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 Windows + Free. 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.
Windows Notepad iconWindows Notepad
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Fast, lightweight editor bundled with Windows since 1985. Supports plain text, UTF-8, Linux newline, over 100 languages, with improved features.

More about Windows Notepad
More about Windows Notepad
Windows Notepad alternatives page was last updated May 16, 2025
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  1. Notepad++ icon

    Notepad++

     4875 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 Windows Notepad

     
    Comments about Notepad++ as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    Top Positive Comment
    linuxplayer
    Mar 22, 2024
    0

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

    Most Recent Comment
    jmNY68
    Positive Jul 16, 2024
    0

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

    Guest
    Positive Oct 15, 2021
    0

    Yeah it's better than Windows' notepad, feature rich and dark mode support.

    Show more comments
    3 of 5 comments
    Windows Notepad Icon
    Notepad++ icon

    • Almost everyone thinks 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 LightweightWindows Notepad is not according to our users
  2. Vim icon

    Vim

     1319 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.

    205 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 Windows Notepad

     
  4. Kate icon

    Kate

     296 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.

    137 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 Windows Notepad

     
  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...

    121 Notepad2 alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad2 screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The program is no longer updated. Last version, 4.2.25, released on October 28, 2012, can be still downloaded from the official website. You can also take a look at this active fork: https://github.com/zufuliu/notepad2

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Portable
    5.  Syntax Highlighting
    6.  No registration required

    Notepad2 VS Windows Notepad

     
    Comments about Notepad2 as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    Guest
    Positive Jul 30, 2024
    0

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

    Guest
    Positive Apr 13, 2017
    1

    Just one file, but powerfull.

    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
    • Notepad2 is LightweightWindows Notepad is not according to our users
  6. 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 Windows Notepad

     
    Comments about PSPad as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    hCommon
    Feb 17, 2025
    0

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

    Guest
    Negative Jul 30, 2024
    -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".

    Windows Notepad Icon
    PSPad icon
    • PSPad is Free and ProprietaryWindows Notepad is also Free and Proprietary
    • PSPad is LightweightWindows Notepad is not according to our users
  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.

    76 Mousepad alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Xfce
    Mousepad screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  No Tracking
    3.  Works Offline
    4.  Simple text editor
    5.  Gtk
    6.  Tabbed interface
    7.  Drag and Drop

    Mousepad VS Windows Notepad

     
    Comments about Mousepad as an Alternative to Windows Notepad
    danielmichel
    Positive Jan 6, 2025
    0

    It really is Notepad for Linux.

    Mahdy Abdelmotaleb
    Positive May 3, 2020
    0

    It's simple, minimalistic and stable.

    Windows Notepad Icon
    Mousepad icon
    • Mousepad is Free and Open SourceWindows Notepad is Free and Proprietary
    • Mousepad is LightweightWindows Notepad is not according to our users
  9. Xed icon

    Xed

     22 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.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • IE flagIreland
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Xed screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  No registration required
    3.  X server
    4.  Support for Unicode
    5.  Automatic Indentation

    Xed VS Windows Notepad

     
  10. 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

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • F-Droid
    • Android
    Notes (PFA) screenshot 1
    Notes (PFA) screenshot 2
    Notes (PFA) screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No registration required
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Checklists
    5.  Sketching

    Notes (PFA) VS Windows Notepad

     
  11. 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.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • HU flagHungary
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Text Editor Pro screenshot 1

    Text Editor Pro Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Syntax Highlighting

    Text Editor Pro VS Windows Notepad

     
9 of 28 Windows Notepad alternatives