It’s free to use and offers subscription pricing ($39.99/year) for pro plans. Also, note that BBEdit is now also available on the Mac App Store. Till then, you can keep using the free version. But at that point, the purchase will make sense. In the long run you might need to buy a license if you want to use it without restrictions.
The app used to be paid only but now you can use it for free with restrictions. The app itself is packed with features including built-in tools text manipulations, Hard Wrap, complete set of HTML Tools for fast, easy, and correct markup, placeholder options for easier site maintenance, multiple files manipulations, customizable syntax coloring support for over two dozen built-in languages, extensive file handling capabilities, and more. Along with simple text editing, the app also supports rich text editing and HTML. It’s one of the best HTML and text editor for macOS which anyone can use today. BBEdit’s existence for more than 25 years is enough to sing its praise. The software has been available since 1992 which long predates the macOS as we know today. BBEdit is one of the oldest and most popular text-editors out there.
