OSI-licensed only · self-hostable
CKEditor 5 is a JavaScript rich-text editor that is open source under GPL-2.0-or-later, with commercial terms available from its vendor. Teams look elsewhere when GPL does not fit their product, or when they want a more headless, framework-first editor.
Every tool below is under an OSI-approved licence (MIT, BSD-3-Clause, MPL-2.0, GPL-2.0+ or Apache-2.0), checked against its repository. Several have paid add-ons or separately licensed packages, noted in each entry. ProseMirror is left out because its repository was archived and has moved elsewhere.
Licences checked against each repository on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Licence | Runs as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiptap | Headless editor you design yourself | MIT | Server |
| Lexical | Reliable, accessible editor framework | MIT | Server |
| Quill | Straightforward editor with a ready UI | BSD-3-Clause | Server |
| Slate | Fully custom editors in React | MIT | Server |
| Milkdown | Markdown-first WYSIWYG | MIT | Server |
| BlockNote | Notion-style block editor for React | MPL-2.0 | Server |
| TinyMCE | Traditional WYSIWYG with many plugins | GPL-2.0-or-later | Server |
| Editor.js | Block editor with clean JSON output | Apache-2.0 | Server |
Best for: Headless editor you design yourself
A headless, framework-agnostic rich-text editor built on ProseMirror with 100+ extensions. Some Pro Extensions, such as collaboration and AI features, need a paid subscription.
Best for: Reliable, accessible editor framework
An extensible text editor framework from Meta focused on reliability, accessibility and performance.
Best for: Straightforward editor with a ready UI
A modern rich-text editor built for compatibility and extensibility, maintained by Slab.
Best for: Fully custom editors in React
A completely customisable framework for building rich-text editors. The README notes it is still in beta.
Best for: Markdown-first WYSIWYG
A plugin-driven WYSIWYG Markdown editor framework inspired by Typora and built on ProseMirror and remark.
Best for: Notion-style block editor for React
A block-based React rich-text editor built on ProseMirror and Tiptap. Most packages are MPL-2.0, but the xl-* packages are GPL-3.0 or need a commercial licence.
Best for: Traditional WYSIWYG with many plugins
An open-source rich-text editor for web apps with classic, inline and distraction-free modes and 50+ plugins, licensed under GPL-2.0 or later.
Best for: Block editor with clean JSON output
A block-style editor where each block type comes from a plugin, and the output is clean JSON rather than HTML.
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| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Closest classic WYSIWYG, different vendor | TinyMCE |
| Headless editor with your own UI | Tiptap or Lexical |
| Notion-style blocks in React | BlockNote |
| Markdown editing | Milkdown |
| Content stored as JSON blocks | Editor.js |
| A simple, ready-made toolbar | Quill |
Quick answers to common questions
CKEditor 5 is open source under GPL-2.0-or-later, with commercial terms available from its vendor. Check that the GPL fits your product.
TinyMCE is the closest classic WYSIWYG; Tiptap and Lexical suit teams who want to design their own UI. The right pick depends on how much UI you want built in.
Tiptap, Lexical, Slate and Milkdown are MIT, Quill is BSD-3-Clause, Editor.js is Apache-2.0, and BlockNote's core is MPL-2.0.
Some do, but often through paid or separate components. Tiptap's collaboration extensions are Pro, for instance, while it pairs with the open-source Hocuspocus backend.
The repository states GPL-2.0 or later. The vendor also sells paid plans and support.
List it on TechLogHub and we'll review it for this page.
