Leafpad AlternativesCode & Text Editors like Leafpad

Leafpad is described as 'Lightweight text editor that emphasizes simplicity. As development focuses on keeping weight down to a minimum, only the most essential features are implemented in the editor' and is a popular Code Editor in the development category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Leafpad for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and Flathub apps. The best Leafpad alternative is Notepad++, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Leafpad are Vim, Zed Editor, Neovim and Kate.

Leafpad iconLeafpad
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Leafpad is a lightweight text editor that emphasizes simplicity. As development focuses on keeping weight down to a...

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Leafpad alternatives page was last updated Feb 19, 2025
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  1. Notepad++ icon

    Notepad++

     4868 likes
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    Notepad++ is a free, open-source code editor supporting several languages, offering features like syntax highlighting, plugin support, dark mode, portability, privacy, and efficient resource usage, making it highly customizable and suitable for various programming needs.

    228 Notepad++ alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad++ screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Code Formatting
    2.  Portable
    3.  Tabbed interface
    4.  Search and Replace
    5.  Text formatting
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Multiple Open Tabs
    8.  Multiple languages
    9.  Color coding
    10.  Support for Javascript
    11.  Built-in themes
    12.  Auto-saving

    Notepad++ VS Leafpad

     

    • Notepad++ is the most popular Windows alternative to Leafpad.

    • Notepad++ is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Leafpad.

    • Notepad++ is Free and Open SourceLeafpad is also Free and Open Source
    • Notepad++ is LightweightLeafpad is not according to our users
  2. Vim icon

    Vim

     1317 likes
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    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.

    207 Vim alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Vim screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Keyboard focused
    3.  Customizable
    4.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Hackable
    4.  Well documented
    5.  Modal editor
    6.  Command line interface
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Support for MarkDown
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Portable
    11.  Batch Editing
    12.  Terminal-based

    Vim VS Leafpad

     
    Comments about Vim as an Alternative to Leafpad
    rescuezilla
    Negative •Apr 15, 2020
    1

    I love vim, but it has an extremely steep learning curve and is terminal-based. Leafpad is a grandma-friendly graphical application for viewing and editing plain text files (in other words notepad.exe for Linux).

    Guest
    Negative •Jun 18, 2020
    1

    Leafpad is GUI and very simple. Vim is a terminal based power tool. They are completely incomparable.

    Leafpad Icon
    Vim icon

    • Some users think Vim is a great Leafpad alternative, some don't.

    • Vim is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Leafpad.

    • Vim is Free and Open SourceLeafpad is also Free and Open Source
    • Vim is Lightweight and CustomizableLeafpad is not according to our users
  4. Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     65 likes
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    Zed is a blazing fast, multi-user, productivity-focused text editor. From the creators of Atom, Electron and Tree-sitter, the editor features built-in Vim mode with tooltips for key-bindings, language-aware...

    76 Zed Editor alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Zed Editor screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Optimal performance
    3.  Support for Themes
    4.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Autocompletion
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Built-in terminal emulation
    5.  Team Collaboration
    6.  Rust
    7.  Real time collaboration
    8.  No registration required
    9. Git icon  Git Support
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  Multiple Cursors

    Zed Editor VS Leafpad

     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    EmEditor icon
    EmEditor

    EmEditor is a versatile text, code, and CSV editor designed for Windows. It offers lightweight, user-friendly, and extendable platform, with both 32-bit and 64-bit builds. The software also features AI-assisted writing.

    https://www.emeditor.com
    Learn More
  6. Neovim icon

    Neovim

     177 likes
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    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.

    95 Neovim alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Neovim screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Configurable
    3.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Lua scripting
    3.  Terminal-based
    4.  Syntax Highlighting
    5.  Asynchronous
    6.  Sane defaults
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Autocompletion
    10.  Code Formatting

    Neovim VS Leafpad

     
  7. Kate icon

    Kate

     295 likes
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    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.

    138 Kate alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Native application
    2.  Themes
    3.  Syntax Highlighting
    4.  Built-in terminal emulation
    5.  Editable text color schemes
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Tabbed interface
    8.  Code Formatting
    9. Git icon  Git Support
    10.  Support for MarkDown
    11.  Spell Checking
    12.  Full-Text Search

    Kate VS Leafpad

     
  8. gedit icon

    gedit

     687 likes
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    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.

