Open Source Notepad++ Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Notepad++ for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Windows alternative is Geany. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Notepad++ and loads of them are open source and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows alternatives to Notepad++ are Kate, Vim, VSCodium and gedit.

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, Windows, Mac, Windows + Free, iPad + Code Editor and iPad. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Notepad++.
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Alternatives list

  1. Geany icon

    Geany

     580 likes

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

    170 Geany alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Haiku
    Geany screenshot 1
     
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    13
    Geany vs Notepad++ Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    10

    Virtually the same features and on top of it it's cross platform and open source.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    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.

    victorkam26
    Positive
    1

    Simple, light and good replacement.

    3 of 13 comments
    • Geany is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Geany is Minimalistic and CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  2. Kate icon

    Kate

     330 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.

    164 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
     
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    5
    Kate vs Notepad++ Comments
    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 is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
  4. Vim icon

    Vim

     1364 likes

    Advanced text editor with syntax highlighting, word completion, multiple editing modes for efficiency, plugin and script extensibility, GUI and command-line operation, a thorough help system, and cross-platform support across various operating systems.

    232 Vim alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    Vim screenshot 1
     
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    9
    Vim vs Notepad++ Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Marcin
    6

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

    Top Negative Comment
    Xandros Darkstorm
    4

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

    RemovedUser
    Negative
    1

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

    VSCodium

     440 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.

    219 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VSCodium screenshot 1
     
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    3
    VSCodium vs Notepad++ Comments
    gregoryem
    Positive
    1

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

    aaronfranke
    Positive
    3

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

    gedit

     699 likes

    Extensible text editor with UTF-8 support, syntax highlighting for several programming and markup languages, remote editing, file reverting, print preview, clipboard operations, powerful search, customizable fonts and colors, line numbering, and plugin support.

    208 gedit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
    The Default look under GNOME with Adwaita
     
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    3
    gedit vs Notepad++ Comments
    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 is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • gedit is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  8. Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     139 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.

    115 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Zed Editor screenshot 1
     
  9. GNU Emacs icon

    GNU Emacs

     390 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:

    200 GNU Emacs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

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

    Neovim

     201 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.

    120 Neovim alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chocolatey
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
    Neovim screenshot 1
     
  11. GNU nano icon

    GNU nano

     297 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.

    165 GNU nano alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    GNU nano screenshot 1
     
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    1
    GNU nano vs Notepad++ Comments
    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 is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
  12. Micro icon

    Micro

     89 likes

    Micro is a terminal-based text editor that aims to be easy to use and intuitive, while also taking advantage of the full capabilities of modern terminals.

    56 Micro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenBSD
    Micro screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Micro vs Notepad++ Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    it has alot more features in unix because it has a terminal attatched to it simple easy to use also hackable

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Micro is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Micro is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  14. Lite XL icon

    Lite XL

     59 likes

    Lite XL is a lightweight text editor written mostly in Lua — it aims to provide something practical, pretty, small and fast, implemented as simply as possible; easy to modify and extend, or to use without doing either.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Lite XL screenshot 1
     
12 of 88 Notepad++ alternatives