11 Best FREE CSS Editor Software for Windows & Mac (2023)

What is CSS?

CSS is a standard style sheet language used to describe the layout and formatting of web pages. It is designed to separate presentation and content. CSS describes how HTML elements are rendered on paper, screen, or other media. It helps you control the layout of more than one webpage at the same time.

Why Use CSS Editors?

Here are the reasons for using CSS editors:

• CSS editors help you auto-complete multi-line codes. These applications let you search, preview, and replace text typed in a file throughout a project.
• CSS editors provide a toolbar that can be easily customized with minimal effort. Many of these programs can automatically indent your code as you type.

Below is a handpicked list of the best CSS editors with their features and website links. The list includes both open-source (free) and commercial (paid) software.

Best HTML & CSS Code Editor Software (Free/Paid)

1)dream weaver

dream weaveris a popular CSS editor tool. This tool helps you create, publish and manage websites. A website created with DreamWeaver can be uploaded to any web server.

Characteristics:

• Dynamic websites can be developed quickly with Dreamweaver.
• You can create a website that fits any screen size.
• This tool will help you customize the workspace to your liking.
• It has a built-in HTML validator to validate your code.
• Offers real-time collaboration, live preview, drag-and-drop editor, multilingualism, syntax highlighting, and dual view
• Supports compliance standards like GDPR
• Offers numerous plugins such as Code View
• Integrates seamlessly with Fireworks and Flash
• Offers ready-made templates for blogs, ecommerce, newsletters, and portfolios
• Offers programming languages ​​such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• Offers flexible coding, seamless live view editing, multi-monitor and redesigned
• It offers customer support via phone and chat
• Supported platforms:Windows, Android and iOS
• Preis:Plans start at $20.99 per month.
• Free trial period:7 days free trial

Visit Dreamweaver >>

2) Image studio

Visual Studio Code is open source CSS editor software developed by Microsoft. It offers built-in support for TypeScript, JavaScript, and Node.js. This CSS editor tool offers the IntelliSense feature that provides intelligent completions based on essential modules, variable types and function definitions.

Characteristics:

• Easily work with Git and other SCM (Software Configuration Management) providers.
• Code refactoring and debugging
• This WYSIWYG CSS editor open source tool is easily extensible and customizable.
• Supported platforms:macOS, Windows, Fedora, Ubuntu, Linux, Debian, RedHat.
• Preis:Frei.

Advantages:

• Repeated variables can be automatically highlighted.
• Fast and easy to use editor.
• Themes are easily customizable.
• This CSS text editor lets you compare two files.

Disadvantages:

• It has complicated plugin/extension management.

Shortcut: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/css

3) Notepad++

Notepad++ is a popular free-to-use CSS code editor written in C++. It uses a pure Win32 API that offers a better execution of a program. It only runs in the Windows environment and is under the GPL license.

Characteristics:

• Supports syntax highlighting for languages ​​like CSS, HTML, PHP, and JavaScript.
• It has an auto-complete function for words and functions.
• This is one of the best free CSS editors that offers macro recording and playing features.
• Custom syntax highlighting and folding.
• Fully customizable GUI.
• Support for multiple views and multiple languages.
• Supported platforms:Window.
• Preis:Frei.

Advantages:

• You can open large files with ease.
• Allows multiple tabs to be opened at the same time.
• Your code will be saved automatically.
• This CSS design tool can color language and variables.
• Supports more than 60 scripting or programming languages.

Disadvantages:

• Provides limited options for testing your code.

Shortcut:https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

4) Atom

Atom is a CSS code editor tool that is preferred by programmers due to its simple interface compared to the other editors. It provides a command palette that contains items that are used repeatedly.

Characteristics:

• Provides an integrated package manager for plugin support.
• It auto-completes words and functions in CSS code.
• Macro recording and playback
• Supports multiple windows
• It's one of the best CSS editors with a built-in package manager.
• It allows you to search, preview and replace text typed in a file throughout the project.
• Allows cross-platform editing.
• Supported platforms:Linux, macOS and Windows.
• Preis:Frei

Advantages:

• Offers a good plugin library.
• Provides syntax highlighting.
• You can integrate it with Git.
• It has an integrated package manager.