    184 gedit alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
    • Flathub
    The Default look under GNOME with Adwaita

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Autocompletion
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  Spell Checking
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Support for Unicode

    gedit VS Leafpad

     
  10. GNU nano icon

    GNU nano

     286 likes
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    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.

    142 GNU nano alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    GNU nano screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Terminal-based
    3.  Search and Replace
    4.  No Tracking
    5.  Automatic Indentation

    GNU nano VS Leafpad

     
    Comments about GNU nano as an Alternative to Leafpad
    rescuezilla
    Negative •Apr 15, 2020
    1

    Nano is not a drop-in Leafpad replacement, but definitely suitable for users willing to use a terminal to view and edit plain text. It's lightweight and provides clear explanation on how to save/exit files. Nano is a great application for newbie Linux users to editing configuration files on headless machines like routers and server, since they don't need the advanced features and learning curve of Vim/vi.

    Leafpad Icon
    GNU nano icon
    • GNU nano is Free and Open SourceLeafpad is also Free and Open Source
    • GNU nano is LightweightLeafpad is not according to our users
  11. GNU Emacs icon

    GNU Emacs

     378 likes
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    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:

    167 GNU Emacs alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Homebrew
    • Snapcraft
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    The GNU Emacs Manual calls Emacs the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Extensibility
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Org-mode
    4.  Self-documenting
    5.  Terminal-based
    6.  Syntax Highlighting
    7.  Support for scripting
    8.  Command line interface
    9.  No Tracking
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Spell Checking
    12.  Ad-free

    GNU Emacs VS Leafpad

     
    Comments about GNU Emacs as an Alternative to Leafpad
    Guest
    Negative •Jun 18, 2020
    0

    Leafpad is a simple GUI editor anyone can use. Emacs is a great power tool but is overkill for anything Leafpad would be appropriate for.

    Leafpad Icon
    GNU Emacs icon

    • GNU Emacs is the most popular Android alternative to Leafpad.

    • GNU Emacs is Free and Open SourceLeafpad is also Free and Open Source
    • GNU Emacs is CustomizableLeafpad is not according to our users
  12. Lite XL icon

    Lite XL

     49 likes
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    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.

    52 Lite XL alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Lite XL screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable
    3.  Support for Themes
    4.  Distraction-free
    5.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Syntax Highlighting
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Multiple Cursors
    6.  Portable
    7.  Hackable
    8.  Support for scripting
    9.  Full-Text Search
    10.  Community-based
    11.  Autocompletion
    12.  Code Completion

    Lite XL VS Leafpad

     
  13. Notepad3 icon

    Notepad3

     58 likes
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    Notepad3 is a fast and light-weight text editor with syntax highlighting for programming jobs. Auto-completion, Multi-language, Dark mode more.

    206 Notepad3 alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • ZA flagSouth Africa

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Supports RTL languages out of the box.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Support for Themes
    4.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Support for Unicode
    2.  Small-footprint
    3.  Multiple languages
    4.  Search and Replace
    5.  Syntax Highlighting
    6.  Portable
    7.  Support for regular expressions
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Works Offline
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  No Tracking
    12.  Dark Mode

    Notepad3 VS Leafpad

     
  14. Helix icon

    Helix

     30 likes
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    Helix is a fast text editor for the terminal inspired by modal editors like Kakoune and Neovim. Built as a native app using .

    83 Helix alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Helix screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Command line interface
    3.  Autocompletion
    4.  Code Formatting
    5.  No Tracking
    6. Git icon  Git Support
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Modal editor
    9.  Terminal-based

    Helix VS Leafpad

     
  15. Notepad icon

    Notepad

     182 likes
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    Fast, streamlined editor with extensive features, bundled with Windows since 1985. Supports plain text, UTF-8, and over 100 languages with enhanced functionality since 2018, including dark mode, Bing search, and large file handling.

    140 Notepad alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Notepad screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Minimalistic

    Features

    1.  Simple text editor
    2.  Support for Unicode
    3.  Save as txt
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  Bundled with Windows

    Notepad VS Leafpad

     
12 of 98 Leafpad alternatives