Codepen //top\\ May 2026

Rating: 4.7/5

The split-screen experience is perfect. The "Live View" updates instantly as you type (debounced, of course), and the "Debug" mode strips away the Pen UI to show exactly what your code looks like in a raw browser window. codepen

You cannot easily import local npm modules that have complex build steps. You are stuck using ES modules from CDNs like Skypack or UNPKG, which sometimes break if the library maintainer changes the file structure. Rating: 4

Pro users get "Asset Hosting," which is a game-changer. You can upload images, fonts, or JSON files directly to the Pen. Plus, the built-in support for fetching from external APIs (like Unsplash or GitHub gists) makes prototyping real data effortless. You are stuck using ES modules from CDNs

While you can share a link, true real-time collaborative editing (like Google Docs or Figma) doesn't exist without third-party hacks. You end up passing links back and forth.