best-of ranking · updated nightly

Best Open Source IDEs & Code Editors Tools

Ranked by GitHub stars — actual adoption, not editorial taste. All 10 are free, open source and self-hostable; license and last activity on every entry.

  1. 1
    vscode ★ 194K

    Visual Studio Code

    MIT TypeScript pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  2. 2
    Neovim ★ 103K

    Hyperextensible, Lua-powered Vim-based text editor

    NOASSERTION Vim Script pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  3. 3
    Zed ★ 93K

    High-performance code editor built for speed and AI

    NOASSERTION Rust pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  4. 4
    code-server ★ 80K

    VS Code in the browser

    MIT TypeScript pushed 2026-11-01 details →
  5. 5
    helix ★ 47K

    A post-modern modal text editor.

    MPL-2.0 Rust pushed 2026-09-29 details →
  6. 6
    vscodium ★ 34K

    binary releases of VS Code without MS branding/telemetry/licensing

    MIT Shell pushed 2026-10-31 details →
  7. 7
    NvChad ★ 29K

    Blazing fast Neovim framework providing solid defaults and a beautiful UI, enhancing your neovim experience.

    GPL-3.0 Lua pushed 2026-10-24 details →
  8. 8
    Kilo ★ 28K

    AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, and Cloud

    MIT TypeScript pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  9. 9
    CodeEdit ★ 23K

    A native code editor for macOS

    MIT Swift pushed 2026-10-17 details →
  10. 10
    opcode ★ 22K

    A powerful GUI app and Toolkit for Claude Code - Create custom agents, manage interactive Claude Code sessions, run secure background agents, and more.

    AGPL-3.0 TypeScript pushed 2026-09-18 details →
method stars desc · snapshot from github api refresh nightly related AI Assisted Coding, Build & Deployment, Website Builders, Terminals, API Development & Testing, Testing & Quality Assurance

Related best-of lists

last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked

Looking for a replacement for one specific commercial product? Browse alternatives by tool →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best open source IDEs & Code Editors tool in 2026?

vscode leads the ranking with 194,494 GitHub stars, ahead of Neovim. Rankings use live GitHub star counts, refreshed nightly.

How is this list of IDEs & Code Editors tools ranked?

By GitHub stars — a proxy for adoption and community size. Each entry also shows its licence, primary language and last commit date, so you can judge maintenance activity rather than trusting the ranking alone.

Are the best IDEs & Code Editors tools free?

Every project on this list is open source and free to self-host. Some also offer paid managed hosting, but the software itself carries no licence fee.