Finding a free, robust alternative to TinyMCE for a raw PHP project is a smart move, especially if you want to avoid subscription costs or complex licensing. Since you are working with raw PHP, you’ll want something that is easy to drop into a project via a CDN or a single JS file.
Here are the best open-source and free alternatives:
Quill is modern, lightweight, and has a very clean UI. It’s highly customizable and doesn't feel "clunky" like older editors.
<div>.While CKEditor has paid tiers, their Open Source license is free for many projects. It is the most direct competitor to TinyMCE in terms of features.
If you want something modern that doesn't output messy HTML, Editor.js is fantastic. It is block-based (like Notion or WordPress Gutenberg).
Summernote is a "super simple" WYSIWYG editor. It was originally built for Bootstrap but now has a standalone version.
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