Windows Notepad AlternativesOnly apps from the EU

The best alternative to Windows Notepad is Notepad++, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Windows Notepad and many of them are so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting alternatives to Windows Notepad are Vim, Kate, Notepad2 and PSPad.

filter to find the best alternatives

Windows 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 Open Source, Windows + Free, Windows, Text Editors, Linux and Windows + Lightweight. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Windows Notepad.
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Alternatives list

  1. Notepad++ icon

    Notepad++

     4926 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.

    246 Notepad++ alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad++ screenshot 1
     
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    6
    57
    Comments about Notepad++ as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    Top Positive Comment
    linuxplayer
    0

    Good at everything, best text editor for Windows if you don't need a hands on IDE.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    0

    Way too bloated if you're looking for something barebones like Notepad.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    jmNY68
    Positive
    0

    I like Notepad++, but it is focused on more of programming. I prefer a simpler UI layout and options.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 6 comments
    Windows Notepad Icon
    Notepad++ icon

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

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

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

    • Notepad++ is Free and Open SourceWindows Notepad is Free and Proprietary
    • Notepad++ is Privacy focusedWindows Notepad is not according to our users
  2. Vim icon

    Vim

     1340 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.

    212 Vim alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Vim screenshot 1
     
  4. Kate icon

    Kate

     310 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.

    142 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
     
  5. Notepad2 icon

    Notepad2

     291 likes
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    Notepad2 is a fast and light-weight Windows Notepad like text editor with syntax highlighting. Simple as possible, but yet powerful. Has full Unicode support. Can be run out of the box without installation, and does not touch your system's...

    118 Notepad2 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad2 screenshot 1
     
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    2
    13
    Comments about Notepad2 as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Just one file, but powerfull.

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

    Does what it should do, while not using much space. So sad it is discontinued... :-(

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Windows Notepad Icon
    Notepad2 icon

    • Most users think Notepad2 is a great Windows Notepad alternative.

    • Notepad2 is Free and Open SourceWindows Notepad is Free and Proprietary
  6. PSPad icon

    PSPad

     204 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.

    170 PSPad alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main Window - Project Settings
     
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    2
    Comments about PSPad as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    hCommon
    0

    Saying 11 MB is large is like saying you use a single gameboy cartridge for your main computer syorage

    Guest
    Negative
    -2

    11 MB is not lightweight for an editor. It's like saying: You need 763 full pages in A4 to write the word "hello".

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Windows Notepad Icon
    PSPad icon
    • PSPad is Free and ProprietaryWindows Notepad is also Free and Proprietary
  7. Mousepad icon

    Mousepad

     35 likes
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    A simple text editor for the Xfce desktop environment. Mousepad aims to be an easy-to-use and fast editor for quickly editing text files, not a development environment or an editor with a huge bunch of plugins.

    78 Mousepad alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Xfce
    Mousepad screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Comments about Mousepad as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    danielmichel
    Positive
    0

    It really is Notepad for Linux.

    Mahdy Abdelmotaleb
    Positive
    0

    It's simple, minimalistic and stable.

    Windows Notepad Icon
    Mousepad icon
    • Mousepad is Free and Open SourceWindows Notepad is Free and Proprietary
  9. Xed icon

    Xed

     23 likes
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    A text editor forked from Pluma and Gedit. Xed is the default text editor of Linux Mint. It can be customized and is available in multiple languages.

    157 Xed alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Xed screenshot 1
     
  10. Text Editor Pro icon

    Text Editor Pro

     10 likes
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    Text Editor Pro (formerly EditBone) is a powerful text editing tool that comes with syntax highlighting, support for over 50 languages and scripts, 22 different styles, a handy file comparison feature and support for multiple directories and search results.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Text Editor Pro screenshot 1
     
  11. Smultron icon

    Smultron

     71 likes
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    Smultron is a text editor for Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 which is both easy to use and powerful. It is designed to neither confuse newcomers nor disappoint advanced users. It should work perfectly for a whole variety of needs - like web programming, script editing, making a to do...

    70 Smultron alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Smultron screenshot 1
     
  12. Notes (PFA) icon

    Notes (PFA)

     3 likes
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    Privacy Friendly Notes allows you to take and manage notes on Android devices. It belongs to the Privacy Friendly Apps group developed by the research group SECUSO at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. More information can be found an secuso.org/pfa

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • F-Droid
    • Android
    Notes (PFA) screenshot 1
    Notes (PFA) screenshot 2
    Notes (PFA) screenshot 3
     
  13. TwistPad icon

    TwistPad

     8 likes
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    Twistpad is a fully featured text and code editor for Windows. Twistpad can be used as a simple notepad replacer, or a featured packed editor targeting web and software developers.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Twistpad editing a PHP\HTML file, with split editing, with the clipboard and the file browser window visible. Notice that the search for 'updated' is highlighted automatically
     
  14. Byword icon

    Byword

     53 likes
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    Byword is designed to make writing more enjoyable with Markdown on your Mac, iPhone and iPad.

    149 Byword alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Byword screenshot 1
     

    • Byword is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to Windows Notepad.

    • Byword is Paid and ProprietaryWindows Notepad is Free and Proprietary
12 of 28 Windows Notepad alternatives