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Nova

Panic's native Mac code editor and lightweight IDE, bought once with optional yearly updates.

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About Nova

Nova is a code editor from Panic, the Mac developer behind Transmit and Coda, and it is the successor to Coda. It is written with native Mac frameworks, so it starts fast, uses little memory and looks and behaves like a Mac app rather than a web page in a window. Around a capable editor with minimap and multiple cursors, it brings a terminal, Git client, debugging sidebar, build and run tasks, live web previews and file transfer to remote servers into one workspace. Language servers can be installed for you, and recent versions add Rust, Swift and C/C++ support without extensions. Extensions are written in JavaScript. Nova is a paid app with a free 30-day trial: the licence is yours to keep and includes a year of updates, after which an optional yearly subscription continues them. It runs only on macOS. It suits web and script developers on the Mac who want a polished native tool; there are no AI agent features of note, and its extension library is smaller than VS Code's.

Best for: Mac web developers who want a fast, native editor instead of an Electron app.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Fully native Mac app, fast and light on memory
  • Terminal, Git, debugging and remote files in one window
  • Licence is yours to keep after purchase

Why people leave

  • macOS only
  • Smaller extension library than VS Code
  • Few built-in AI features

Top Nova alternatives

See all 5
  1. 1Sublime Text logo
    Sublime Text

    Fast cross-platform editor with a one-time licence.

    74.4
  2. 2Zed logo
    Zed

    A fast native editor that also runs on Linux and Windows, with AI built in.

    73.3
  3. 3Visual Studio Code logo
    Visual Studio Code

    Free and cross-platform, with a far larger extension library.

    68.8
  4. 4Bb
    BBEdit

    Another long-standing native Mac editor, strong on text processing and search.

    62.6
  5. 5CotEditor logo
    CotEditor

    A free, open-source native Mac editor for lighter work.

    55.3

Why people left Nova

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Nova, review the app you switched to and tell us why.

Reviews

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Nova: common questions

Is Nova free?

No, Nova is a paid product. Price: $99 + tax, one year of updates (checked on Nova's own site).

Is Nova open source?

No, Nova is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Zed, Visual Studio Code and CotEditor.

What platforms does Nova run on?

Nova is available for macOS.

What are the best alternatives to Nova?

The highest-ranked Nova alternatives right now are Sublime Text, Zed and Visual Studio Code. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 Nova alternatives