There is a big range of IDE or Text editor you can use to code in Python. From big, ‘batteries included’ IDEs such as PyCharm to lightweight text editors such as Atom or Vim, to name a few. I have dabbled with many of them, but my favourites are:
- PyCharm
If PyCharm has the ‘Python IDE for Professional Developers’ in it’s title, it is by a good reason. PyCharm is the top tool to code in Python for many programmers. Great ‘pip’ support, refactoring, build-in Django support, auto-completion, version control integration and many more. And yes, has a free version (check out the Community version).
- Visual Studio Code
A good alternative to PyCharm. Visual Studio Code (or VS Code for short) is more lightweight than PyCharm, but it can get the job done. An integrated terminal, a lot of extensions, version control integration, easy to configure and a friendly-for-beginners feel are good reasons to use this text editor.
- Atom
Another good open-source alternative. Atom is user-friendly, easy to use, has a lot of packages, you can configure almost everything and has a good documentation
- Other alternatives
That’s just scratching the surface, as there are dozens of text editors that people use professionally: Sublime Text, Spyder, Vim, Emacs and many more. Check out the list: Python Editors