Notepad++ Alternatives

Notepad++ is described as 'Free open-source code editor and Notepad replacement supporting multiple languages, featuring high speed, low resource usage, privacy focus, and plugin extensibility' and is a leading Code Editor in the development category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Notepad++ for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD and Flathub apps. The best Notepad++ alternative is Sublime Text, which is free. Other great apps like Notepad++ are Visual Studio Code, Geany, Kate and Vim.

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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 Mac + Free. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Notepad++.
Notepad++ iconNotepad++
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Free open-source code editor and Notepad replacement supporting multiple languages, featuring high speed, low resource usage, privacy focus, and plugin extensibility.

More about Notepad++
More about Notepad++
Notepad++ alternatives page was last updated Feb 26, 2025
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  1. 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 Notepad++

     
  2. TextMate icon

    TextMate

     269 likes
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    TextMate brings Apple's approach to operating systems into the world of text editors. By bridging UNIX underpinnings and GUI, TextMate cherry-picks the best of both worlds to the benefit of expert scripters and novice users alike.

    157 TextMate alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    TextMate screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    Last commit and version is from 2021

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Syntax Highlighting
    3.  Support for MarkDown
    4.  Search and Replace
    5.  Automatic Indentation
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  Code Formatting
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Snippets Manager

    TextMate VS Notepad++

     
  4. 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.

    204 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 Notepad++

     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Rapid PHP icon
    Rapid PHP

    Rapid PHP is a robust PHP code editor specifically designed for Windows operating systems. It merges the functionalities of a comprehensive PHP Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with the agility of Notepad, thus offering a...

    https://www.rapidphpeditor.com
    Learn More
  6. 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 Notepad++

     
  7. PSPad icon

    PSPad

     203 likes
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    PSPad is a freeware programmers editor in 8 languages for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Some features are highlighted syntax, ftp, projects and so on. Code explorer for Pascal, C/C++, INI, HTML, XML, PHP and more in development, internal web browser with APACHE support.

    165 PSPad alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CZ flagCzechia
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main Window - Project Settings

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Support for scripting
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Portable
    6.  WYSIWYG Support
    7.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    8.  Code Formatting
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Hex Editor
    12.  ASCII to Hex

    PSPad VS Notepad++

     
    Comments about PSPad as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive •Nov 23, 2016
    1

    More stable with huge files. Has implemented great function in Special conversions: "Remove Accent from chars".

    Guest
    Positive •Oct 17, 2018
    1

    This is just a terrific tool to use when viewing text files. The file comparison tool works brilliantly to identify differences between files. The interface is clean and customizable. You can find all instances of a string of characters and use those to navigate through the file. You can also export that list to a new document. There are too many great features to list. Give it a try and see what you think.

    Guest
    Positive •Jan 18, 2017
    -1

    Excellent application, notepad++ sometime crashes and deletes the file contents (editing), PSPad doesn't have this problem.

    Notepad++ Icon
    PSPad icon

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

    • PSPad is Free and ProprietaryNotepad++ is Free and Open Source
    • PSPad is LightweightNotepad++ is not according to our users
  8. UltraEdit icon

    UltraEdit

     161 likes
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    UltraEdit is the ideal text, HTML and HEX editor, and an advanced PHP, Perl, Java and JavaScript editor for programmers. An industry-award winner, UltraEdit supports disk-based 64-bit file handling (standard) on 32-bit Windows platforms (Windows 2000 and later).

    205 UltraEdit alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    UltraEdit features an integrated FTP browser and supports syntax highlighting for hundreds of languages, with more always in the works. And with an integrated SSH/telnet client, scripting, custom tools, macros and Smart Templates, UltraEdit's ready for any coding session.

    UltraEdit Features

    1.  Column based text editing
    2.  Support for large files
    3.  Hex Editor

    UltraEdit VS Notepad++

     

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

    • UltraEdit is the most popular commercial alternative to Notepad++.

    • UltraEdit is Paid and ProprietaryNotepad++ is Free and Open Source
  10. CudaText icon

    CudaText

     50 likes
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    CudaText is a cross-platform text editor, written in Lazarus / Free Pascal.

    189 CudaText alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • RU flagRussia

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    Multi-selections, Replace dialog at bottom

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable
    3.  Support for Themes
    4.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Native application
    3.  Minimap
    4.  Syntax Highlighting
    5.  Command palette
    6.  Autocompletion
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Portable
    9.  Works Offline
    10.  No registration required
    11.  Dark Mode

    CudaText VS Notepad++

     
    Comments about CudaText as an Alternative to Notepad++
    johnhk
    Positive •Jun 13, 2022
    0

    Very serios contender to npp. Developed by the dude that also gave us SynWrite. Very Cool

    Guest
    Positive •Feb 26, 2025
    0

    Cudatext is great, but it NOT working out of the box is the big letdown. You need to faff first and nobody got time for dat....

    Notepad++ Icon
    CudaText icon
    • CudaText is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • CudaText is Lightweight, Customizable and Privacy focusedNotepad++ is not according to our users
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