We have evaluated over 20 free HTML editors for Macintosh against over 40 different criteria relevant to professional web designers and developers. The following applications are the best free HTML editors for Macintosh, both WYSIWYG and text editors, rated from best to worst. Each editor listed will have a score, percentage, and a link to more information.
Taco HTML Edit is the premier HTML editor and PHP editor for the Mac. As an HTML editor, Taco HTML Edit empowers its users to rapidly create their own web sites. It is designed exclusively for Mac OS X and has many advanced features including spell checking, live browser previewing, PHP previewing, syntax checking, and much more. Can be buggy on the Mac; No collaborative editing; No large file support; No SSH support for remote file editing; 4. Crimson Editor. Crimson was written in C, is open source and is known as a professional source code editor for Windows only. An HTML editor is actually a software application for crafting web pages. Those who are specialized can provide expediency and extra functions. Quite many HTML editors serve with not only HTML but also with related languages such as CSS, JavaScript, XML, or ECMAScript. The web editor for Mac is back.For people who make delightful, innovative and fast websites — in an app to match. Espresso helps you write, code, design, build and publish with flair and efficiency. You may find such editors especially useful if you have no or little coding, html or CSS knowledge or if you want an editor that allows you to create web pages quickly.Here are the best WYSIWYG web editors for Mac OS X. WYSIWYG editors are HTML editors that attempt to display the web page as it will display in the browser. They are visual editors, and you don’t manipulate the code directly. I’ve reviewed over 60 different web editors for Macintosh against criteria relevant to professional web designers and developers.
Best Value: Komodo Edit
What We Like
Lots of add-ons available.
Built-in FTP client.
Auto-complete and syntax checking features.
What We Don't Like
Slow to load.
Feels cluttered.
Difficult to install color schemes.
Komodo Edit is hands down the best free XML editor available. It includes a lot of great features for HTML and CSS development. Plus, if that isn't enough, you can get extensions for it to add on languages or other helpful features (like special characters).
Komodo Edit is not the best HTML editor out there, but it is great for the price, especially if you build in XML. I use Komodo Edit every day for my work in XML, and I use it a lot for basic HTML editing as well. This is one editor I'd be lost without.
There are two versions of Komodo: Komodo Edit and Komodo IDE.
Best for JavaScript Developers: Aptana Studio
What We Like
Integrated debugger.
Build-in Code Assist feature for tags.
Built-in terminal emulator.
What We Don't Like
No longer in development.
Minimal support for PHP.
Some dependencies.
Aptana Studio offers an interesting take on website development. Instead of focusing on HTML, Aptana focuses on the JavaScript and other elements that allow you to create rich internet applications.
One thing I really like is the outline view that makes it really easy to visualize the document object model (DOM). This makes for easier CSS and JavaScript development.
If you are a developer creating web applications, Aptana Studio is a good choice.
A Full Featured Java IDE: NetBeans
What We Like
Version 9.0 released by Apache after acquisition.
Supports the Jigsaw Module system.
Supports Java Shell, new in JDK 9.
What We Don't Like
Needs high-memory computer to run quickly.
Not many plug-ins.
Auto-completion is buggy.
NetBeans IDE is a Java IDE that can help you build robust web applications. Like most IDEs, it has a steep learning curve because they don’t often work in the same way that web editors do. But once you get used to it you’ll be hooked.
One nice feature is the version control included in the IDE which is really useful for people working in large development environments. If you write Java and web pages this is a great tool.
Best for LAMP Developers: Bluefish
What We Like
Auto-completion and auto-tag closing.
Powerful search and replace.
Quick to start and load files.
What We Don't Like
Not for novice programmers.
User interface looks intimidating.
Too many tabs and toolbars.
Bluefish is a full-featured web editor for Linux. There are also native executables for Windows and Macintosh. There is code-sensitive spell check, autocomplete of many different languages (HTML, PHP, CSS, etc.), snippets, project management, and auto-save.
It is primarily a code editor, not specifically a web editor. This means that it has a lot of flexibility for web developers writing in more than just HTML, but if you’re a designer by nature you might not like it as much.
A Powerful Multi-Language IDE: Eclipse
What We Like
Robust debugging and profiling profile.
Code-completion feature.
Fast deployment and implementation.
What We Don't Like
Slow when working with large files.
Not recommended for large businesses.
Steep learning curve for novice programmers.
Eclipse is a complex, Open Source development environment that is perfect for people who do a lot of coding on a variety of platforms and with different languages.
Eclipse is structured as plug-ins, so if you need to edit something just find the appropriate plug-in and go.
If you are creating complex web applications, Eclipse has a lot of features to help make your application easier to build. There are Java, JavaScript, and PHP plugins, as well as a plugin for mobile developers.
A Swiss Army Knife IDE from Mozilla: SeaMonkey
What We Like
Tabs for WISIWYG editing, HTML tags, HTML code, and browser views.
Suitable for building simple, basic websites.
What We Don't Like
Composer element no longer being maintained.
Generates HTML 4.01 Transitional code.
SeaMonkey is the Mozilla project all-in-one internet application suite. It includes a web browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and Composer, the web page editor.
One of the nice things about using SeaMonkey is that the browser is built-in, so testing is a breeze. Plus it's a free WYSIWYG editor with an embedded FTP client to publish your web pages.
