Difference between Viper, Vimpulse and Evil for Emacs?

Simply put:

  • Viper: Basic Vi emulation mode offered by Emacs; in-built and comes bundled with Emacs
  • Vimpulse: Adds on to the Viper mode but offering advanced features like visual selection and text objects
  • Evil: A completely new Vim emulation mode for Emacs and is said to be the successor of both Viper and Vimpulse mode. This mode is said to be much better than both the above combined and users report facing lesser problems with this. Recommended going forward.

The instructions to install Evil can be found here. Good luck!