Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Vim VS Google Docs

Compare Vim VS Google Docs and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Vim logo Vim

Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

Google Docs logo Google Docs

Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.
  • Vim Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23
  • Google Docs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-16

Vim features and specs

  • Efficiency
    Once learned, Vim can significantly speed up text editing with its modal editing, keyboard shortcuts, and commands that allow for quick navigation and manipulation of text.
  • Lightweight
    Vim is a very lightweight editor, consuming minimal system resources, making it highly performant even on systems with lower specifications.
  • Customizability
    Vim is highly configurable and extensible through plugins and user-defined settings, allowing users to tailor the editor to their specific needs.
  • Ubiquity
    Vim is available on almost every Unix-like system and even on Windows, making it a ubiquitous tool that you can rely on being available in most environments.
  • Support for Multiple Programming Languages
    Vim supports a wide range of programming languages out of the box and offers syntax highlighting, which can be enhanced through plugins.
  • Powerful Search and Replace
    Vim offers robust searching and replacing functionalities, including support for regular expressions, which can be a powerful tool for developers.

Possible disadvantages of Vim

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Vim's modal editing and extensive set of commands can be daunting for new users, requiring significant time and effort to master.
  • Minimal Default Config
    The default configuration of Vim is quite minimalistic, which may necessitate additional setup and customization to meet modern development needs.
  • Limited GUI
    Vim primarily operates in a terminal, and while there are graphical variants like GVim, they are not as feature-rich or user-friendly as modern GUI editors.
  • Plugin Management
    While Vim is highly extensible, managing and configuring plugins can be cumbersome compared to more modern editors that offer integrated plugin management.
  • Inconsistent Behavior Across Platforms
    There may be inconsistencies in behavior or available features of Vim across different operating systems, which can complicate its use in certain environments.
  • Lack of Integrated Modern Features
    Vim lacks some modern IDE features like integrated debugging, advanced code introspection, and refined autocompletion, which often require third-party plugins to achieve.

Google Docs features and specs

  • Accessibility
    Google Docs can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, allowing for easy access to documents from anywhere.
  • Collaboration
    Multiple users can work on the same document simultaneously, making real-time collaboration easy and efficient.
  • Auto-Save
    Documents are automatically saved to Google Drive, reducing the risk of data loss due to unexpected issues.
  • Version History
    Allows users to see the revision history of a document and revert to previous versions if necessary.
  • Cost
    Google Docs is free to use, which is advantageous for individuals and organizations looking to cut down on software expenses.
  • Integrations
    Seamlessly integrates with other Google services (Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drive) and third-party applications.
  • Add-ons
    Offers a variety of add-ons to enhance functionality, such as grammar checkers, templates, and other productivity tools.

Possible disadvantages of Google Docs

  • Internet Dependency
    Requires an internet connection for full functionality, which can be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity or during outages.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Although offline access is available, it requires planning and setup; the experience is not as seamless as online use.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Storing sensitive information on Google’s servers can raise privacy and data security concerns for some users and organizations.
  • Feature Limitations
    While Google Docs provides robust basic functionality, it may lack some advanced features found in other word processing software like Microsoft Word.
  • Formatting Issues
    Some users may experience formatting inconsistencies, especially when exporting documents to other formats or printing.
  • Storage Limitations
    Free accounts are limited to a certain amount of storage space on Google Drive, necessitating payment for additional space should it be required.
  • Performance
    Occasionally, performance may be sluggish with very large documents or during peak usage times.

Vim videos

What Vim Is and Why You Should Learn It

More videos:

  • Review - JAC Vapour VIM Review - JAC does a side by side mod...
  • Review - Jac Vapour VIM - Quick Look

Google Docs videos

No Google Docs videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Vim and Google Docs)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
PDF Tools
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
PDF Editor
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Vim and Google Docs

