head to head · open source
helix vs Xed-Editor
helix has 46,278 GitHub stars, 3,764 forks, 1,671 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Xed-Editor has 2,311 stars, 159 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. helix leads on adoption by 1,903% (46,278 vs 2,311 stars). helix is written in Rust under MPL-2.0; Xed-Editor is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. helix has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Xed-Editor 7%. Xed-Editor was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| helix | Xed-Editor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 159 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick helix if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Xed-Editor if
- You want the Xed-Editor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Xed-Editor fits your workflow better
About helix
Helix is a post modern modal text editor written in Rust that brings the selection first Kakoune editing model to the terminal, aimed at developers who want Vim style modal editing with language tooling built into the editor rather than assembled from a plugin stack.
read the full helix overview →
About Xed-Editor
Xed Editor is a free, GPL 3.0 licensed text and code editor for Android, written in Kotlin, built for developers and power users who want syntax highlighting, LSP powered code intelligence, a built in terminal, and extensions on a phone or tablet.
read the full Xed-Editor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is helix or Xed-Editor more popular?
helix has 46,278 GitHub stars and Xed-Editor has 2,311. helix has the larger community by that measure.
Are helix and Xed-Editor free?
Both are open source. helix is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Xed-Editor under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between helix and Xed-Editor?
helix is written in Rust and Xed-Editor in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, helix or Xed-Editor?
Choose helix if you want the larger community (46,278 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Xed-Editor if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.