It’s fair to say that HTML is a universal language — like food, music and dabbing.
The internet as we know it is an ocean of HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language. Whether it starts on a scribbled sheet of paper or a basic text editor, this omnipresent code is likely a building block for your favorite websites or online applications. Lines of HTML can be used to display text, embed multimedia and provide structure to a shapeless web page. According to one study, more than 86% of websites whose markup language is known use HTML in some capacity.
Even I know some HTML, and that’s saying something.
For the curious minds looking to experiment with source code, or startups looking to launch their first website, we recommend a dive into HTML. And a free HTML editor is an ideal digital workspace for you to assemble some winning projects.
What are the top 15 free HTML editors in 2019?
- Notepad++
- Visual Studio Code
- Atom
- Brackets
- Komodo Edio
- H5P
- Google Web Designer
- CoffeeCub HTML Editor
- Bluefish
- Microsoft Expression Web
- TinyMCE
- CKEditor
- Summernote
- openElement
- Simditor
We recently published a list of free text editor software that features some of these products. But HTML is no ordinary text. For the purposes of this blog, we will be listing products in additional categories: Web Design Software and WYSIWYG Editors Software.
Web design platforms are designed to help make your dream websites a reality. They include features for editing HTML and CSS, with customizable web page templates and tools for visualizing code as your visitors will see it.
“What you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) software allows for convenient editing of webpage content as it will appear for your audience. Users can bounce back and forth between the published format and the HTML source code for media they’re working on, allowing them to learn the code as they go and save it for sharing or reference purposes.
Collectively, these are all HTML editors in their own right, albeit with slightly different uses. The products we’re featuring here have more than 2,800 validated user reviews on G2 as of June 6, 2019, and only represent a small portion of the 150-plus software offerings listed on our platform across these categories.
For each product we provide:
- An overview
- Highlighted features
- Free and paid options details
This list includes any HTML editing software with an available free offering. Some products provide limited free options, while others are completely free without restrictions.
This does not include products that are free temporarily or only offer free trials. They may only support one user or project, and scaling may require full investments.
If you’re ready to crack the code on HTML, we encourage you to check out the following zero-cost options for you or your team. We have broken them down by category for added insight into their intended application, with the products in each section organized by user satisfaction in their respective categories. Enjoy!
Free text editor software with HTML
1. Notepad++
Product name: Notepad++
G2 star rating: 4.6 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 1,043
Overview
Notepad++ is a free text editor based around the Scintilla open-source library. The developers behind Notepad++ have a strong focus on power conservation and minimizing the carbon footprints of their users, and the platform was built with this in mind. As an open-source tool, Notepad++ supports user-made plugins and tutorials.
Free option
- Notepad++ is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the Notepad++ website.
Features
- Syntax highlighting and folding
- PCRE search/replace
- Customizable interface
- Document map
- Auto-completion
- Multi-language environment support
- Macro recording and playback
Image courtesy of Notepad++
What users say
“We have many editors available in the market today, but Notepad++ is among the best editors I have ever used. The software is faster to load into my computer and does not require large memory unlike some other editors. It has many file formats for coders and therefore can be used by programmers. It also completes tags for me during coding.”
— Notepad++ review from Mary M.
2. Visual Studio Code
Product name: Visual Studio Code
G2 star rating: 4.6 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 601
Overview
Visual Studio Code is a free and open-source text editor with a library of extensions to customize your experience. It contains built-in support for JavaScript, TypeScript and Node.js. The platform’s various extensions are designed to run in separate processes to prevent slowing the editor.
Free option
- Visual Studio Code is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There are no mentions of a paid upgrade on the Visual Studio Code website.
Features
- Syntax highlighting
- Auto-complete
- Debugging
- Extension library
Image courtesy of Visual Studio Code
What users say
“As a programmer I use this editor because it has many tools that others do not have. Its autocomplete is intelligent and gives you very good suggestions when writing. It also has support for the most popular programming languages on the market. You can also install add-ons very easily to extend the functions.”
— Visual Studio Code review by Andrew F.
3. Atom
Product name: Atom
G2 star rating: 4.4 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 524
Overview
Atom is an open-source text editor created by GitHub. It has a variety of tools and themes to customize your experience. Atom can also integrate directly with Git and GitHub. It is designed especially for Windows users.
