Notepad++ Alternatives for Linux

Notepad++ is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is Sublime Text, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Notepad++ and loads of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to Notepad++ are Visual Studio Code, Geany, Kate and Vim.

filter to find the best alternatives

Notepad++ alternatives are mainly Text Editors, but if you're looking for Code Editors or IDEs you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Linux, iPad, Mac, Open Source, iPad + Code Editor and Android + Text Editors. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Notepad++.
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Alternatives list

  1. Sublime Text icon

    Sublime Text

     2044 likes

    Powerful editor blending code, markup, and prose editing with enhanced features like multi-tab selection, side-by-side definition viewing, and multiple selection tools for swift code navigation.

    193 Sublime Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Sublime Text screenshot 1
     
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    19
    469
    Comments about Sublime Text as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    914ian914
    3

    It has all the features I need without having to install more than a few extensions.

    Top Negative Comment
    Nuncio Bitis
    -1

    Sublime Text is too slow, big, and heavy, and a memory hog.

    Hexaae
    Positive
    2

    Crazy pricing. June 2022: 99$/3yrs

    3 of 19 comments
    Sublime Text icon
    Sublime Text icon

    • Most users think Sublime Text is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Sublime Text is Freemium and ProprietaryNotepad++ is Free and Open Source
    • Sublime Text is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  2. Visual Studio Code icon

    Visual Studio Code

     1376 likes

    Free and extensible code editor with built-in Git support, smart IntelliSense, integrated debugger, 30,000+ extensions, works offline, supports markdown and syntax highlighting for numerous languages.

    203 Visual Studio Code alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Snapcraft
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 1
     
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    19
    267
    Comments about Visual Studio Code as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    CeesT
    1

    Cross-platform, superior highlighting and plugins.

    Top Negative Comment
    redtrillix
    14

    Its quite a big application, and if you wanna just edit a config file or text document, you dont want a big, slower application running.

    Its a good coding app for projects and stuff, but not if you want to make a simple edit.

    Alka (Arthur Beau)
    Negative
    1

    VS Code is wayyy too heavy and slow to be a good alternative to Notpad++. It's a very good and popular editor for everyone, but it's specialy developers. You don't want to use it if you just want something lightweight and quick for editing files.

    3 of 19 comments
    Visual Studio Code icon
    Visual Studio Code icon

    • Most users think Visual Studio Code is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Visual Studio Code is Free and ProprietaryNotepad++ is Free and Open Source
    • Visual Studio Code is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  4. Geany icon

    Geany

     575 likes

    Geany is a powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.

    152 Geany alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Haiku
    Geany screenshot 1
     
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    13
    106
    Comments about Geany as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    victorkam26
    1

    Simple, light and good replacement.

    Top Negative Comment
    Stefan Monov
    0

    Breaks some of my basic workflows. E.g. can't drop files onto the Geany window (to open them), can't use F3 for "find next"... OTOH the UI is nice and sleek.

    AntumDeluge
    Positive
    1

    So far Geany is the best cross-platform alternative to Notepad++ I have tried. Its UI isn't hard to figure out & has a similar feel.

    3 of 13 comments
    Geany icon
    Geany icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Geany is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Geany is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Geany is Minimalistic and CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  5. Kate icon

    Kate

     312 likes

    The Kate project develops two main products: KatePart, the advanced editor component which is used in numerous KDE applications requiring a text editing component, and Kate, a MDI text editor application.

    145 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
     
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    5
    74
    Comments about Kate as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    RR JJ
    9

    Great syntax highlighting, and good plugin support. Fast and easy to use.

    Top Negative Comment
    Max Fisher
    1

    Kate doesn't have as robustness as Notepad++ has. And feature wise it hasn't got "cache" thing when you want to close a tab and the editor shouldn't be asking whether save it or not.

    avg-gaymer
    Positive
    0

    although it certainly isnt a 1:1 replacement, kate has provided the closest "notepad++ for linux" experience for me - a text editor that can be just a text editor, but with some nice extra features if you want them.

    3 of 5 comments
    Kate icon
    Kate icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Kate is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Kate is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
  6. Vim icon

    Vim

     1344 likes

    Vim ("Vi IMproved") is an advanced text editor that allows syntax highlighting, word completion and has a huge amount of contributed content. It also has a GUI version called GVim.

    213 Vim alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Vim screenshot 1
     
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    9
    143
    Comments about Vim as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    Marcin
    6

    Serves same purpose, similar features, different approach, multiplatform, ubiquitous.

