Pick BBEdit if
mac writers/devs who will stay on Free Mode or pay $59.99 — not Cursor first unless they want an agent editor.
Read the BBEdit pageBBEdit vs Nova
Our take
Pick BBEdit if mac writers/devs who will stay on Free Mode or pay $59.99 — not Cursor first unless they want an agent editor. Pick Nova if mac developers who will finish the 30-day trial then keep Nova at US$99 — plus US$49/year if they want updates after year one, not Cursor Plus $8 first unless they want an Agent/Tab VS Code fork, and not if they need Windows or Linux.
Best for
BBEdit Edit that file at a public $
Nova A native Mac IDE you start at a public $
Free plan
BBEdit $0 · subset of features; you can download and work
Nova No free plan
Lowest paid
BBEdit Upgrade from 15.x $29.99
Nova Update plan $49/yr
Next step up
BBEdit Upgrade from 14.x or prior $39.99
Nova Coda 1/2 upgrade $79
Watch out
BBEdit Free Mode is a subset
Nova macOS-only (15.6+)
Last checked
BBEdit 2026-10-26 · barebones.com/products/bbedit
Nova 2026-10-23 · nova.app/buy
Which one, then?
Pick Nova if
mac developers who will finish the 30-day trial then keep Nova at US$99 — plus US$49/year if they want updates after year one, not Cursor Plus $8 first unless they want an Agent/Tab VS Code fork, and not if they need Windows or Linux.
Read the Nova page