editor mac

Brackets created by Adobe is plain and simple, open source, and cross-platform. You can even create your own add-ons, share them with a community, enjoy the built-in preview, and modify the config file.
Enjoy the Quick Edit feature...and add to it ‘Find and replace’ functionality.

All the features are awesome: Autoprefixer, validation, Git integration, auto-complete / Emmet, Bootstrap, snippets, etc.

Written in Javascript, Brackets is rather slow and memory-consuming.


Visual Studio Code

This code editor was developed for Windows, Mac, and Linux by Microsoft.

web code editor

Easy-to-use interface, snippets, debugging, code auto-completion, multiple replace functions, interactive search, syntax highlighting, and embedded Git control are some of the benefits you can get from it.

It really resembles a full-fledged IDE. The startup time can be really long but the VS Code is definitely worth playing with.


Notepad ++

text editor for programming

Notepad ++ is based on the Scintilla editor component. It’s written in C++ to increase performance and reduce program size.

According to Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2015, it is most popular among data scientists and students.

With this lightweight program, you get macros recording and a huge list of plugins for automated tasks.

Notepad ++ is highly customizable and has a code highlighting feature when editing C++ / PHP / CSS / HTML / Powershell / SQL / XML, etc.


UltraEdit

open source code editor

UltraEdit is not free, and you can install it for about $100. In the package, there are many tools for programmers, including configurable syntax highlighting, macros, code folding, regular expressions for search-and-replace, remote editing via FTP, and more. Totally worth the money.

It’s highly customizable, and agile, handles large files easily, and includes unlimited support. This program has many advantages over even the best IDEs.


Sublime Text

Sublime Text 3 is very rich in functions. The program is not free, you can download it for $70. You get to test it for without charge for an unlimited period if you’re ok with the alerts reminding you to buy a license.

code text editor
best code editor

Sublime Text is incredibly fast, lightweight, stable, completely customizable, cross-platform, and intuitive.

You get a huge library of community plugins. Users appreciate the syntax highlighting, auto-complete, auto-save, multiple selections, easy navigation with tab view and folder structure, a built-in command line, and more.


JetBrains WebStorm

JetBrains IDE provides an excellent user experience, but you'll have to pay $129 for the first year after the 30-day trial period is over.

best code editor

When developing JS-based applications, you find all the functionality you need already built in.
Git support is great, and you can revert to previous commits, and see the history tree within the same app.

Autocomplete, syntax errors auto-detection, refactoring tools, and many other features make Javascript development much more smooth.

best code editor

An extensive plugin library will help to extend the functionality or customize the interface.
JetBrains offers an incredible student program - one year of free usage.


If you want to see the code of any template, just choose the right program! The following table might help you:

  Atom Brackets Visual Studio Code Notepad ++ UltraEdit Sublime WebStorm
Released 2014 2012 2015 2003 1994 2008 2010
Language HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C++ HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C++ JavaScript, C#, C++, JSON, HTML, PHP, Python, Markdown, TypeScript, and CSS C++ C++ C++, Objective-C++ (macOS version), Python JavaScript, CSS & HTML
License MIT MIT MIT GPL Proprietary Proprietary Proprietary
Multi-language - + + + + - +
Cross-platform + + + - + + +
Approx. drive space ~150 MB ~180 MB ~200 MB ~7 MB ~85 MB ~28 MB ~600 MB
Live preview extension extension extension - built-in extension built-in
RTL / Bidi - - - + - - +

Of course, the main reason for using a code editor is to create and customize websites and applications. Browse thousands of premium templates at TemplateMonster Marketplace. WebStorm and Sublime editors are the most popular among our developers. I personally prefer Sublime for its reliability, lightness, and customizable syntax highlighting.


Best Code Editors For Developers 2022 FAQ

What is a code editor?

A modern code editor is a text editor for creating and editing source codes. It can be a standalone application or embedded in an integrated development environment (IDE).

What are the best code editors for developers?

1. Atom;
2. Brackets;
3. Visual Studio Code;
4. Notepad++;
4. Ultra Edit;
5. Sublime Text;
6. Jetbrains Webstorm.

What is the use of code editors?

Code editors have some features that simplify and speed up writing and changing code, such as:
syntax highlighting;
auto-completion;
indentation;
checking the correct placement of brackets;
contextual help by code;
and many others.
Such editors provide a convenient way to run the compiler, interpreter, debugger, or other programs needed during the software development process.


Helen Marshall

Helen is a Technical Writer at TemplateMonster, passionate about WordPress and creating chatbots. Follow her on Quora.

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