Best Brackets Alternatives 2026

Brackets provides live HTML, CSS and JavaScript editing directly in the browser. Designed specifically for web developers.

This editor offers features like inline editors, live preview, and preprocessor support. Its focus on web development makes it a great choice for front-end developers, allowing real-time integration with browsers for testing and design adjustments.

7
Top Alternatives
10
User Reviews
3.9
Avg. Rating

Recent Reviews

AJ
Alice Johnson
Front-End Developer

"Brackets is my go-to code editor for front-end development. The live preview feature is a lifesaver, allowing me to see..."

BW
Bob Williams
Web Designer

"Brackets is okay. The inline CSS editor is nice, and the overall interface is clean. However, I've experienced some perf..."

CD
Charlie Davis
Full-Stack Developer

"I've been using Brackets for several years now, and it's been a reliable workhorse. While it might not have all the bell..."

Brackets

brackets.io

An open-source code editor for web design and development, built by Adobe. Focuses on front-end development.

Platform Highlights

  • Free and open-source
  • Live preview
  • Inline editors
  • Slower than other editors
  • Smaller community than VS Code
Global Rank
#10000
Monthly Users
100k+
Founded
2014
Model
Free
Revenue Share
N/A
Content Policy
N/A
Creator Satisfaction 72%

Based on 3,000+ creator reviews

Brackets Alternatives

Compare top code editors & ides platforms with detailed reviews and ratings

Filter by:
2

Neovim

Free

A hyper-extensible text editor based on Vim. It seeks to improve usability and extensibility with a modernized architecture.

Windows, macOS, Linux
Free Option
neovim.io
4.6 (10 reviews)
88% recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Software Engineer

"Neovim has completely revolutionized my coding workflow. The speed and customizability are unparalleled. I especially ap..."

Match Score
56%
7

GNU Emacs

Free

Emacs is an extensible, customizable, free/libre text editor. It features content-aware editing modes, built-in documentation, Unicode support, and customization using Emacs Lisp code.

Linux, macOS, Windows
Free Option
gnu.org
4.3 (10 reviews)
80% recommend
EV
Eleanor Vance
Software Engineer

"Emacs is an incredibly powerful and extensible text editor. The sheer level of customization available can be overwhelmi..."

Match Score
54%
3

Vim

Free

Vim is a highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing. It is an improved version of the vi editor distributed with most UNIX systems.

Linux, macOS, Windows
Free Option
vim.org
4.6 (10 reviews)
85% recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Software Engineer

"Vim is simply unparalleled when it comes to text editing speed and efficiency. The modal editing concept took some getti..."

Match Score
51%
1

Visual Studio Code

Recommended Free

A lightweight but powerful source code editor with built-in support for many languages and a large extension ecosystem.

Windows, macOS, Linux, Web
Free Option
code.visualstudio.com
4.7 (10 reviews)
90% recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Software Engineer

"Visual Studio Code is my go-to IDE. The extensions ecosystem is incredibly rich, allowing me to customize my development..."

Match Score
50%
6

Sublime Text

Freemium

A sophisticated text editor for code, markup, and prose. Known for its speed, ease of use and powerful features.

Windows, macOS, Linux
Freemium Option
sublimetext.com
4.3 (10 reviews)
80% recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Web Developer

"Sublime Text is my go-to text editor for all my web development projects. Its speed and responsiveness are unmatched, ev..."

Match Score
47%
4

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

Freemium

A powerful IDE for JVM languages, known for its smart code completion and extensive plugin ecosystem. Ideal for enterprise development.

Windows, macOS, Linux
Freemium Option
jetbrains.com
4.5 (10 reviews)
85% recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Software Engineer

"IntelliJ IDEA is a powerhouse IDE. Its code completion and refactoring tools are unparalleled. Worth every penny."

Match Score
45%
5

BBEdit

Professional

BBEdit is a professional HTML and text editor for Macintosh. It is crafted to serve the needs of Web and software developers. Great for coding!

macOS
Paid Option
barebones.com
4.4 (10 reviews)
82% recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Web Developer

"BBEdit has been my go-to text editor for over a decade. Its powerful search and replace capabilities, coupled with its s..."

Match Score
31%
User Reviews

What users say about Brackets

Real experiences from our community of users who have tried Brackets and its alternatives.

3.9
Average Rating
10
Total Reviews
72%
Would Recommend
AJ
Alice Johnson
Front-End Developer • 1 month ago
Verified User

Brackets is my go-to code editor for front-end development. The live preview feature is a lifesaver, allowing me to see changes in real-time without constantly refreshing my browser. I especially appreciate the inline editors and quick edit functionality that speeds up my workflow considerably. It's a lightweight and powerful tool.

Verified Purchase
BW
Bob Williams
Web Designer • 1 month ago
User

Brackets is okay. The inline CSS editor is nice, and the overall interface is clean. However, I've experienced some performance issues with larger projects, and the extension ecosystem isn't as robust as some other editors. It's a decent free option, but I find myself occasionally switching to other tools for specific tasks that Brackets struggles with. More community support would be greatly beneficial.

CD
Charlie Davis
Full-Stack Developer • 1 month ago
Verified User

I've been using Brackets for several years now, and it's been a reliable workhorse. While it might not have all the bells and whistles of some premium editors, it's more than capable for most of my full-stack projects. The lack of native git integration is a bit of a downside, but there are extensions that can help with that. I really like its simplicity, and its support for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is robust.

Verified Purchase
DG
Diana Garcia
Junior Developer • 1 month ago
User

As a junior developer, Brackets has been incredibly helpful for learning web development. The clean interface and intuitive features make it easy to understand and use. The live preview allows me to experiment and see the results of my code instantly. I also appreciate the helpful code hints and auto-completion features that have accelerated my learning process significantly. It is a very user-friendly IDE!

ER
Ethan Rodriguez
Software Engineer • 1 month ago
Verified User

Brackets is a solid choice for web development. The extract feature, which allows you to pull design information from PSD files, is surprisingly useful. While I primarily use it for front-end work, I've also found it adequate for some basic back-end scripting. It is a really good tool, although sometimes a little clunky. I am hoping for more features and constant updates to make it better.

Verified Purchase
FM
Fiona Martinez
Freelance Developer • 1 month ago
User

Brackets served me well in my early freelance days. It's a free editor with enough functionality to get started. However, as my projects became more complex, I found myself needing more advanced features and better performance. The limited plugin support can be frustrating. Therefore, I have since moved on to more complete, enterprise-level solutions. It is still useful for quick edits and basic HTML/CSS tasks.

GL
George Lopez
Web Developer • 1 month ago
Verified User

Brackets is a fantastic code editor that I use daily for my web development projects. I especially love the inline editing features for CSS and JavaScript, which save me a lot of time. The integration with Adobe Creative Cloud is also a great bonus. The editor is lightweight, responsive, and has a clean and intuitive interface. It's everything I need and more!

Verified Purchase