Disadvantages:

• Complicated overall design and layout.

Shortcut: https://atom.io/

5) Fast CSS

Rapid CSS is a CSS code editor designed to improve productivity in web application development. This lightweight application allows you to load the code faster without any problems. It offers a snippet library and code templates with assignable keyboard shortcuts.

Characteristics:

• You can preview your website design from any screen size.
• Provides color picker to manage the project.
• The syntax is automatically highlighted.
• Allows you to search quickly without any hassles.
• Provides built-in spell checker.
• It has a built-in file explorer.
• This is one of the best free CSS editors that auto-complete brackets and quotes.
• Supported platforms:Window.
• Preis:Frei

Advantages:

• The CSS editor is fast and easy to use.
• Helps you be more productive by building a website faster.
• Provides support for FTPS, SFTP, FTP.
• Provides advance search and replacement.

Disadvantages:

• It has a complicated user interface.

Shortcut:https://www.rapidcsseditor.com/

6) Raised text

Sublime Text is a CSS editor that supports many languages ​​like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and others. You can use this CSS code editor for code, markup and text. This code editor supports macOS X, Windows and Linux operating systems.

Characteristics:

• This editor allows you to highlight the syntax.
• It has a command palette implementation that accepts text input from users.
• Handles UTF8 BOMs in .gitignore files
• It displays badges for folders and files to show Git status
• Changes to a file are represented by markers available in the gutter.
• Supported platforms:Windows, Linux and Mac.
• Preis:$80.

Advantages:

• Easy-to-use shortcut keys.
• Effortlessly manages a large volume of texts.
• The code will be completed automatically.
• This editor doesn't take up a lot of disk space on your computer.
• Offers many plugins.

Disadvantages:

• It cannot highlight a specific section of text.
• This editor does not support automatic saving of documents.

Shortcut: https://www.sublimetext.com/

7) Nova

Nova is a CSS editor that allows you to easily create a website. It automatically changes your theme when your Mac PC switches from light mode to dark mode. This application will help you to perform tasks for your projects easily.

Characteristics:

• It can automatically remove spaces when writing code.
• This editor can auto-complete the CSS code.
• Offers a clean and user-friendly interface.
• It helps you run your CSS code with ease.
• Supported platforms:Mac.
• Preis:$99

Advantages:

• Offers a good search function.
• Allows you to access and edit files remotely.
• This CSS software is easy to use for web designers.

Disadvantages:

• It is a bit expensive compared to other CSS editors.

Shortcut:https://nova.app/

8) jet brains

Jetbrains is one of the best editors that you can use to write CSS code with ease. This application can autocomplete keywords, tags, labels, functions and parameters.

Characteristics:

• It helps you view changes in real-time.
• You can define your own abbreviations in the templates.
• This editor can detect invalid CSS properties.
• You can customize the code breakpoints.
• It offers good HTML, CSS and JavaScript features.
• Supported platforms:Linux, Mac, Windows-Server.
• Preis:$199.

Advantages:

• It can auto-complete the code.
• Offers commercial support for frameworks like React, Node, Angle and more.
• This CSS software offers a customizable GUI.

Disadvantages:

• Uses a lot of memory in your computer.

Shortcut: https://www.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/features/html_css_js_editor.html

9) Komodo editing

Komodo Edit is an easy to use and powerful code editing tool. It allows you to debug, unit test, code refactoring, etc. It also provides code profiles as well as integrations with other technologies like Grunt, PhoneGap, Docker, Vagrant, and many more.

Characteristics:

• It's a multilingual editor
• Offers many contemporary color schemes
• Native Unicode support and compatibility checker
• This visual CSS editor easily integrates into the desktop environment.
• It can highlight the syntax.
• The Komodo CSS Editor can automatically indent your code as you type.
• You can track changes made in the CSS.
• Allows you to make multiple selections.
• Supported platforms:Windows, Linux and Mac.
• Preis:Frei.

