Thanks to remarkable speed, syntax highlighting, multi-view, macro reading, and customization options, Notepad++ is easily one of the top text and source code editors out there. However, it’s only available on Windows. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives on macOS if you're so inclined. You can pick one based on your preferences, budget, and features on offer, and to help you out, we've highlighted some of the best here. Let's get into it.

6 Phoenix Code (formerly Brackets)

Founded by Adobe and aimed at web designers and front-end developers, Phoenix Code is free, open-source, and one of the top alternatives to Notepad++ on Mac. Developers primarily use it for web design and development, and the software is written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It's the successor to Brackets, which was also a very popular option (and you can still download the old version if you want).

One of the really useful features of Phoenix Code is Live Preview. As the name suggests, when you tweak CSS and HTML, you'll seethe changes live right next to the code, and you can even change the user agent for the browser viewing the page, so you can make sure it works in different browsers. Aside from live preview, it supports inline editors, preprocessor support, color, gradient, and image preview.

You can also head to the Extension Manager in Phoenix Code and download some of the popular add-ons like Auto Close Tag, Color Highlighter, Autoprefixer, Beautify, Emmet, and more (make sure to check extension compatibility with your Phoenix Code version). The team also offers a web-based editor if you don't want to install the app on your Mac right away. It's the perfect way to give it a trial run.

• Phoenix Code

  See at Phoenix Code

5 CodeRunner 4

CodeRunner 4 is a solid, lightweight IDE for Mac. The latest CodeRunner 4 has native support for Apple Silicon and comes with a bunch of useful features to complete your project like a pro. It supports 25 languages, including the likes of AppleScript, C, C++, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, Node.js and more. That said, the code completion and debugger support do vary from one language to another. Make sure to check the company’s language overview page before hitting the buy button.

Other features include a code tokenizer for Swift, a sidebar search option, improvements to printing, macOS compatibility, debugging, and more. It supports dark mode, too. CodeRunner 4 is priced at $20 and it’s available from the Mac App Store, though you can also download a free 14-day trial form the developers's website.

• CodeRunner

  $20 at Apple App Store See at CodeRunner

4 Nova 3

Nova 3 is another feature-rich native Notepad++ alternative on Mac. The built-in text editor is the heart and soul of Nova 3. It’s a flexible text editor with useful functions like autocomplete, tag pairs, brackets, a Minimap, and more.

Nova also has built-in debugging support for popular programming languages like PHP, Python, Node.js, Deno, and Chrome. It is huge time-saver for developers. You can also dig Nova’s extensions library to add support for more languages or create your own using the company’s extensions API.

Some of the popular extensions are Beautify, Ashokai, Rust, Python, TypeScript, Deno, Copilot for Nova, and more. The built-in tools like a local file browser, text clips, Git, task reports, file tracking, and publishing improve your workflow and boost productivity. You can also split the sidebar to check multiple tools simultaneously. Nova costs $99 as a one-time purchase, but you can give it a shot with a 30-day free trial so you can make sure it's what you need before committing.

3 BBEdit

BBEdit is another robust text editing tool with a long list of text editing capabilities. It offers a clean and efficient interface, powerful search & replace, built-in syntax highlighting, code folding for numerous programming languages, and all the necessary development tools like HTML and CSS markup tools, live preview, and built-in validation.

While it was already a capable Notepad++ alternative on Mac, the company took it to the next level with the BBEdit version 15. It finally introduces a bunch of much-awaited features, such as a minimap to glance over your active text document, an expandable cheat sheet, AI chat worksheets, improvements to the project workspace, and other UI refreshes.

BBEdit 15 costs $40 as a one-time purchase, and Existing BBEdit 14 users can purchase it for $30. However, you can use the app for free with limited functionality, so you don't have to commit to a purchase if you don't need the more advanced tools it offers.

2 Visual Studio Code

If we're talking about Notepad++ alternatives, we can't really leave Visual Studio Code out of the list. Thanks to its long list of features and extensibility, Visual Studio Code is quite popular among developers.

Its IntelliSense feature is a useful add-on to suggest smart completions based on variable types and function definitions. Like other tools, Visual Studio Code also has a robust extension gallery to streamline your workflow in no time. Some of the popular titles include GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Tabnine, Bookmarks, CodeSnap, GitHistory, and more.

VS Code is quite customizable, too. You can play with different themes, keyboard shortcuts, and other preferences. It supports debugging for Node.js, JavaScript, and Typescript by default. Visual Studio Code is free to download and use. The software is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

1 Sublime Text

Sublime Text is a capable programming text editor on Mac. Many developers prefer Sublime Text due to its minimalistic UI, useful features, and solid performance. The app also supports a dark theme with one of its more recent updates, which is great for those late-night coding sessions.

The Goto Anything feature can be a huge timesaver for developers. You can simply press the command + P keys and jump to symbols, lines, or words in seconds. You can also multi-select and change several lines simultaneously. Other features include plugin support, quick project switch, split editing, auto-complete, and more.

Sublime Text is a cross-platform solution with native apps on Windows, Linux, and Mac. It’s free to download and use, though you will frequently be asked to pay for the full version.

Development on Mac is a breeze

Just because you don't have Notepad++ on macOS, it doesn't mean you can't use a Mac for all your development needs. Thanks to these robust text editors on Mac, you have everything you need for your setup. If you are new to macOS, check out the first things to do on your Mac. You can also glance over our separate post to find the top Mac apps.