Free option
- Atom is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There are no mentions of a paid upgrade on the Atom website.
Features
- Cross-platform editing
- Built-in package manager
- Auto-completion
- File system browser
- Multiple panes
- Find and replace
- Customization
Image courtesy of Atom
What users say
“Extensions, extensions, extensions. I’ve used Atom since it was released and it’s grown quite a bit. The extensions are fantastic and cover pretty much any type of tool integration I have needed thus far.”
— Atom review from Jeff L.
4. Brackets
Product name: Brackets
G2 star rating: 4.4 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 157
Overview
Brackets is an open-source text editor that enables designers and front-end developers to work within their browsers. Visual tools are included in the editor to provide extra help when needed. Brackets is focused specifically on web development languages like HTML, CSS and Javascript, and it was built on a Javascript framework.
Free option
- Brackets is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the Brackets website.
Features
- In-line editors
- Live preview
- Preprocessor support
Image courtesy of Brackets
What users say
“Brackets is a simple and fast but also powerful text editor. Much of its charm is that it is a very light application when it is fully loaded in memory. I’ve checked it and even with several plugins or theme changes it stays very light.”
— Brackets review from Michael K.
5. Komodo Edit
Product name: Komodo Edit
G2 star rating: 4.6 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 18
Overview
Komodo Edit is a multi-language text editor that offers everything you need for basic programming, such as autocomplete and change tracking. It was created by Vancouver-based ActiveState, which offers a number of other developer-focused platforms as well. Some of these tools, such as the more feature-heavy Komodo IDE, are offered in various packages based on the needs of the user.
Free option
- Komodo Edit is a completely free product.
Paid option
- There are no paid upgrades for Komodo Edit. You can find information about the other ActiveState development products on the company’s pricing page.
Features
- Multi-language editor
- Auto-complete
- Multiple selections
- Toolbox
- Projects and places manager
- Skins and icon sets
- Track changes
Image courtesy of ActiveState
What users say
“I have used a variety of Mac HTML editors over the years. I found Komodo about six or seven years ago and I haven’t used anything else since. I do a fair amount of HTML/CSS coding. I like how Komodo highlights the brackets I am working in and has an easy-to-use, understanable interface and a robust error checker. For me it works great.”
— Komodo Edit review from Benjamin G.
Free web design software with HTML
6. H5P
Product name: H5P
G2 star rating: 4.6 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 22
Overview
H5P is a tool for creating, sharing and reusing interactive content with HTML5, the latest version of the language. Users can create responsive and mobile-friendly content, including presentations, videos, games and more. It supports frameworks for Drupal, WordPress and Moodle through plugins and modules.
Free option
- H5P is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the H5P website.
Features
- Rich, interactive HTML5 content
- Create games, videos, presentations and other media
- Plugins for Drupal, WordPress and Moodle
- Online user community
Image courtesy of H5P
What users say
“This is an amazing tool to make easy, creative, interactive content in no time! The tools are very user-friendly, self explanatory and completely customizable! There are a lot of options including YouTube integration. H5P also works with Drupal and WordPress, which are two of the platforms we currently use. It has been a great advantage for us!”
— H5P review from Margie A.
7. Google Web Designer
Product name: Google Web Designer
G2 star rating: 3.8 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 214
Overview
Google Web Designer offers features to help create interactive, HTML5-based designs and motion graphics that are compatible on any device. It provides seamless integration with other major Google applications such as Google Drive and Google Ads. The full design suite allows for editing in CSS and Javascript in addition to HTML.
Free option
- Google Web Designer is a completely free product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the Google Web Designer website.
Features
- Events
- Dynamic workflow
- Content creation tools
- Multiple animation modes
- Google integrations
Image courtesy of SitePoint
What users say
“The best thing about Google Web Designer is the fact that it’s pretty much optimized for ad creation, so it’s easier to export ads for different display networks. It’s also easy to use, especially if you are familiar with web design software or software like Adobe’s suite. The learning curve is not steep at all, and learning it through GWD’s YouTube channel was a matter of hours. I also love the fact that is constantly evolving and that it has nice support from Google.”
— Google Web Designer review from Carlos M.
