The best Emacs distributions, according to hackers
6 Emacs distributions were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended Emacs distributions with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Sane defaults and good out-of-box setup
People recommend Doom Emacs as a preconfigured Emacs setup that gives beginners sane defaults and Vim-style keys. Critics say it hides how Emacs works and adds complexity.
Good starting point for new users
A free Emacs starter kit with better defaults and example configuration, often recommended to new or overwhelmed Emacs users as a base to build on.
All 6 Emacs distributions, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doom Emacs | 60 | 23 | 72% | 11 | 1 yr8 owners | Approved |
| 2 | Spacemacs | 24 | 17 | 59% | 10 | — | — |
| 3 | Emacs Bedrock | 21 | 1 | 95% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Emacs Solo | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 5 | minimal-emacs.d by James Cherti | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 5 | IDEmacs | 6 | 5 | 55% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same Emacs distribution in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to Emacs distributions that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.