Free, lightweight code editor and Notepad replacement for Windows
Notepad++ is a free source code editor for Windows and a popular replacement for the built-in Notepad. Written in C++ on the Win32 API and the Scintilla editing component, it starts quickly and stays light while offering syntax highlighting for dozens of languages, tabs, macros, regular expression search and replace, and a plugin manager. It is open source under the GPL and maintained by Don Ho.
- features
- 3
- alternatives
- 7
- platform
- 1
- Updated
- Oct 12, 2026
Features
Our take
Pros
- Starts instantly and stays light on resources
- Syntax highlighting for dozens of languages, tabs and macros
- Free, open source and extendable through a plugin manager
Cons
- Windows only, with no native macOS or Linux version
- Lacks the debugging, Git and project tools of a full code editor
Editorial assessment by the Alternatives.tools team, based on what the product is known for. Not a user review.
Best Notepad++ alternatives
See all 7 alternatives
Sublime TextFree trialFast, lightweight text editor for code, markup and prose
Visual Studio CodeFreeOpen sourceFree, extensible code editor from Microsoft for most languages
193.6Kstars- VimFreeOpen source
Classic modal text editor available on almost every system
41.2Kstars 
VSCodiumFreeOpen sourceCommunity builds of VS Code without Microsoft telemetry or branding
33.6Kstars
NeovimFreeOpen sourceExtensible Vim-based text editor with Lua scripting
103Kstars
ZedFreemiumOpen sourceFast, collaborative open source code editor written in Rust
91.6Kstars
User reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience with Notepad++.