Alternatives to Notepad++
The fast Windows text and source code editor that replaced Notepad for a generation of users. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Notepad++
The fast Windows text and source code editor that replaced Notepad for a generation of users.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Notepad++.
Sublime Text
A fast native editor for code and prose, paid for but with an evaluation that never stops working.
Sublime Text is a fast native editor on Windows, macOS and Linux that handles very large files, but it is closed source and paid.
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft's code editor, free to use but shipped under a Microsoft licence rather than an open one.
Visual Studio Code adds extensions for nearly every language, Git and a debugger across platforms, but is Electron-based and heavier.
Notepads
Use a lightweight Windows text editor with tabs and Markdown preview.
Notepads is a lightweight MIT-licensed Windows editor with tabs and Markdown preview, without Notepad++'s macros, column editing and regex find across files.
VSCodium
Visual Studio Code built from the same source without Microsoft’s branding, telemetry or licence.
VSCodium is an MIT-licensed VS Code build without telemetry, cross-platform and extension-rich, but heavier than Notepad++.
Kate
KDE's text editor: syntax highlighting for over 400 languages, split views, multi-cursor editing and an embedded terminal.
Kate offers syntax highlighting for over 400 languages, multi-cursor and an embedded terminal, but on Windows it comes through the Microsoft Store.
Geany
A small, fast IDE built on GTK that starts instantly and does not depend on a heavy desktop environment.
Geany is a small GTK IDE for Windows, macOS and Linux with symbol lists and a build command, though its interface looks dated.
Lite XL
Edit text and code in a lightweight Lua-based editor.
Lite XL is a lightweight cross-platform MIT-licensed editor extended through Lua plugins and themes.
Zed
A Rust editor from the people who built Atom, written for speed and for two people editing one file.
Zed is a GPU-rendered Rust editor with language servers built in, which Notepad++ lacks, though its Windows build is the least mature.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Notepad++ as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Bluefish
A lightweight open-source code and text editor for programmers and web developers.
Notepad++ is a fast GPL editor with regex find across files, macros and column editing, but it runs only on Windows, so Linux, macOS and BSD users lose it.
CudaText
A fast, cross-platform open-source code editor written in Object Pascal and extensible with Python.
Notepad++ is a free GPL-3.0 editor with regex find across files, macros and column editing, but it runs only on Windows.
EmEditor
A Windows text editor built for very large files, CSV data, logs and code.
Notepad++ is a free GPL-3.0 Windows editor with regex find across files, macros and column editing, but without dedicated CSV tools or very large file handling.
jEdit
A mature, plugin-driven programmer's text editor written in Java for many operating systems.
Notepad++ is a free GPL-3.0 editor with macros, column editing and regex find across files, but it runs only on Windows.
Notepad3
A lightweight open-source Notepad replacement for Windows with syntax highlighting and code folding.
Notepad++ is also a Scintilla-based Windows editor but adds find and replace across files, macros, column editing and a plugin ecosystem, under GPL-3.0.
Notepad4
A lightweight Scintilla-based text editor for Windows with syntax highlighting, folding and auto-completion.
Notepad++ is a GPL Windows editor with tabs, split view, regex find across files, macros and plugins, replacing Notepad4's single-document design.
PSPad
A freeware text and code editor for Windows with syntax highlighting, hex editing and a built-in FTP client.
Notepad++ is a GPL open-source Windows editor with regex find across files, macros and plugins, but it lacks PSPad's built-in hex editor and FTP client.
RJ TextEd
A freeware Unicode text and source code editor for Windows with web preview, hex mode and SFTP.
Notepad++ is open source under GPL-3.0 with regex find across files and macros, but has no built-in HTML preview or SFTP client.
UltraEdit
A commercial text, code and hex editor for Windows, macOS and Linux that handles very large files.
Notepad++ is a free, open-source Windows editor with macros and regex search across files, without macOS or Linux builds.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Neovim
A modern rewrite of Vim with a built-in language server client, Lua configuration and an embeddable API.
micro
A terminal editor with the keybindings you already know: Ctrl-S to save, Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-Z to undo.
Microsoft Edit
Edit text with a familiar interface inside your terminal.
Pulsar
Community-maintained continuation of the Atom text editor.
BBEdit
A long-running macOS text and code editor for writers, web authors and software developers.
CotEditor
A free, open-source plain-text and code editor made for macOS.
