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Top Alternatives to Notepad

Looking for Notepad alternatives? We've curated 35 top alternatives that offer similar functionality. Whether you need options, free plans, or open source solutions, explore our comprehensive list to find the perfect fit for your needs.

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Notepad++

Notepad++

Open Source

Notepad++ is a widely-used free and open-source text and source code editor for Windows. Built on the Scintilla editing component, it offers a rich set of features for programmers, including syntax highlighting for multiple languages, code folding, macro recording, and a tabbed interface for managing multiple files efficiently. Its lightweight design ensures fast performance even with large files.

Key Features

  • Free and Open Source
  • Highly Customizable (Themes, Shortcuts, Syntax Highlighting)
  • Lightweight and Fast Performance

vs Notepad

Free and Open Source compared to Notepad
Sublime Text

Sublime Text

Freemium

Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, markup, and prose. It's known for its speed, powerful features, and extensive customization options. With features like multiple cursors, GoTo Anything, and a robust plugin ecosystem, it's a favorite among developers and writers alike for boosting productivity and creating a tailored editing environment.

Key Features

  • Exceptional performance and speed
  • Highly customizable interface and behavior
  • Powerful features like multiple cursors and GoTo Anything

vs Notepad

Exceptional performance and speed compared to Notepad
Vim

Vim

Open Source

Vim is an advanced, highly configurable text editor designed for efficiency, particularly favored by developers. Operating primarily in the terminal, it offers powerful editing capabilities through keyboard commands, syntax highlighting, and extensive plugin support, making it a cornerstone tool for programming and advanced text manipulation.

Key Features

  • Extremely efficient for text editing once mastered.
  • Highly customizable and extensible with a vast plugin ecosystem.
  • Lightweight and available on almost all platforms.

vs Notepad

Extremely efficient for text editing once mastered. compared to Notepad
Atom

Atom

Open Source

Atom is a highly customizable and extensible open-source text editor developed by GitHub. Built on Electron, it provides a modern, hackable platform for developers, offering robust features like syntax highlighting, Git integration, and a vast ecosystem of packages to enhance productivity and tailor the editing experience to individual needs.

Key Features

  • Highly customizable and extensible through a vast package ecosystem.
  • Strong integrated support for Git and GitHub.
  • Open-source and free to use.

vs Notepad

Highly customizable and extensible through a vast package ecosystem. compared to Notepad
gedit

gedit

Open Source

gedit is a free and open-source text and code editor for the GNOME desktop environment. Known for its simplicity and clean interface, gedit provides essential features for both general text editing and basic code development, making it a popular choice for users seeking a straightforward and efficient tool.

Key Features

  • Very user-friendly and easy to learn
  • Excellent performance and lightweight
  • Good syntax highlighting and basic coding features

vs Notepad

Very user-friendly and easy to learn compared to Notepad
GNU Emacs

GNU Emacs

Open Source

GNU Emacs is a highly extensible and customizable text editor, renowed for its powerful features and ability to serve as a complete development environment. It is based on the Emacs Lisp programming language, allowing for deep customization and a vast ecosystem of packages.

Key Features

  • Highly customizable and extensible through Emacs Lisp.
  • Vast ecosystem of packages for added functionality.
  • Can serve as a comprehensive development environment.

vs Notepad

Highly customizable and extensible through Emacs Lisp. compared to Notepad
TextMate

TextMate

Commercial

TextMate is a robust and feature-rich graphical text editor for macOS, specifically designed for developers. It offers syntax highlighting, powerful macros, bundles for extensibility, and a highly customizable interface to streamline coding workflows.

Key Features

  • Highly extensible with the Bundle system for language-specific support.
  • Native macOS application, offering a smooth and responsive experience.
  • Powerful features like macros, snippets, and robust search and replace.

vs Notepad

Highly extensible with the Bundle system for language-specific support. compared to Notepad
PSPad

PSPad

Free

PSPad is a versatile, freeware text and code editor designed for Microsoft Windows. It offers a rich set of features for developers, including syntax highlighting, a built-in FTP client, project management, and a hex editor, all within a lightweight and portable package.

