Notepad2 AlternativesText & Code Editors like Notepad2

Notepad2 is described as 'Fast and light-weight 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' and is a very popular Text Editor in the development category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Notepad2 for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and Flathub apps. The best Notepad2 alternative is Notepad++, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Notepad2 are Sublime Text, Kate, Geany and gedit.

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Notepad2 alternatives are mainly Text Editors but may also be Code Editors or IDEs. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Notepad2.

Notepad2

293

Text Editor
Free • Open Source

Notepad2 is a fast and light-weight 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...

More about Notepad2

Notepad2 alternatives page was last updated Feb 5, 2024

Notepad++
4828 likes
Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.
231 Notepad++ alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Code Editor
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Windows
- PortableApps.com
+9
Top Notepad++ Features
1. Lightweight
2. Code Formatting
3. Portable
4. Tabbed interface
5. Search and Replace
6. Text formatting
7. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
8. Multiple Open Tabs
9. Multiple languages
10. Color coding
11. Support for Javascript
12. Configurable
Notepad++ VS Notepad2
Is Notepad++ a good alternative to Notepad2?
Comments about Notepad++ as an Alternative to Notepad2

Guest
The best plain text editor for Windows
Positive comment •Jul 25, 2016
0
- Most users think Notepad++ is a great Notepad2 alternative.
- Notepad++ is the most popular Windows alternative to Notepad2.
- Notepad++ is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Notepad2.
- Notepad++ is Free and Open SourceNotepad2 is also Free and Open Source

Sublime Text
1999 likes
Powerful editor blending code, markup, and prose editing with enhanced features like multi-tab selection, side-by-side definition viewing, and multiple selection tools for swift code navigation.
197 Sublime Text alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- Code Editor
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
+1
Top Sublime Text Features
1. Lightweight
2. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
3. Customizable
4. Package Control
5. Syntax Highlighting
6. IDE
7. No Tracking
8. Dark Mode
9. Support for MarkDown
10. Distraction-free
11. Works Offline
12. Git Support
Sublime Text VS Notepad2
Is Sublime Text a good alternative to Notepad2?
- Sublime Text is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Notepad2.
- Sublime Text is the most popular commercial alternative to Notepad2.
- Sublime Text is Paid and ProprietaryNotepad2 is Free and Open Source
- Sublime Text is CustomizableNotepad2 is not according to our users

Kate
287 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.
142 Kate alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Code Editor
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- KDE Plasma
- Flathub
- Flatpak
- Snapcraft
Top Kate Features
1. Native application
2. Syntax Highlighting
3. Themes
4. Editable text color schemes
5. Built-in terminal emulation
6. IDE
7. Tabbed interface
8. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
9. Git Support
10. Lightweight
11. Code Formatting
12. Spell Checking
Kate VS Notepad2
Is Kate a good alternative to Notepad2?

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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
Geany
556 likes
Geany is a powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.
147 Geany alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Code Editor
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- Flathub
- Flatpak
- Snapcraft
+5
Top Geany Features
1. Lightweight
2. Support for Themes
3. Multiplatform
4. IDE
5. Minimalistic
6. Syntax Highlighting
7. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
8. Support for LaTeX
9. Ad-free
10. Distraction-free
11. Autocompletion
12. Code Formatting
Geany VS Notepad2
Is Geany a good alternative to Notepad2?

gedit
686 likes
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.
186 gedit alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Text Editor
- Code Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Chrome OS
- BSD
- GNOME
- OpenSolaris
- Flathub
+2
Top gedit Features
1. Lightweight
2. Syntax Highlighting
3. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
4. Customizable
5. Autocompletion
6. No Tracking
7. Works Offline
8. Ad-free
9. Spell Checking
10. Privacy focused
11. Support for Unicode
gedit VS Notepad2
Is gedit a good alternative to Notepad2?

GNU nano
283 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.
142 GNU nano alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Text Editor
- Code Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Haiku
+1
GNU nano Features
1. Command line interface
2. Terminal-based
3. Search and Replace
4. Lightweight
5. Automatic Indentation
GNU nano VS Notepad2
Is GNU nano a good alternative to Notepad2?

Notepad3
52 likes
Notepad3 is a fast and light-weight text editor with syntax highlighting for programming jobs. Auto-completion, Multi-language, Dark mode more.
208 Notepad3 alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Text Editor
- Code Editor
Platforms
- Windows
+1
Top Notepad3 Features
1. Lightweight
2. Support for Unicode
3. Small-footprint
4. Multiple languages
5. Syntax Highlighting
6. Search and Replace
7. Portable
8. Support for regular expressions
9. No registration required
10. Ad-free
11. Works Offline
12. Dark Mode
Notepad3 VS Notepad2
Is Notepad3 a good alternative to Notepad2?
Comments about Notepad3 as an Alternative to Notepad2

Guest
Its very lightweight and has one of the best search and replace options available
Positive comment •Sep 18, 2023
2
Killy
Further improved fork with some convenient features. Still as lightweight as always.
Positive comment •Mar 9, 2018
0
- Almost everyone thinks Notepad3 is a great Notepad2 alternative.
- Notepad3 is Free and Open SourceNotepad2 is also Free and Open Source

CudaText
49 likes
CudaText is a cross-platform text editor, written in Lazarus / Free Pascal.
193 CudaText alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Text Editor
- Code Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
+3
Top CudaText Features
1. Lightweight
2. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
3. Native application
4. Customizable
5. Minimap
6. Command palette
7. Autocompletion
8. Syntax Highlighting
9. Support for Themes
10. Ad-free
11. No registration required
12. Portable
CudaText VS Notepad2
Is CudaText a good alternative to Notepad2?

Notepad
183 likes
Fastest and lightweight simple text editor bundled with all Windows OS. Just plain text, saves in .txt format. So it has been used by people for long time Since 1980s. Features improved especially since 2018.
137 Notepad alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application type
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Windows
+2
Notepad Features
1. Minimalistic
2. Simple text editor
3. Support for Unicode
4. Save as txt
5. No Tracking
6. Lightweight
7. Ad-free
8. Works Offline
9. Dark Mode
10. Bundled with Windows
Notepad VS Notepad2
Is Notepad a good alternative to Notepad2?

Aptana Studio
333 likes
Aptana Studio is a complete web development environment that combines powerful authoring tools with a collection of online hosting and collaboration services that help you and your team do more. Includes support for PHP, CSS, FTP, and more...
123 Aptana Studio alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- IDE
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Aptana Studio Features
Real time collaboration
Support for FTP
+5
Discontinued
The last update is from Feb 2021 and the last release is from Jul 2018.
Aptana Studio VS Notepad2
Is Aptana Studio a good alternative to Notepad2?

UltraEdit
161 likes
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).
213 UltraEdit alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- Code Editor
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
UltraEdit Features
Column based text editing
Support for large files
Hex Editor
+1
UltraEdit VS Notepad2
Is UltraEdit a good alternative to Notepad2?

PSPad
203 likes
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.
168 PSPad alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
- Code Editor
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Windows
+3
Top PSPad 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. Lightweight
11. Works Offline
12. Hex Editor
PSPad VS Notepad2
Is PSPad a good alternative to Notepad2?