A Basic HTML Writer: Amaya
What We Like
Useful for up to HTML 4.01.
Supports SVG and MathML.
What We Don't Like
Last updated in 2012.
No longer in development.
Amaya is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) web editor and web browser. It validates the HTML as you build your page and displays your Web documents in a tree structure, which is useful for learning to understand the DOM.
Html Editors For Mac
Amaya has a lot of features that most web designers won’t ever use, but if you want to be certain that your pages follow the W3C standards, this is a great editor to use.
Straightforward and Stable: BBEdit 12
What We Like
Supports HTML5.
Opens large files.
Great customer support.
Rock-solid software.
What We Don't Like
Advanced features require paid version after 30-day free trial.
Must search menus for features and options.
BBEdit is a paid program that has a set of free capabilities (the same capabilities that the now-defunct TextWranger had. While Bare Bones Software, the makers of BBEdit do offer a paid version, you may find the free version does everything you need. You can review a feature comparison here.
Note
If you're using TextWrangler, it is not compatible with macOS 10.13 (High Sierra). However, the free (and paid) version of BBEdit is.
Whether you’re a self-confessed script kiddie or black hat, a hobby programmer or professional coder, you need to have an app that’s up to the task. If you choose to do your programming on a Mac rather than a PC, below is a list of the best code editing apps that could be mustered.
Test them out, see which one suits you, and dive on into the sublimely mathematical, perfectly logical world of Mac-based coding.
1. Vim
The number one choice for probably the majority of programmers these days, Vim is the most complete code-editing tool around. It uses much less memory than its rivals, it’s open source, and can be used remotely via SSH.
Related: 3 Useful VIM Editor Tips and Tricks for Advanced Users
That’s not all. Vim works on all Unix platforms (so Windows and Linux as well), and is brimming with keyboard shortcuts that make writing long chunks of code a cinch. It may seem like a lot to take in, but all the shortcuts are designed to be memorable (so d for ‘delete,’ obviously), making Vim rather accessible.
With its vast community churning out a constant procession of plug-ins and add-ons, Vim is a vast, flexible tool that can be used for many of the most popular coding environments (C, Python, you name it).
It’s number one for a reason.
2. Atom
Atom is a fantastic code editor for users of all skill levels. Whether you want to tweak source code or play around with packages, you can do so here. It has a great collaboration tool in the form of Teletype, which lets you seamlessly work on code with fellow users.
Code Editor For Mac
You can work in the universal hosting service GitHub from directly within Atom too, doing every function from creating new branches to pushing and pulling code requests. Beyond that, Atom is filled with quality-of-life features like autocomplete, a robust search tool and file browser, and a powerful package manager.
On the downside, Atom is fairly memory-intensive, particularly when handling large files, so be sure that your computer is up to the task RAM-wise before jumping in.
3. Sublime Text
One of the best and simplest coding tools ever available to Mac users. Sublime Text is a notepad-like application that lets you write your code, highlight certain parts using its various syntax detecting algorithms and so on. The app has a number of features including Goto Anything, Multiple Selections, Command Palette, etc. If you think the other apps or things are distracting you while doing your coding work, then you can enable the distraction-free writing mode. It disables everything except for the area where you write your code.
Sublime Text is not free, though you can download the free trial version and it never seem to expires. Nevertheless, if you use and love Sublime Text, it is always good to purchase the license and support the development.
The app is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.
4. BBEdit
This is yet another nice tool for coding programs. BBEdit says it does not suck, and that probably means something good for the coders. The app has a nice interface identical to Sublime Text. The app seems to be inclined towards those who do a lot of HTML coding, and maybe that is why there are a number of options to manipulate webpages in the app. It contains FTP and SFTP support, so there is no issue with uploading your files to your server as soon as you are done writing them. Sounds cool, huh?
5. TextMate
Do you have a load of coding work that needs to be done in a short span of time? TextMate is available to help you out. The app makes coding much easier on your Mac than ever with a number of features it comes preloaded with. Syntax highlighting, Multiple Tabs, and Search and Replace are some of the salient features of the app. If you missed closing a bracket, that happens most of the time you are coding; it completes it automatically for you. So the next time you write a program, there is much less of a chance that it will have errors.
6. Brackets
What is it that you use most often while writing code? Yes, you are right. It is brackets. Brackets by Adobe brings a powerful tool for you to code the next big thing. The app is actually built for HTML coders who build hundreds of webpages a day, or maybe even more. It highlights the syntax making it easier for you to find your code blocks and errors and comes with a Live HTML Development that shows the output of your code without having you save or refresh the page. That is really something cool about this app, isn’t it?
7. Textastic
Textastic for Mac is a simple, yet faster, coding tool that delivers what it promises. With features like Auto Completion, it auto-completes some of your code that you would otherwise have to do yourself, saving you some time that you could use to do something else. While most of the other features remain the same as the apps above, it includes a new feature called iCloud syncing. What it does is let you sync your code across your various Mac machines so that you can pick up where you left off easily.
Conclusion
Coding has become a part of many people’s lives these days, and the apps above should help to get it done more quickly and more efficiently.
This article was first published in March 2014 and was updated in June 2019.
Image credit: Closeup coding on screen by oatawa/Shutterstock