Key Features

  • Free and open-source.
  • Lightweight and fast performance.
  • Integrated FTP client is highly convenient.

vs Notepad

Free and open-source. compared to Notepad
GNU nano

GNU nano

Open Source

GNU nano is a user-friendly command-line text editor widely used on Unix-like systems. Known for its simplicity and quick startup, it provides basic editing functionalities for configuration files, scripts, and general text manipulation directly within the terminal environment.

Key Features

  • Very easy to learn and use, even for beginners.
  • Extremely fast startup time and low resource usage.
  • Displays common commands at the bottom of the screen.

vs Notepad

Very easy to learn and use, even for beginners. compared to Notepad
Kate

Kate

Open Source

Kate, the KDE Advanced Text Editor, is a powerful yet lightweight text editor popular among developers and advanced users. Offering robust features like syntax highlighting, built-in terminal, extensibility via plugins, and comprehensive customization options, Kate caters to a wide range of text editing and coding tasks across platforms.

Key Features

  • Feature-rich with advanced tools like built-in terminal and regex support.
  • Highly customizable interface, themes, and keyboard shortcuts.
  • Extensive syntax highlighting with support for custom languages.

vs Notepad

Feature-rich with advanced tools like built-in terminal and regex support. compared to Notepad
UltraEdit

UltraEdit

Commercial

UltraEdit is a powerful and versatile text, hex, and code editor designed for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It offers a comprehensive feature set for developers, programmers, web designers, and general users working with text files, code, and binary data.

Key Features

  • Handles extremely large files efficiently.
  • Excellent Hex editing features.
  • Extremely customizable interface and functionality.

vs Notepad

Handles extremely large files efficiently. compared to Notepad
SciTE

SciTE

Open Source

SciTE is a free and open-source text and code editor built on the SCIntilla editing component. It's designed to be a lightweight yet powerful tool for programmers and web developers, offering syntax highlighting, code folding, autocompletion, and extensibility across multiple platforms.

Key Features

  • Extremely lightweight and fast performance.
  • High degree of customization through configuration files.
  • Good syntax highlighting and features for many languages.

vs Notepad

Extremely lightweight and fast performance. compared to Notepad
Leafpad

Leafpad

Open Source

Leafpad is an exceptionally lightweight and straightforward text editor designed for Linux, BSD, and Maemo environments. It prioritizes speed and efficiency, offering basic text editing functionalities without the complexity of feature-rich editors.

Key Features

  • Extremely lightweight and fast startup.
  • Simple and intuitive user interface.
  • Minimal resource consumption.

vs Notepad

Extremely lightweight and fast startup. compared to Notepad
Programmer's Notepad

Programmer's Notepad

Open Source

Programmer's Notepad is a fast and lightweight text editor designed specifically for programmers and developers. It offers extensive syntax highlighting for numerous programming languages, a powerful search and replace engine with regular expression support, and a highly customizable environment. Ideal for those seeking a free, open-source, and portable code editing solution.

Key Features

  • Very fast and lightweight, loads quickly.
  • Excellent syntax highlighting for numerous languages.
  • Powerful search and replace with regular expressions.

vs Notepad

Very fast and lightweight, loads quickly. compared to Notepad
TextPad

TextPad

Commercial

TextPad is a robust and lightweight text editor designed for Windows systems. It offers a comprehensive set of features for editing plain text files, source code, and HTML documents. With support for syntax highlighting, macros, and a tabbed interface, it provides a productive environment for programmers and general users alike.

Key Features

  • Lightweight and fast performance
  • Robust search and replace with regex support
  • Effective syntax highlighting with customization

vs Notepad

Lightweight and fast performance compared to Notepad
WriteRoom

WriteRoom

Commercial

WriteRoom was a macOS-only, full-screen writing environment designed to minimize distractions and provide a focused space for creative and professional writing. It offered a minimalist interface with powerful features for organization and tracking.

Key Features

  • Excellent for eliminating distractions and maintaining focus
  • Clean and minimalist user interface
  • Built-in outliner is useful for structuring documents

vs Notepad

Excellent for eliminating distractions and maintaining focus compared to Notepad
Byword

Byword

Commercial

Byword is a clean and efficient Markdown text editor designed for writers who value simplicity and focus. It offers a distraction-free environment to compose various documents, supporting seamless cloud integration and a range of export options.

