Atom Reviews & Insights

Score9.5 out of 10

90 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Atom are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Pros

Highly Customizable: Many users have praised Atom for its high level of customization. They appreciate the ability to tailor their coding environment to their preferences, with various themes and extensions available. This feature allows them to make their code easier to read and navigate, enhancing their overall coding experience.

Code Hinting Features: Several reviewers have been impressed with Atom's code hinting capabilities. This feature helps them write code faster and integrates well with services like LINT, allowing them to clean up their code according to their team's style choices. Users find this functionality particularly useful in speeding up their coding process.

Free Software: The fact that Atom is free has been seen as a major advantage by many users. They appreciate not having to invest in expensive software while still being able to access a robust coding environment. This affordability makes it accessible to a wide range of developers.

Atom Reviews

8 Reviews

Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees)

Solid editor but since eclipsed by VSCode

Rating: 5 out of 10

Incentivized

February 15, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We used to use Atom as our code editor of choice for our dynamically typed language. Atom comes with fantastic syntax highlighting and other plugins out of the box that make writing code a breeze. Whenever we have to write HTML, CSS, Javascript, or Python, we used to use Atom. Some engineers also use Atom with some extra plugins for quick text manipulation, such as when they need to format strips, strip out lots of whitespaces, or prefix an unnumbered list with numbers. We have since switched over to VSCode (more on that later), but I would say that Atom is still a good choice if you are already using it.

Pros

Cross platform support for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Helpful community of people on the forums to ask for help.

Cons

Development on the Atom source code has greatly stalled since Microsoft purchased GitHub.
Many plugin developers moved their plugins onto VSCode and stopped maintaining their Atom version.

Likelihood to Recommend

My recommendation depends on whether my colleague is already using Atom or not. If they are not using Atom, I sincerely find VSCode to be a slightly better editor with a much brighter future in terms of feature development, upcoming plugins, and support. So they should start with VSCode. However, if they are already using Atom, I see no reason to switch for the time being. Atom was a great editor for a long time, and though feature development has stalled, it continues to perform well. It will meet most people's needs when it comes to editing dynamically typed languages.

Patrick Fong

Senior Software Engineer in Engineering at Iterable (Internet, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

View profile

Atom is a solid editor for the long run

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

December 13, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Atom to edit code on the Mac and Windows platform. As a technologist, I do recommend this editor to both faculty and students because it is free and open-source. It is a good text editor and code editor with lots of functionality. It is modern and seems rather stable. I think it will be around for quite a while.

Pros

Edit code in multiple windows.
Atom is available on many computing platforms.

Cons

Atom seems to be a bit aggressive with the "help" and "tip" system. You have to turn that stuff off or it is annoying.
On occasion, sometimes a package does not work, they need to pull those.

Likelihood to Recommend

Atom is quick to install and get going across a variety of platforms. The open-source nature says that this editor will always be around. I would recommend this editor to someone new to editing code. There is a good help and tip system. I don't think that this editor would appeal to minimalists because it is way maximum on what you can do. Lots of features and lots of configuration that is possible.

Jason Smith, DPA

Instructional Technologist in Information Technology at Pomona College (Higher Education, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

For web developers Atom has feature-sets that make development very easy

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

December 5, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Atom as our coding platform for everything on our website. It is integrated with git so we have version control. It is a very fast and free alternative to using Adobe Dreamweaver which is the subscription we have.

Pros

Integration with GIT.
Code coloring.
Code hints.

Cons

A better live HTML code rendering system.

Likelihood to Recommend

HTML, CSS, and Javascript are flawless. Code hints provide an easy way to code.

Verified User

Director in Marketing (Higher Education company, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

A solid editor that will not disappoint

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

November 23, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

As an open-source editor, several people within my organization are currently using the power of Atom as their code editor of choice. Because Atom is relatively basic in interface with the added benefit of countless plugins contributed by the larger community, Atom is generally the most recommended editor in my organization outside of Visual Studio Code.

Pros

Usability: Atom is very user-friendly. Its interface is clean and the entire application is incredibly simple to navigate even for users new to editors
Cross-Platform Experience: No matter your system, Atom works the same which makes providing demos and examples pretty seamless
Community Driven Plugin Development: Because the community is able to contribute plugins, Atom is extremely useful regardless of what you are trying to do. Working on the Go? There's a plugin for that. Working with infrastructure as code using Terraform? Plugin for that. Editing chef code? There's also a plugin for that.

Cons

Memory Hog: Using Atom, Slack, and Chrome on a laptop that isn't completely specked out is a recipe for disaster. Try opening Spotify, I dare you.

Likelihood to Recommend

As a general rule, I always recommend Atom to someone new to editors or someone looking for a simple editor that is powerful but easy to get used to. For users that are new to any kind of code maintenance, Atom is a real treat. It doesn't have the clutter of Visual Studio Code in the user interface but it is just as powerful and extensible from a plugin perspective.

Verified User

Engineer in Engineering (Information Services company, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

A 'hackable' editor by GitHub

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

November 21, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My team uses it to develop and maintain our websites using HTML, JavaScript and Django, a python based framework. It is also used as a general purpose text editor. It's light weight too. It also gave us functions comparable to that of a IDE without all the memory usage. It's open source and easily customizable. We also found it to have one of the best GIT integrations among its competitors.

