I use it for writing Bash and Zsh scripts and editing xml files, among other things. That said, the software is my go-to editor on the Mac, having abandoned TextEdit long ago. While BBEdit has many features catered to programmers, if you’re a hard-core coder there are probably better options out there. It’s also one of the most popular and for good reason: BBEdit has been around since 1992. Whether it is the ability to run Unix commands to filter out text, multiple document tab support, or HTML preview options, BBEdit is a very diverse text editor for the Mac. But despite its name, BBEdit has quite a few useful features. Speaking of bare bones, the “BB” in BBEdit actually stands for Bare Bones. Where to get it: or the Mac App Store.Cost: Free, with a $49.99 upgrade option for advanced features.Best for: Those who want a diverse feature set.Its convenience makes TextEdit a compelling option for those who need just the bare bones out of their text editor programs. TextEdit lacks features some of the options below have, but the software has the advantage of residing on macOS out of the box. Click on the Format menu and choose Make Plain Text.

Because of these features, TextEdit behaves more like Microsoft’s WordPad than Notepad out of the box, and it saves files in the Rich Text Format (RTF) by default.īut if you want TextEdit to function as a pure text editor more akin to Notepad you can change the software to do just that. The program does have text formatting options–a few typefaces, font sizes, and colors. The software comes pre-installed on the operating system and offers the most basic of functionality with few frills or extra features.

If you’re looking for a one-to-one Notepad equivalent on macOS, TextEdit is as close as you’ll get. Find the program in your Applications folder. Where to get it: TextEdit comes installed as part of the operating system.Best for: Quick and basic text files those who don’t want to install additional software.

Download notepad++ for mac os