Available worldwide
What is 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.
Vim pricing
We don't have Vim's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
Free and open source (Charityware - donations requested)
What Vim 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
- Windows 7-11, macOS, Linux/Unix, Haiku, VMS, Android
- Base platform
- Original
- Extensibility
- Plugins
- LSP / DAP support
- ✗
- Remote / dev-containers
- -
- Integrated debugger / profiler
- -
- Code intelligence depth
- -
- 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
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
Vim FAQ
Common questions about Vim, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is 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. It is indexed under IDEs & Code Editors.
Source: https://www.vim.org
Is Vim free?
Vim offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://www.vim.org
What platforms does Vim support?
Vim supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Source: https://www.vim.org
Can Vim be self-hosted?
Yes. Vim can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://www.vim.org
Is Vim open source?
Yes. Vim is published under the Vim 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.
Source: https://github.com/vim/vim
Vim 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%
- Visual StudioUnleash your potential with the world's most popular IDE for the professional developermedium · 54%
- ZedA lightweight, fast code editor built for collaborative development with AI and agentsmedium · 53%
Compare Vim
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 Vim, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 80 | 0.08 | 6.7 | ✓ |
| Development activity | 63 | 0.09 | 5.9 | ✓ |
| Price level | 100 | 0.05 | 5.2 | ✓ |
| Stars | 87 | 0.03 | 2.3 | ✓ |
| Security score | 50 | 0.04 | 2.1 | ✓ |
| Dependent projects | 21 | 0.06 | 1.3 | ✓ |
| Reliability | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
| Capabilities | 0 | 0.09 | 0.0 | - |
| Integrations | 0 | 0.09 | 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 · 2026-09-08 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 5 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 67% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Type: terminal_editor · Lsp dap: No · Builtin ai: none · Deployment: desktop · Os support: Windows 7-11, macOS, Linux/Unix, Haiku, VMS, Android · Open source: oss | mediumsource · 2026-08-14 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Vim Script | highsource · 2026-09-08 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | Vim | highsource · 2026-09-08 · 95% |
Market
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | PrimaryMarkets: … · AvailabilityScope: global · AvailableCountries: … · NotAvailableCountries: … | highsource · 2026-08-14 · 75% |
Pricing
Security
Is Vim the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank Vim against the rest of the ides & code editors we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Is this your product?
This profile was built from public sources without asking you. You can take the badge below and use it anywhere, and you can claim the profile to correct anything we got wrong. Both are free, and neither moves Vim up or down: nobody can buy rank here, including you.
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