AutoHotkey
Focus: hotkeys, macros and scripting. Shares windows and open source with Notepad++. Adds Offline. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Offline
4.7Visit
Desktop App
Notepad++
A free, fast text and source code editor for Windows.
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Notepad++?
Notepad++ is a free, open-source text and source code editor for Windows that supports dozens of programming languages. It offers syntax highlighting, tabs, powerful search and replace with regular expressions, macros and a large plugin library, while staying light enough to open files almost instantly.
Pros
- Very light and fast
- Strong search and replace
- Large plugin library
Cons
- Windows only
- Less suited to big projects than a full IDE
Who should use Notepad++
Anyone on Windows who edits code, config files or plain text regularly.
Who may not need it
Developers who already work in a full IDE all day.
Notepad++ alternatives
Similar resources to Notepad++, picked from the directory.
Greenshot
Focus: screenshots and annotation. Shares windows and open source with Notepad++. Adds Offline. Rated 4.6 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Offline
4.6Visit
Phoenix Code
Focus: web design, live preview and dreamweaver alternative. Shares code editor and open source with Notepad++. Freemium (Notepad++: Free). Adds Web, macOS and Linux. Rated 4.4 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFree planWeb, Windows
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Cursor
Focus: coding, ai editor and developers. Also in Workflows and Writing, like Notepad++. Freemium (Notepad++: Free). Adds macOS and Linux. Rated 4.6 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFree planmacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Files
Focus: file manager, file explorer alternative and tabs. Shares windows and open source with Notepad++. A Windows app, not a desktop app. Rated 4.6 (Notepad++: 4.7).
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optimizerDuck
Focus: optimization, performance and privacy. Shares windows and open source with Notepad++. A Windows app, not a desktop app. Rated 4.4 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Windows AppFreeWindows
4.4Visit
Free alternatives to Notepad++
Free resources that cover similar ground.
Ghostty
Focus: terminal, emulator and gpu. Shares open source with Notepad++. Adds macOS and Linux. Rated 4.9 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.9Visit
navi
Focus: terminal, cli and cheatsheet. Shares open source with Notepad++. Adds macOS and Linux. Rated 4.8 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
Upscayl
Focus: image upscaling, ai and electron. Shares open source with Notepad++. Adds Linux and macOS. Rated 4.8 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreeLinux, macOS
4.8Visit
Visual Studio Code
Focus: web development, extensions and dreamweaver alternative. Shares code editor with Notepad++. Adds macOS, Linux and Web. Rated 4.8 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.8Visit
Zotero
Focus: citations, reference manager and pdf. Shares open source with Notepad++. Adds macOS, Linux and iOS. Rated 4.8 (Notepad++: 4.7).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.8Visit
Atuin
Focus: shell history, terminal and command line. Shares open source with Notepad++. Adds macOS and Linux. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
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