Vim

The classic modal text editor, installed on nearly every Unix system.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Vim

Vim is a highly configurable modal text editor that grew out of the Unix vi editor. Its approach of composing short commands to move and edit text is fast once learned, and it is included as vi with most Unix systems and macOS, so it is often the editor already on a server. Vim offers a persistent multi-level undo tree, a scripting language for plugins, syntax support for hundreds of languages and file formats, and terminal and graphical versions; a new GTK 4 GUI backend has recently landed. After its creator Bram Moolenaar died in 2023, a team of maintainers kept development going. Vim is free and released as charityware: its licence is GPL-compatible, and users are asked to donate to a charity helping children in Uganda. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and many other systems. Neovim has attracted many users who want Lua and built-in LSP, but Vim remains the dependable default for quick edits anywhere.

Best for: Anyone who edits files on servers or wants a fast, ubiquitous modal editor.

What works

Already installed on most Unix systems and macOS
Extremely fast and light
Decades of plugins, docs and community knowledge

Why people leave

Steep learning curve
IDE features need plugins and configuration
Vimscript is less pleasant to extend than Lua

Top Vim alternatives

See all 5

1
Neovim
A Vim fork with Lua, built-in LSP and Tree-sitter for modern IDE features.
81.5
2
Helix
Modal editing with language support built in and almost no configuration.
62.6
3
micro
A terminal editor with normal keybindings for people who never want to learn modes.
59.6
4
GNU Emacs
The other classic Unix editor, extensible in Emacs Lisp.
57.2
5
Kakoune
A modal editor that puts multiple selections at the centre of editing.
55.3

Why people left Vim

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

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Vim: common questions

Is Vim free?

Yes. Vim is free, open-source software.

Is Vim open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at vim/vim.

What platforms does Vim run on?

Vim is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Vim?

The highest-ranked Vim alternatives right now are Neovim, Helix and micro. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 Vim alternatives

Vim facts

4 of 4 verified

License: Vim License (charityware, GPL-compatible); Checked Oct 25, 2026vim.org(opens source in a new tab); “(It is great for editing TeX, though.) Vim's License Vim is charityware. Its license is GPL-compatible”
Availability: Included as vi on most Unix systems; Checked Oct 25, 2026vim.org(opens source in a new tab); “It is included as "vi" with most UNIX systems and with Apple OS X.”
Undo: Persistent multi-level undo tree; Checked Oct 25, 2026vim.org(opens source in a new tab); “persistent, multi-level undo tree”
Language support: Hundreds of languages and formats; Checked Oct 25, 2026vim.org(opens source in a new tab); “support for hundreds of programming languages and file formats”