Advantages:

• This visual CSS editor has built-in FTP.
• It's open source.
• The Komodo editor has a built-in version control feature.
• Provides tools for collaborating with developers.

Disadvantages:

• It runs slowly during startup.

Shortcut:https://www.activestate.com/products/komodo-ide/

10) Espresso

Espresso is a CSS editor that helps you build a website faster with less effort. It helps you combine and expand abbreviations depending on custom snippets and tags.

Characteristics:

• Allows you to view a live preview.
• You can customize the toolbar as you like.
• It supports a variety of web development languages, including CSS.
• Supported platforms:Mac.
• Preis:$99.

Advantages:

• Helps you effectively navigate the code structure with styles, groups, and previews.
• It has an intuitive user interface.
• Allows you to quickly and easily develop a website.
• With the latest version of this CSS software, you can quickly switch between documents.

Disadvantages:

• Does not support Windows operating system.

Shortcut:https://www.espressoapp.com/

11) Editplus

Editplus is one of the best editors to write CSS without any hassles. This program can auto-complete the code you write. It offers shortcuts that can be easily customized.

Characteristics:

• This application can highlight syntax.
• Allows customization of toolbar functions.
• You can easily search and replace text.
• This CSS software offers a spell checker.
• You can minimize the code to see the details.
• Supported platforms:Window.
• Preis:$35.

Advantages:

• Allows for easy customization of the layout.
• This is a decent code editor that can be used for any programming language.
• It's a simple and easy-to-use editor.

Disadvantages:

• There is no support for plugins.

Shortcut:https://www.editplus.com/feature.html

12) NoteTab

NoteTab is a good editor for writing CSS code. For webmasters it is the fastest CSS editor. It is the most versatile text editor that offers improved syntax highlighting for CSS.

Characteristics:

• Provides search with easy to use wildcards
• It offers a real-time word count check
• Syntax highlighting for CSS
• Text statistics for SEO
• Support for HTML5 and CSS3
• New HTML/CSS libraries
• This CSS software offers customizable toolbars and menu shortcuts.
• Supported platforms:Windows, Linux and Mac.
• Preis: 39,95 $.

Advantages:

• Offers good chat support.
• Provides documentation for beginners.
• It has pre-built coding templates.

Disadvantages:

• It has fewer web development features compared to other tools.

Shortcut:https://www.notetab.com/html-editor

13) Direction

Skybound is an editor that allows you to write error-free CSS code. It offers a modern and easy-to-use interface that will help you increase productivity.

Characteristics:

• Allows you to set dimensions by clicking and dragging the mouse.
• It updates your website in real time.
• Provides customized toolbar.
• You can change the look of a website as you type.
• Supported platforms:Windows and Mac.
• Preis:$79.

Advantages:

• It can display CSS changes instantly in a web browser.
• You can change CSS dimensions quickly and easily.
• With this editor you can easily change colors in your style.

Disadvantages:

• This CSS editor is expensive.

Shortcut:http://www.skybound.ca/

FAQ:

❓ Why use CSS and not HTML for appearance?

You can use an external style sheet to separate your CSS from HTML. All of your code is stored in a single file. So if you change it once, changes are easily reflected on other pages linked to the style sheet. It makes it very easy to maintain larger web pages and load faster compared to HTML. Therefore, it is preferable to use CSS and not HTML for the website's appearance.

🚀 What is the best CSS editor software?

⚡ How to choose the best CSS editor?

🚀 What is a WYSIWYG editor?

A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor is code editing software that allows developers to preview the end results before creating the actual UI. It helps developers edit the content in a form that looks the same when viewed or printed. It also offers Multi-View and Multi-Language support.

🏅 Can you use Notepad for CSS?

Yes. You can use Notepad or any other text editor to write CSS. However, this is a simple editor, so it doesn't have features like code completion, syntax highlighting, and user-friendly interface. This will be difficult to code, so it's good that you use good CSS editors like Subline Text, Nova, Visual Studio, etc.

👉 How to combine HTML and CSS?

To combine HTML and CSS, you need to merge both codes into one file. After that you need to add CSS between style tags <style> </style>.

❗ What is the difference between IDE and text editor?