Tool comparison
Hex Workshop, by BreakPoint Software, is a long-standing commercial hex editor suite for Windows. It combines byte-level editing with a data inspector, structure viewer for mapping records over binary offsets, arithmetic and bitwise operations, base converter, and a broad set of checksum and digest algorithms (CRC, checksums, hashes). File and sector comparison tools highlight differences between two binaries. In ECU work it is used to examine firmware reads, apply structured edits, run arithmetic on data blocks, and validate or recompute checksums after changes. Its bookmarking and data-structure features make it useful for documenting where maps, identifiers, and code live inside a dump. It suits reverse engineers and tuners who want structure-aware editing beyond a plain byte grid.
010 Editor by SweetScape Software is a professional hex and text editor best known for its Binary Templates: small scripts written in a C-like language that parse a binary file into named, typed fields you can read and edit as a structured tree. This makes it powerful for reverse engineering firmware, container formats, and calibration data where offsets and record layouts repeat. It handles very large files, offers a scriptable engine for repetitive edits, file comparison, and a wide range of checksum/hash functions. ECU researchers use templates to lay maps, headers, and identifiers over a raw dump so edits become field-level rather than blind byte pokes. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux and is popular across the wider RE community.
Hex Workshop (Hex Editor / Reverse Engineering, BreakPoint Software) and 010 Editor (Hex Editor / Reverse Engineering, SweetScape Software) compete in the same space, so the choice comes down to coverage, workflow and price for your specific ECUs. Commercial Windows hex editor with data inspector, structures and checksums Template-driven binary editor for parsing and editing structured firmware
Whichever you flash with, Softechpro Solutions auto-applies DPF/EGR/AdBlue/DTC-off modules and Stage patterns with automatic checksum correction across ~1,400 firmwares on Windows & macOS — the fast way to get the actual file edits done.
See SoftechproMore on Hex Workshop