Key Features

  • Excellent for distraction-free writing.
  • Strong Markdown support with live preview.
  • Reliable cloud synchronization (Dropbox, Google Drive).

vs Notepad

Excellent for distraction-free writing. compared to Notepad
WordPad

WordPad

Commercial

WordPad is a fundamental word processing application included with the Microsoft Windows operating system, designed for creating and editing simple text documents and rich text files.

Key Features

  • Pre-installed and free with Windows
  • Simple and easy-to-use interface
  • Fast startup and lightweight performance

vs Notepad

Pre-installed and free with Windows compared to Notepad
EditPad Lite

EditPad Lite

Free Personal

EditPad Lite is a free text editor designed for Windows, offering essential text editing features and serving as an excellent replacement for Notepad. It supports large files, multiple languages, and a tabbed interface, making basic text manipulation simple and efficient for non-commercial users.

Key Features

  • Excellent replacement for Notepad with enhanced features.
  • Handles large text files effectively.
  • Tabbed interface improves multitasking.

vs Notepad

Excellent replacement for Notepad with enhanced features. compared to Notepad
ReText

ReText

Open Source

ReText is a straightforward yet effective text editor designed primarily for authoring documents in Markdown and reStructuredText. It provides essential features like live preview and syntax highlighting, making it a suitable choice for writers and developers who prefer lightweight, plain text formats.

Key Features

  • Excellent Live Preview for Markdown and reStructuredText
  • Lightweight and Fast Performance
  • Clear and Effective Syntax Highlighting

vs Notepad

Excellent Live Preview for Markdown and reStructuredText compared to Notepad
BBEdit

BBEdit

Commercial

BBEdit is a powerful and robust text, code, and markup editor for macOS. Renowned for its stability and feature set tailored for developers and writers, it offers advanced search and replace, syntax highlighting, and integration with developer tools.

Key Features

  • Exceptional stability and performance, handles large files with ease.
  • Powerful search and replace with extensive regular expression support.
  • Comprehensive suite of text transformation tools.

vs Notepad

Exceptional stability and performance, handles large files with ease. compared to Notepad
TextEdit

TextEdit

Free

TextEdit is a fundamental, open-source word processor and text editor included with macOS. Designed for simplicity, it handles both plain text and Rich Text Format (RTF) documents, making it suitable for quick note-taking, basic document creation, and editing code or configuration files.

Key Features

  • Pre-installed and free on macOS
  • Extremely fast launch and performance
  • Simple and intuitive user interface

vs Notepad

Pre-installed and free on macOS compared to Notepad
RJ TextEd

RJ TextEd

Free

RJ TextEd is a powerful freeware text and source code editor for Windows, offering comprehensive features for web development, programming, and general text editing.

Key Features

  • Comprehensive feature set for a freeware editor.
  • Highly customizable and extensible.
  • Portable and lightweight.

vs Notepad

Comprehensive feature set for a freeware editor. compared to Notepad
Scribes

Scribes

Open Source

Scribes is a free and open-source minimalist text editor designed for programmers and writers who value simplicity and efficiency. It provides a clean interface with essential features like syntax highlighting, autocompletion, and extensibility through plugins, making it a lightweight yet powerful tool for various coding and writing tasks.

Key Features

  • Minimalist and clean user interface.
  • Lightweight and fast performance.
  • Good syntax highlighting and autocompletion.

vs Notepad

Minimalist and clean user interface. compared to Notepad
SynWrite

SynWrite

Open Source

SynWrite is a comprehensive and free source code editor for Windows, serving as an excellent Notepad replacement with robust features for various programming and web development tasks. It's designed for performance and extendibility, making it suitable for both novice and experienced developers.

Key Features

  • Free and open-source with no licensing costs.
  • Portable, enabling use on various machines without installation.
  • Highly customizable with extensive theme and configuration options.

vs Notepad

Free and open-source with no licensing costs. compared to Notepad
Mousepad

Mousepad

Open Source

Mousepad is a straightforward yet capable text editor designed specifically for the Xfce desktop environment. It provides essential text editing functionalities in a lightweight package, making it an excellent choice for everyday tasks and basic code editing.