Pros

Opensource : While Sublime is a good editor which is comparable to Atom, it's not opensource. Atom is opensource. Which makes it easier to tailor it to suit your needs.
Autocomplete: Atom automatically variable names, functions and constructs, it also closes the brackets as soon as you open one. Which helps me avoid syntax errors.
Simplicity : It maintains simplicity without sacrificing important features.
GIT Integration : Considering that it's built by GitHub, it's no surprise that Atom has a very good GIT integration.

Cons

Startup is a bit slow. Memory management can be improved.
Support for syntax highlighting for some languages are missing.
Some plugins randomly crash and Atom stops responding. Uninstalling the plugin that crashed usually solves this.
Search engine does not work as you would expect it to work.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well suited for new programmers who are looking for a free editor to start coding. It also supports most major languages out there. You can use the same software to develop a program in Java, python and many other languages. It is also cross-platform. It is a bare-bones code editor that you can build up to your liking using the available plugins to extend the functionalities.

Chaithra Kamath

Local Software Developer in Information Technology at KudlaRoot (Consumer Services, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

Atom- A freelancers review

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

June 12, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Since I am a semi-professional freelancer, Atom is very useful in my exploits in interactive web development. The packages that can be added onto the IDE are very useful, they save time, assist in code structure and development. packages such as HTML Preview help save time between tests as it capture whatever changes I make to the code and displays it in real time, Text Select is another that identifies text of the same name when clicked upon so I can debug my code much more efficiently if need be, Emmit is another that enable short-hand coding which also saves time in terms of tag creations. These a but o few of packages that Atom has to offer to make web development much more efficient and flexible for developers.

Pros

Real-time code previewing.
Word selection highlights.
Shorthand coding.

Cons

In terms of processing, if too many packages installed it tends to slow the PC.
Should also branch out to other languages in terms of ease of use and flexibility.

Likelihood to Recommend

Definitely well suited if you are a freelancing web developer or student because it is free and is open source. Its ease of use and various functionality, depending on packages, is very helpful for beginners and even experts. it is well suited for any task big or small as long as you have the drive and desire to create.

Steven Puringi

Junior Software Developer in Information Technology at Freelance Software Development (Program Development, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

View profile

Beautiful code editor

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

December 18, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Atom is being used by some software engineers and designers across the tech organization. It's a code editor, so it solves the business problem of needing to write code.

Pros

Really nice UI
Allows plugins
Open source

Cons

Doesn't handle huge commits/merges very well
Rectangle select (though there is a plugin)
Slightly different shortcuts to Sublime

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well suited to writing code, especially for those that care about having a beautiful IDE. I'm sure there are more complex backend applications for which is it not appropriate.

Verified User

Employee in Product Management (Information Services company, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

Best free editor on the interwebs!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

December 17, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I needed a free or freemium code editor. I had previously used Coda for Mac, and really liked it, but needed something quickly and really wanted something to use across both Mac and Windows. Plus, they had some plugins that I really liked, the code formatting was solid, and keyboard shortcuts were fantastic. I've used Atom primarily for PHP, Javascript, HTML and CSS for a few years now. Since we haven't had a standard editor anywhere I've worked, I've always just pieced together what I'm using. I like it much better than Notepad ++, VIM, and got pretty frustrated with Komodo on Mac. Atom was a great solution and I can use it on both platforms.

Pros

Code formatting for different languages. Does a solid job, I know this is basic for a code editor, but had to be mentioned. Also can reduce indented code.
Extensible via packages. I really like the Minimap plugin, the File Icons plugin, Beautify, etc.
Along with being extensible, it's also "hackable" -- you can write your own plugins or extensions. I like how customizable it is out of the box -- helps to fit your workflow, rather than forcing your process into whatever code editor you're using.

Cons

Performance can be a little slow when editing a bunch of files, executing code or switching between tabs.
I wish they had more guidance on HOW to customize Atom out of the box -- it's kind of a pain to go through all the packages and settings and figure out what works best for you.
Still relatively new, so can be buggy here and there, although releases seem to be very consistent.

Likelihood to Recommend

I'd say for frontend development and web development, it shines. PHP, HTML, CSS, and Javascript are all pretty seamless. Not sure how it would hold up with backend heavy development -- Python, Ruby, C++, Java, etc... Seems like occasionally slow performance might keep it from really shining in that environment. For me, it's a no-brainer for web development though, and that's my primary usage. A lot of backend users still seem to use Sublime.

Ian Nate

Digital Marketing Operations Manager in Marketing at SaltStack (Computer Software, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

View profile

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Best free editor on the interwebs!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

December 17, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

Code formatting for different languages. Does a solid job, I know this is basic for a code editor, but had to be mentioned. Also can reduce indented code.
Extensible via packages. I really like the Minimap plugin, the File Icons plugin, Beautify, etc.
Along with being extensible, it's also "hackable" -- you can write your own plugins or extensions. I like how customizable it is out of the box -- helps to fit your workflow, rather than forcing your process into whatever code editor you're using.

Cons

Performance can be a little slow when editing a bunch of files, executing code or switching between tabs.
I wish they had more guidance on HOW to customize Atom out of the box -- it's kind of a pain to go through all the packages and settings and figure out what works best for you.
Still relatively new, so can be buggy here and there, although releases seem to be very consistent.

Likelihood to Recommend

Ian Nate

Digital Marketing Operations Manager in Marketing at SaltStack (Computer Software, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

View profile