Vim Reviews

Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Vim offers a variety of features like split windows, macros, and extensive customization options. It has a steep learning curve, but once you master it, you’ll be amazed at the speed and productivity it brings to your coding workflow. Vim is a favorite among experienced developers who value speed and efficiency above all else.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
It’s tough to say which developers would enjoy Vim as a text editor. It’s an old system with an outdated interface. Yet, it still has the charm and powerful feature-set that the average developer needs. I would recommend it to more advanced developers who enjoy using open source software and being a part of a community–like the one you can find behind Vim.
Source: kinsta.com
12 Best LaTeX Editors You Should Use
The entire installation process is perfectly documented on their Sourceforge page, which you must definitely pay a visit. There is another standalone Vim software, known as the gVim that brings a GUI-based interface to the Vim document editor. Vim-LaTeX has been developed specifically for the programmers and it is so highly configurable that it can function anyway, ranging...
Source: beebom.com
The Top 7 Notepad++ Alternatives for You
Vim is a totally free Notepad++ alternative. It is available to use on Windows, Mac and Linux computers and it is very powerful. I was able to customize Vim to get it to look and function just how I want it. There is really good help support with Vim so if you are new to programming it will get you through most issues.
10 Best Notepad++ Alternatives in 2020
Vim is an advanced text editor open source tool which is also considered to be an IDE in its way. This tool allows managing your text editing activities with vim editors and UNIX System which can be used on-premise or online.
Source: www.guru99.com

Google Docs Reviews

Top 12 Online Collaboration Tools for Smart Working
Users can share meeting notes or create project briefs collectively with one click. They can also choose from a variety of formats, such as Nifty Docs, Google Docs, Presentation, or Spreadsheet, and sync with their Google Drive! Google Docs, as a crucial component within Google Workspace, facilitates teamwork and accessibility, offering document management capabilities...
Source: niftypm.com
Best 25 Software Documentation Tools 2023
Google Docs allows users to create, edit, share and collaborate on documents in real-time, online and is accessible from any device. It's a powerful and collaborative documentation tool that offers a wide range of features and it is widely used by individuals, teams and organizations.
Source: www.uphint.com
The 11 Best Slite Alternatives in 2022- Free Tools Included!
“Intuitive layout, integration with other Google services/offerings and hosting in the cloud make Google Docs arguably the best way for small teams with far-flung members to generate collaborative documents quickly. Four years ago, using Google Docs to author, edit and review documents was a nonstarter due to missing features found in word processing software. Today, many...
Source: remoteverse.com
EasyContent vs Google Docs
Google Docs require external tools to make it appropriate for collaborative content production. It's often upgraded to GSuite (which consists of multiple apps in one package) or paired with project management platforms like Asana and Trello. This means you'll need to manage multiple apps and platforms, adding overhead to your content production process.
Source: easycontent.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Vim seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 10 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Vim mentions (10)

  • regular Vim has lua?!
    Lua is quite small, encouraging distros to include it. The ubuntu gvim has, and the gvim AppImage linked from vim.org does. The default Makefile from github is set up to not include it, but you can uncomment one line there to get it. Source: about 2 years ago
  • is there a way to make highlighted text persistent after quit when using something like [match Search /\%'.line('.').'l/] ?
    I've not used vimwiki locally (tho I'm old enough to remember the Vim wiki on vim.org :), but I think what you are wanting to do is extend vimwiki's syntax file. I presume it installs one at $VIMRUNTIM/syntax or or ~/.vim/syntax. If this sounds right, then create a ~/.vim/after/syntax/vimwiki.vim file and place your match command in there. Then everytime you open a vimwiki file it should apply your... Source: over 2 years ago
  • vim.org - Is there a reason for this 1800s-esque design?
    Vim.org has 242k total visitors, tailwindcss.com has 4.4m, planetscale.com has 412k, jpl.nasa.gov has 2.6m, all built with Tailwind, all several years younger than Vim's website. Unnecessary comparison, unnecessary defence. It's a valuable tool, fine, but a complete disregard for anyone who doesn't love a crappy website and would like to navigate a website like a normal human is not something to be defended. Maybe... Source: over 2 years ago
  • What is YOUR process of writing ?
    I write in Vim with some customizations in my vimrc to gear it more towards prose writing than code editing. It's not pretty, but Normal Mode and Ex commands are the most powerful text editing tools out there, so that means I spend less time on making corrections and other edits. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Why developers need to know about Vim
    If you are open minded and would like to try it out, click me for more information! Cheers. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
View more

Google Docs mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Google Docs yet. Tracking of Google Docs recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Vim and Google Docs, you can also consider the following products

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Adobe Acrobat DC - Make your job easier with Adobe Acrobat DC, the trusted PDF creator. Use Acrobat to convert, edit and sign PDF files at your desk or on the go.

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Wondershare PDFelement - All-in-one PDF editor

Notepad++ - A free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment.

Microsoft Word - Microsoft Word is a commercial word document processor for Windows.