Key Features

  • Extremely lightweight and fast startup
  • Simple and intuitive user interface
  • Efficient tabbed interface for multiple documents

vs Notepad

Extremely lightweight and fast startup compared to Notepad
Editra

Editra

Open Source

Editra is a robust, cross-platform text editor designed with developers in mind. It's open-source, highly customizable through plugins, and features essential tools for coding like syntax highlighting, code completion, and an embedded terminal.

Key Features

  • Highly customizable through plugins.
  • Seamlessly works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Includes an integrated terminal for convenience.

vs Notepad

Highly customizable through plugins. compared to Notepad
wxMEdit

wxMEdit

Open Source

wxMEdit is a versatile cross-platform text and hex editor, serving as a powerful alternative to the discontinued MadEdit. Built on C++ and wxWidgets, it provides developers and advanced users with robust features for editing text files and binary data.

Key Features

  • Seamlessly integrates text and hex editing.
  • Lightweight and performs well with large files.
  • Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux).

vs Notepad

Seamlessly integrates text and hex editing. compared to Notepad
JOE

JOE

Open Source

JOE (Joe's Own Editor) is a venerable, full-featured terminal-based text editor known for its ease of use and extensive feature set, making it suitable for both casual editing and complex programming tasks within the command line environment.

Key Features

  • User-friendly for a terminal editor
  • Feature-rich
  • Lightweight and fast

vs Notepad

User-friendly for a terminal editor compared to Notepad
Aquamacs Emacs

Aquamacs Emacs

Open Source

Aquamacs Emacs is a robust, free, and open-source text editor specifically tailored for the macOS environment, built upon the powerful Emacs framework. It provides a familiar Mac experience while leveraging Emacs' extensive customization and feature set, making it ideal for developers across various programming languages.

Key Features

  • Excellent macOS integration reduces friction for Mac users.
  • Inherits the extensive power and flexibility of Emacs.
  • Highly customizable through Emacs Lisp and a vast package ecosystem.

vs Notepad

Excellent macOS integration reduces friction for Mac users. compared to Notepad
CotEditor

CotEditor

Open Source

CotEditor is a free and open-source text editor designed specifically for macOS. It offers a clean and intuitive interface, making it a lightweight yet powerful tool for plain text editing, coding, and more.

Key Features

  • Excellent performance and lightweight.
  • Native macOS application with deep system integration.
  • Clean and intuitive user interface.

vs Notepad

Excellent performance and lightweight. compared to Notepad
Jota Text Editor

Jota Text Editor

Open Source

Jota Text Editor is a lightweight and highly customizable text editor designed for handling large text files efficiently. It offers a robust set of features including syntax highlighting, word count, and extensibility through plugins, making it a versatile tool for various text-editing tasks.

Key Features

  • Excellent performance with large text files.
  • Highly customizable interface and features.
  • Support for syntax highlighting and custom languages.

vs Notepad

Excellent performance with large text files. compared to Notepad
TweakStyle

TweakStyle

Commercial

TweakStyle is an advanced code editor meticulously crafted for web developers. It simplifies the process of creating and fine-tuning web projects with a focus on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, offering powerful features like live preview, code completion, and integrated tools.

Key Features

  • Excellent live preview for instant feedback.
  • Strong support for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Integrated FTP client streamlines deployment.

vs Notepad

Excellent live preview for instant feedback. compared to Notepad
MadEdit

MadEdit

Open Source

MadEdit is a discontinued, cross-platform text and hex editor designed with developers in mind. It offers syntax highlighting, a hex editing mode, and various customization options within a lightweight, tabbed interface. While no longer maintained, it provided a range of features useful for coding and binary file manipulation.

Key Features

  • Integrated text and hex editing reduces the need for multiple applications.
  • Lightweight and responsive, even with larger files.
  • Cross-platform support allows for a consistent experience.

vs Notepad

Integrated text and hex editing reduces the need for multiple applications. compared to Notepad
HippoEDIT

HippoEDIT

Commercial

HippoEDIT is a robust yet lightweight text editor for Windows, designed for programmers and power users. It offers syntax highlighting for numerous languages, extensive customization options, and a feature set aimed at enhancing coding and text editing efficiency.

Key Features

  • Extremely lightweight and fast.
  • Comprehensive and customizable syntax highlighting.
  • Deep customization options for appearance and behavior.

vs Notepad

Extremely lightweight and fast. compared to Notepad

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