Emacs
A powerful text editor with deep customization through Lisp programming
- Vendor
- Free Software Foundation, Inc.
- Also known as
- emacs
What is Emacs?
GNU Emacs is a free text editor and computing environment featuring a built-in Lisp interpreter for customization, syntax highlighting for multiple file types, and comprehensive documentation. It runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and other platforms.
Emacs pricing
We don't have Emacs's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
What Emacs does
The capabilities that matter for ides & code editors, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Type
- Terminal editor
- Language scope
- Polyglot
- Deployment
- Desktop
- OS support
- GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Haiku, Android
- Base platform
- Original
- Extensibility
- Plugins
- LSP / DAP support
- ✓
- Remote / dev-containers
- ✗
- Integrated debugger / profiler
- ✓
- Code intelligence depth
- LSP-grade
- Built-in git integration
- ✗
- Built-in AI
- None
- Openness
- Open-source
- Pricing model
- Free
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
- Windows
- Self-hosted
Integrations (2)
Independently observed- Tree-Sitter
- EditorConfig
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
Emacs FAQ
Common questions about Emacs, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is Emacs?
A free and open-source text editor built on a Lisp interpreter that enables extensive customization through Lisp code. It combines core text editing with broader functionality including project planning, email and news reading, debugging, calendar, and IRC capabilities. It is indexed under IDEs & Code Editors.
Is Emacs free to use?
Emacs is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the GPL-3.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
What platforms does Emacs support?
Emacs supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Can Emacs be self-hosted?
Yes. Emacs can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Is Emacs open source?
Yes. Emacs is published under the GPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.
Emacs alternatives
Other ides & code editors we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- GitHub CodespacesCloud-hosted development environments pre-configured for your project and accessible from any browsermedium · 74%
- ReplitBuild functional applications from text prompts using AI agents, with no coding requiredmedium · 73%
- TheiaOpen-source IDE for cloud and desktop development with built-in AI-powered coding assistancemedium · 64%
- Visual Studio CodeFree, extensible code editor with built-in AI agents for automated development workflowsmedium · 63%
- Vimlow · 29%
- Visual StudioUnleash your potential with the world's most popular IDE for the professional developermedium · 54%
Compare Emacs
Side by side against other ides & code editors, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for Emacs, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development activity | 63 | 0.09 | 5.9 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 46 | 0.07 | 3.2 | ✓ |
| Stars | 70 | 0.03 | 1.8 | ✓ |
| Security score | 32 | 0.04 | 1.3 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 14 | 0.08 | 1.1 | ✓ |
| Dependent projects | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | ✓ |
| Release cadence | 0 | 0.05 | 0.0 | - |
| Security posture | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.14 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 100 | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 5 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 67% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Type: terminal_editor · Lsp dap: Yes · Builtin ai: none · Deployment: desktop · Os support: GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Haiku, Android · Remote dev: No | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 60% |
Integrations
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Emacs Lisp | highsource · 2026-09-10 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | GPL-3.0 | highsource · 2026-09-10 · 95% |
Pricing
Security
Is Emacs the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank Emacs against the rest of the ides & code editors we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
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