Comparison

Neovim vs Vim

No clear leader: Neovim (52.1) and Vim (51.5) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Neovim52
Vim52
Score
Vioscale score
Neovim52 / 100low · 48%updating
Vim52 / 100low · 26%updating
Pricing
Free tier
Neovim
Vim
Model
Neovimfree
Vimfree
Price level
Neovimfree
Vimfree
Transparent
Neovim
Vim
Adoption
Dependent repos
Neovim2
Vim16
Github stars
Neovim101,978
Activity
Commits last 30d
Neovim100
Vim100
Release
Cadence days
Neovim43
Vim
History
Neovim20 items
Vim
License
Spdx
Neovim
VimVim
Language
Primary
Market
Availability

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ides & code editors. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Type
NeovimTerminal editor
VimTerminal editor
Language scope
NeovimPolyglot
VimPolyglot
Deployment
Deployment
NeovimDesktop
VimDesktop
Platform support
OS support
NeovimWindows, macOS, Linux (x86_64, arm64)
VimWindows 7-11, macOS, Linux/Unix, Haiku, VMS, Android
Base platform
NeovimOriginal
VimOriginal
Extensibility
Extensibility
NeovimPlugins
VimPlugins
DX
LSP / DAP support
Neovim
Vim
Remote / dev-containers
Neovim
Vim-
Integrated debugger / profiler
Neovim-
Vim-
Code intelligence depth
NeovimIDE-grade
Vim-
Built-in git integration
Neovim-
Vim-
AI
Built-in AI
NeovimNone
VimNone
Licensing
Openness
NeovimOpen-source
VimOpen-source
Pricing
Pricing model
NeovimFree
VimFree

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Neovim

A terminal-based text editor that extends Vim with modern features including built-in language server support, tree-sitter integration for code understanding, and a powerful Lua scripting API. It maintains full Vim compatibility while enabling new applications through its extensible plugin architecture and remote capabilities.

Independently observed

Vim

An advanced text editor that improves upon the classic Unix vi editor with modern features including multi-level undo, plugin support, and syntax highlighting for hundreds of programming languages. Offered as both terminal and graphical interfaces with extensive tool integration.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Neovim

FreeFree tier

Completely free and open source

as of verify ↗

Vim

FreeFree tier

Free and open source (Charityware - donations requested)

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Android
Neovim
Vim
macOS
Neovim
Vim
Windows
Neovim
Vim
Linux
Neovim
Vim
CLI
Neovim
Vim
Deployment
Self-hosted
Neovim
Vim
On-premise
Neovim
Vim

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.