8. CoffeeCup HTML editor
Product name: CoffeeCup HTML Editor
G2 star rating: 3.8 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 49
Overview
CoffeeCup first released its HTML editing software in 1996. The free application allows users to create HTML or CSS files from scratch or build off of themes and layouts that are included. It includes a components library and comprehensive workflow to help create organized, effective sites for a variety of purposes.
Free option
- CoffeeCup’s Free HTML Editor includes features such as customizable toolbars and responsive themes and layouts, with a limit of one connection at a time for uploading websites. It is completely free with premium features included for the first 21–28 days.
Paid option
- CoffeeCup’s Full HTML Editor offers unlimited connections and other premium features and is available for $29.
Features
- Themes and layouts
- Customizable toolbars
- Suggested elements, attributes and selectors
- Plain text-to-HTML Markdown support
- Form items
Image courtesy of CoffeeCup Software
What users say
“In a crowded HTML editor market, CoffeeCup HTML Editor stands out with some intriguing features. It really does a good job of helping would-be coders learn HTML by arranging code, suggesting code samples and making it easy to preview on-the-fly changes. The software also comes with a range of HTML code samples, templates and other goodies. Using the program is fairly easy without too many intrusive elements. The editor is fully compatible with many of today’s web technologies and it is easy to integrate advanced elements onto a page of code.”
— CoffeeCup HTML Editor review from Bruce E.
9. Bluefish
Product name: Bluefish
G2 star rating: 4.1 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 39
Overview
Bluefish is an editor built for programmers and web developers to write websites, scripts and programming code. It is an open-source application compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux and other operating systems. It supports a number of programming and markup languages, including HTML, XML, CSS, Javascript, Python and PHP.
Free option
- Bluefish is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the Bluefish website.
Features
- Fast and lightweight
- Easily open 500-plus documents
- Project support
- Multi-threaded support for remote files
- Search and replace
- Snippets sidebar
- Character map
Image courtesy of SourceForge
What users say
“Bluefish is easy to use and allows you to quickly create simple sites of HTML and CSS content. This is perfect for static content sites such as websites of companies where you only want to show some information about the company and contact forms.”
— Bluefish review from Terrence G.
10. Microsoft Expression Web
Product name: Microsoft Expression Web
G2 star rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 80
Overview
Microsoft Expression Web is currently on its fourth release. It includes features for producing and maintaining high-quality, standards-based websites in HTML, CSS, Javascript and other coding languages. It is available for download in English as well as German, Spanish, French, Korean and more.
Free option
- The free version of Microsoft Expression Web includes the full feature set but is not eligible for Microsoft technical support.
Paid option
- Inquire with Microsoft about the paid edition of Microsoft Expression Web.
Features
- Built-in support for web standards
- CSS design capabilities
- Visual diagnostic tools
Image courtesy of Amazon UK
What users say
“I love the versatility of this program. While at first it was harder for me to navigate, I have learned a lot over time. It allows me to be creative in my web design. My other favorite thing about Expression Web is that you can preview your web pages in a variety of platforms (and versions of those platforms) to ensure they look right before you make them live.”
— Microsoft Expression Web review from Amber M.
Free WYSIWYG software with HTML
11. TinyMCE
Product name: TinyMCE
G2 star rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 31
Overview
TinyMCE is a rich text editing solution used in part to create products like Atlassian, Medium and Evernote. It can be used in three different modes: Classic, Inline and Distraction Free. Users also receive access to Tiny Drive, the vendor’s cloud platform for image upload and asset management.
Free option
- The Starter plan includes the core editor with plugins, community support, 500 MB Drive storage and 5 GB Drive bandwidth.
Paid option
- The Developer plan adds professional support along with 2.5 GB Drive storage and 25 GB Drive bandwidth. It is available for $24/month.
- The Pro plan adds 13 premium plugins and comes with 5 GB Drive storage and 50 GB Drive bandwidth. It is available for $96/month.
- Custom plans are available with enterprise suppose and OEM/SaaS licensing. Contact TinyMCE for pricing.
Features
- 500 MB Drive storage
- 5 GB Drive bandwidth
- Plugins
- Community support
- Spellcheck
- Image upload
- Accessibility check
- Enhanced media embed
Image courtesy of Percussion Software
What users say
“TinyMCE has many positive traits, but the two biggest for us were ease of implementation and powerful plugins. Being able to customize the editor with exactly the features we needed — through plugins — and simply dropping it onto a page was wonderful. And, it just works!”
