Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to CotEditor

The free plain-text editor for OS X

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. CotEditor launched in 2014; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   MarkRight▲84

   A minimalistic github flavored markdown editor

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Macaw▲90

   A simple code editor for Swift

   2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Brackets 1.0▲190

   An open-source text editor for web designers by Adobe

   2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Squire▲123

   The <textarea> of the future. A HTML5 rich text editor.

   2014 · neilj.github.io · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Atom▲145

   A hackable text editor for the 21st Century

   2014 · github.blog · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Markoff▲94

   A free Markdown previewer for OS X

   2016 · thoughtbot.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Lime Text▲76

   Open Source code editor

   2014 · limetext.org · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Trix▲184

   A rich text editor for everyday writing

   2015 · trix-editor.org · its alternatives →

9. 9
   TextMate 2.0▲155

   Powerful and customizable text editor for Mac

   2019 · macromates.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Markly▲64

    A calm, native Markdown editor for your folders

    27d ago · markly.justghali.dev · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Paragraph Notes▲155

    A private Markdown notes app for Mac

    Sep 2026 · paragraphnotes.md · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Fulvid▲86

    A standalone desktop editor for Markdown and MDX

    Sep 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Restyaboard▲197

    An open source alternative to Trello

    2015 · restya.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Moeditor▲110

    All-purpose markdown editor built with Electron

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Addr▲98

    A collective and annotation-focus ePub reader

    2014 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    MuM▲93

    A reading-first Markdown engine for macOS

    23d ago · mum.jiker.ai · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Glorium▲83

    A contextual filler text generator for Mac

    2015 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    MacDown▲115

    Open source Markdown editor for OS X influenced by Mou.

    2014 · macdown.uranusjr.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Markdoc▲84

    A shared Markdown editor for people and their agents

    14d ago · markdoc.app · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Editorially▲95

    Collaborative writing tool

    2013 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    FoldingText▲83

    Plain text productivity for geeks

    2014 · foldingtext.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Textnut▲4

    A WYSIWYG Markdown Editor for Mac

    2015 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Ghostwriter▲5

    A distraction-free Markdown editor for Windows and Linux

    2016 · wereturtle.github.io · its alternatives →

24. 24
    TextWrangler▲12

    A free text editor for code, text, or whatever you like.

    2014 · barebones.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →