The Best Open Source Notepad++ AlternativesTop Code & Text Editors like Notepad++

The best open source alternative to Notepad++ is Geany. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Notepad++ and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Notepad++ are Kate, Vim, VSCodium and gedit.

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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 Android, Linux, iPad, Mac, Open Source, iPad + Code Editor and Android + Text Editors. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Notepad++.
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Alternatives list

  1. Geany icon

    Geany

     575 likes

    Geany is a powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.

    152 Geany alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Haiku
    Geany screenshot 1
     
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    13
    106
    Comments about Geany as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    victorkam26
    1

    Simple, light and good replacement.

    Top Negative Comment
    Stefan Monov
    0

    Breaks some of my basic workflows. E.g. can't drop files onto the Geany window (to open them), can't use F3 for "find next"... OTOH the UI is nice and sleek.

    AntumDeluge
    Positive
    1

    So far Geany is the best cross-platform alternative to Notepad++ I have tried. Its UI isn't hard to figure out & has a similar feel.

    3 of 13 comments
    Geany icon
    Geany icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Geany is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Geany is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Geany is Minimalistic and CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  2. Kate icon

    Kate

     312 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.

    144 Kate alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Kate screenshot 1
     
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    5
    74
    Comments about Kate as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    RR JJ
    9

    Great syntax highlighting, and good plugin support. Fast and easy to use.

    Top Negative Comment
    Max Fisher
    1

    Kate doesn't have as robustness as Notepad++ has. And feature wise it hasn't got "cache" thing when you want to close a tab and the editor shouldn't be asking whether save it or not.

    avg-gaymer
    Positive
    0

    although it certainly isnt a 1:1 replacement, kate has provided the closest "notepad++ for linux" experience for me - a text editor that can be just a text editor, but with some nice extra features if you want them.

    3 of 5 comments
    Kate icon
    Kate icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Kate is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Kate is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
  4. Vim icon

    Vim

     1344 likes

    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.

    213 Vim alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Vim screenshot 1
     
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    9
    143
    Comments about Vim as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Top Positive Comment
    Marcin
    6

    Serves same purpose, similar features, different approach, multiplatform, ubiquitous.

    Top Negative Comment
    Xandros Darkstorm
    2

    Notepad++ is a gui application, while vim is strictly for terminals.

    RemovedUser
    Negative
    0

    Although it runs as a GUI, you still need to know the vi commands. Unless you don't mind using the menu bar to do everything.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 9 comments
    Vim icon
    Vim icon

    • Most users think Vim is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • Vim is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Vim is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  5. VSCodium icon

    VSCodium

     402 likes

    This repository contains a build file to generate FLOSS release binaries of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code - Open Source ("Code - OSS") project, the open source core of the proprietary Visual Studio Code.

    196 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VSCodium screenshot 1
     
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    3
    18
    Comments about VSCodium as an Alternative to Notepad++
    aaronfranke
    Positive
    4

    VS Codium does everything Notepad++ can do but better. It has more features, is more extensible/customizable, is fairly lightweight, and is cross-platform.

    Guest
    Positive
    5

    The power of Visual Studio without all the tracking of Microsoft in a simple and intuitive layout

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    gregoryem
    Positive
    0

    "VS Codium does everything Notepad++ can", but unlike Notepad++, VSC is extremely heavy and bloated wannabe IDE instead od text editor.

    VSCodium icon
    VSCodium icon

    • Almost everyone thinks VSCodium is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • VSCodium is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • VSCodium is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  6. gedit icon

    gedit

     694 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.

    192 gedit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    • OpenSolaris
    • Flathub
    The Default look under GNOME with Adwaita
     
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    3
    87
    Comments about gedit as an Alternative to Notepad++
    rmpbklyn
    Negative
    6

    no sorting and don't reconize regular expression when 'replace' or search

    Guest
    Negative
    12

    Gedit can't fold code, can't make ident lines, and the ident is strange!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    4

    Some essential plugins missing especially around code formatting tools

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    gedit icon
    gedit icon

    • Most users think gedit is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • gedit is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • gedit is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  7. GNU Emacs icon

    GNU Emacs

     387 likes

    GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. The features of GNU Emacs include:

    181 GNU Emacs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    • Homebrew
    The GNU Emacs Manual calls Emacs the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor
     
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    3
    33
    Comments about GNU Emacs as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Guest
    Positive
    4

    Emacs is the be-all-end-all text editor. It takes a while to learn, but its code and text editing commands are extremely powerful. There's also a package manager for things like auto completion, automatic running, and more language support.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    2

    I don't want a fake psychologist nor to play tetris, I really just want a powerful IDE.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -1

    Emacs is a security hazard and its usage implies a certain political opinion.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GNU Emacs icon
    GNU Emacs icon

    • Most users think GNU Emacs is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • GNU Emacs is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • GNU Emacs is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  9. Neovim icon

    Neovim

     187 likes

    Refactored version of Vim, simplifying maintenance, improving developer contributions, and enabling new user interfaces. Features extensible plugin architecture, lightweight resource usage, syntax highlighting, no registration, ad-free, and distraction-free mode.

    105 Neovim alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chocolatey
    • Flathub
    • Snapcraft
    Neovim screenshot 1
     
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    24
  10. Zed Editor icon

    Zed Editor

     107 likes

    Blazing fast code editor offering real-time multi-user collaboration, language-aware syntax highlighting, integrated terminal, multi-buffers for tab-free editing, built-in Vim mode, searchable outline, AI coding assistance, advanced keyboard commands, and cross-platform support.

    87 Zed Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Zed Editor screenshot 1
     
  11. GNU nano icon

    GNU nano

     289 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.

    153 GNU nano alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    GNU nano screenshot 1
     
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    1
    22
    Comments about GNU nano as an Alternative to Notepad++
    johnhk
    Positive
    0

    It one of the better TerminalBased (CLI) editors. I from a WindowsOS enviroment, so I differentiate between CLI and GUI editors. But as a cli-text-editor its very windows-user-friendly.

    GNU nano icon
    GNU nano icon

    • Most users think GNU nano is a great Notepad++ alternative.

    • GNU nano is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
  12. Pulsar Editor icon

    Pulsar Editor

     48 likes

    A Community-led Hyper-Hackable Text Editor, built on Electron. and based on everything we love about our favorite editors.

    76 Pulsar Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Electron
    Welcome tab
     
  13. Micro icon

    Micro

     85 likes

    Micro is a terminal-based text editor that aims to be easy to use and intuitive, while also taking advantage of the full capabilities of modern terminals.

    45 Micro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenBSD
    Micro screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Micro as an Alternative to Notepad++
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    it has alot more features in unix because it has a terminal attatched to it simple easy to use also hackable

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Micro icon
    Micro icon
    • Micro is Free and Open SourceNotepad++ is also Free and Open Source
    • Micro is CustomizableNotepad++ is not according to our users
  14. Edit icon

    Edit

     19 likes

    Open-source command-line text editor for Windows with a modern interface inspired by MS-DOS Editor, featuring key bindings, lightweight build under 250KB, multi-file handling with ctrl + P, keyboard-optimized navigation, and direct file editing for developers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Edit screenshot 1
     
12 of 131 Notepad++ alternatives