    Top Negative Comment
    Xandros Darkstorm
    2

    Notepad++ is a gui application, while vim is strictly for terminals.

    RemovedUser
    Negative
    0

    Although it runs as a GUI, you still need to know the vi commands. Unless you don't mind using the menu bar to do everything.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 9 comments
    Vim icon
    Vim icon

    • Most users think Vim is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Vim is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Vim is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  7. VSCodium icon

    VSCodium

     402 likes

    This repository contains a build file to generate FLOSS release binaries of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code - Open Source ("Code - OSS") project, the open source core of the proprietary Visual Studio Code.

    197 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VSCodium screenshot 1
     
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    3
    18
    Comments about VSCodium as an Alternative to Notepad++
    aaronfranke
    Positive
    4

    VS Codium does everything Notepad++ can do but better. It has more features, is more extensible/customizable, is fairly lightweight, and is cross-platform.

    Guest
    Positive
    5

    The power of Visual Studio without all the tracking of Microsoft in a simple and intuitive layout

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    gregoryem
    Positive
    0

    "VS Codium does everything Notepad++ can", but unlike Notepad++, VSC is extremely heavy and bloated wannabe IDE instead od text editor.

    VSCodium icon
    VSCodium icon

    • Almost everyone thinks VSCodium is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • VSCodium is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • VSCodium is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  9. gedit icon

    gedit

     694 likes

    Official text editor of the GNOME desktop environment. Has syntax highlighting and is suitable for programming, with support for several languages. It is extensible with plugins.

    192 gedit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
    • Flathub
    The Default look under GNOME with Adwaita
     
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    3
    87
    Comments about gedit as an Alternative to Notepad++
    rmpbklyn
    Negative
    6

    no sorting and don't reconize regular expression when 'replace' or search

    Guest
    Negative
    12

    Gedit can't fold code, can't make ident lines, and the ident is strange!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    4

    Some essential plugins missing especially around code formatting tools

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    gedit icon
    gedit icon

    • Most users think gedit is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • gedit is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • gedit is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  10. GNU Emacs icon

    GNU Emacs

     387 likes

    GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. The features of GNU Emacs include:

    181 GNU Emacs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    • Homebrew
    The GNU Emacs Manual calls Emacs the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor
     
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    3
    33
    Comments about GNU Emacs as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Guest
    Positive
    4

    Emacs is the be-all-end-all text editor. It takes a while to learn, but its code and text editing commands are extremely powerful. There's also a package manager for things like auto completion, automatic running, and more language support.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    2

    I don't want a fake psychologist nor to play tetris, I really just want a powerful IDE.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -1

    Emacs is a security hazard and its usage implies a certain political opinion.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GNU Emacs icon
    GNU Emacs icon

    • Most users think GNU Emacs is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • GNU Emacs is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • GNU Emacs is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  11. Neovim icon

    Neovim

     187 likes

    Refactored version of Vim, simplifying maintenance, improving developer contributions, and enabling new user interfaces. Features extensible plugin architecture, lightweight resource usage, syntax highlighting, no registration, ad-free, and distraction-free mode.

    105 Neovim alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chocolatey
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
    Neovim screenshot 1
     
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    24
  12. Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     107 likes

    Blazing fast code editor offering real-time multi-user collaboration, language-aware syntax highlighting, integrated terminal, multi-buffers for tab-free editing, built-in Vim mode, searchable outline, AI coding assistance, advanced keyboard commands, and cross-platform support.

    88 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Zed Editor screenshot 1
     
  13. GNU nano icon

    GNU nano

     289 likes

    GNU nano is a small and friendly text editor. Besides basic text editing, nano offers many extra features like an interactive search and replace, go to line and column number, auto-indentation, feature toggles, internationalization support, and filename tab completion.

    153 GNU nano alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    GNU nano screenshot 1
     
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    1
    22
    Comments about GNU nano as an Alternative to Notepad++
    johnhk
    Positive
    0

    It one of the better TerminalBased (CLI) editors. I from a WindowsOS enviroment, so I differentiate between CLI and GUI editors. But as a cli-text-editor its very windows-user-friendly.

    GNU nano icon
    GNU nano icon

    • Most users think GNU nano is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • GNU nano is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
  14. Pulsar Editor icon

    Pulsar Editor

     48 likes

    A Community-led Hyper-Hackable Text Editor, built on Electron. and based on everything we love about our favorite editors.

    76 Pulsar Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Electron
    Welcome tab
     
12 of 101 Notepad++ alternatives