— TinyMCE review from Michael D.
12. CKEditor
Product name: CKEditor 4
G2 star rating: 4.4 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 17
Overview
CKEditor is a fully customizable WYSIWYG editor with a focus on HTML content. It is an open-source platform with 70 language versions, 400-plug plugins and 240-plus configuration options. CKEditor 4 and CKEditor 5 are both rated highly in the category, with CKEditor 4 focused more on personal configuration options and CKEditor 5 better suited for real-time collaboration across teams.
Free option
- The Free plan is available for up to five active users and two developers; does not include support.
Paid option
- The Standard plan is available for up to 25 active users and 2 developers, as well as 2 monthly support requests. It is available for $29/month.
- The Flexible plan allows for customized licensing metrics and terms based on the needs of an organization. Contact CKEditor for pricing.
Features
- Five active users
- Two developers
- Commercial license
- One internal application, one OEM or one SaaS
- Paste from Word and Excel
- Media embeds
- Auto-complete
Image courtesy of CKEditor
What users say
“It is very straightforward and easy to use. You can switch from Rich Text Editor to Plain Text Editor. For someone who has a background in HTML, I found this very useful because if something in Rich Text doesn’t look the way I want it to look, I can use the Plain Text Editor to look at my code.”
— CKEditor 4 review from Cristy T.
13. Summernote
Product name: Summernote
G2 star rating: 4.4 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 16
Overview
Summernote is a “super simple WYSIWYG editor” built on the CSS framework Bootstrap. This open-source platform offers extensive customization with prebuilt code for modules and plugins. Customizable features include the toolbar, dialogs and font names.
Free option
- Summernote is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the Summernote website.
Features
- Supports Bootstrap
- Lightweight
- Smart user interaction
- Works in all major browsers
- Integrates with Django, Rails and Angular
Image courtesy of GitHub
What users say
“We needed a simple-yet-powerful foundation to build upon when we chose Summernote, and it has definitely delivered on this. The best part is the API, which is very easy to build out your own customized functionality on.”
— Summernote review from Love D.
14. openElement
Product name: openElement
G2 star rating: 3.8 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 13
Overview
Designed specially for Windows users, openElement is a free web authoring tool compatible with HTML5 and CSS3. It allows for the intuitive creation of responsive, multilingual websites. Users receive access to the online forum where fellow users discuss topics related to the software, as well as a wiki with extensive information such as configuration assistance and element details.
Free option
- openElement is a completely free product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the openElement website.
Features
- Graphical drag-and-drop interface
- Page layers
- Online user community
- Reusable styles and element packs
- SEO
- Image and code optimization
- Easy integration of scripts
Image courtesy of CNET Download
What users say
“I love the simplicity openElement brought to website creation. It also gives the user a notebook, where they can write their guidelines.”
— openElement review from Georgia T.
15. Simditor
Product name: Simditor
G2 star rating: 4.7 out of 5.0
Number of reviews: 3
Overview
Simditor is a bare bones WYSIWYG editor. This open-source platform integrates only key features by default and supports extensions for certain additional features. The development team welcomes submissions of new extensions from the user community.
Free option
- Simditor is a completely free, open-source product.
Paid option
- There is no mention of a paid upgrade on the Simditor website.
Features
- Supports Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari
- Various extensions submitted by users
Image courtesy of Accessify
What users say
“It is open source so that we can change its source code and make changes as per our requirements. Also it supports various languages like C++, C#, Java, HTML, XML, SQL and many more. You just have to download one zip file and type two or three commands in your terminal (for Linux and Mac users) and you are done. Also, you can add an extension of it in your browser.”
— Simditor review from Nikita A.
Building websites with your free HTML editor
Any of the free solutions we’ve covered here can get you one step closer to a professional web property for yourself or your company. You may have a low-key web designer on your team already, or you may decide to take the reins. If that’s the case, read our tips for coding websites as a part of the learning materials you’ve already assembled.
A little HTML know-how will go a long way in today’s world, and it’s never too late to start. We wish you well on your personal coding adventures!
Want some help with that website? There are hundreds of website design companies listed on G2 that offer consultations and development services for redesigns or complete sites from the ground up.