--- title: "Notepad++ Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Notepad++ the right Source Code Management solution for you? Explore 2006 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/185965/Notepad/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- Notepad++ 4.7 (2006) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/185965/Notepad/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated July 21st, 2026 # Reviews of Notepad++ Ease of use 4.7 Customer Service 4.3 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews SS Scott S Project ManagerHuman Resources, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It is also a practical tool to prepare clean notes, quickly edit exported files (CSV, logs, etc.) or correct content before integrating it into another system.“ March 3, 2026 RV Rakhi V QA LeadInformation Technology and Services, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “The lack of a native diff or file comparison view built directly into the core tool was a gap — you had to rely on a plugin that didn't always behave consistently.“ April 20, 2026 RV Rakhi V QA LeadInformation Technology and Services, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “It was incredibly useful for reviewing log files, comparing test outputs, and making quick edits to test data files without any overhead.“ April 20, 2026 IS Ilayda S Marketing DirectorApparel & Fashion, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It’s very basic, particularly for visual formatting it’s plain text oriented; so things like rich text editing and adding images aren’t really in the cards.“ May 1, 2025 MS Marvin S Lead DeveloperComputer Software, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Its suitable for note taking, editing config files or even some coding with syntac highlighting and formatting“ June 19, 2026 DM Dhaval M Associate Electrical EngineerDefense & Space, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “I don't like how the rows extend out as far as they can because this makes it hard to see the other rows below it.“ March 10, 2025 RR Rufus R Technology Business ConsultantFinancial Services, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Responsiveness of app, vast library of plug-ins, find and replace feature is very powerful, block-comment, line comment, XPath finder, recognising syntax for almost every language - it is ESSENTIAL for anyone in tech.“ November 18, 2024 VM Viktoriia M Customer SupportInformation Technology and Services, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Cons: works only on Windows platform. And also one downside that it doesn't detect mistakes.“ August 25, 2024 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 2006 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Gene B. Principal Consultant Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad++ is Everything You Need in an Editor" January 5, 2026 5.0 I love using Notepad++. It has been my go to editor for editing SQL and C Sharp code. I prefer to edit in Notepad++ and then copy paste into Visual Studio for my SQL code. Pros Notepad++ offers great value and outstanding features. It allows me to have multiple windows open at once for editing. I love the fact that it highlights keywords when I use the appropriate file extension. Cons It seems as a default, it assumes the file is a text file and then sometimes I have to go to the finder and rename the file extension. Switched from [Sublime Text](https://www.capterra.com/p/179535/Sublime-Text/) Notepad++ was provided by the client I'm working for and then I liked it so much I decided to use for all of my work. Review Source Junaid E. National IT Manager Hospitality Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simple, fast, and reliable for everyday code editing" January 22, 2026 5.0 Overall, Notepad++ is a dependable and efficient code editor that does its job extremely well. It is ideal for quick edits, scripting, configuration files and lightweight development work. Pros Notepad++ is fast, lighweight and extremely easy to use. It launches instantly and provides exactly what you need for everyday code editing. It is completely free which makes value for money hard to beat. Cons The interface feels dated compared to modern IDEs and advance features require plugins which can take some time to configure. Alternatives considered [Visual Studio Code](https://www.capterra.com/p/186634/Visual-Studio-Code/) Reason for choosing Notepad++ While Visual Studio Code is more powerful, Notepad ++ is much lighter and faster for quick edits and simple coding tasks. Review Source MS Marvin S. Lead Developer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A lightweight upgrade of the notepad" June 19, 2026 5.0 I have it installed on most my pcs just because its a great gap filler between the almost useless notepad of windows and the heavy weight programming ide. For all the times where you just quickly need to open up a text based file for a little edit. Pros Its easy, intuitive but still has everything that the default windows notepad is missing. Its suitable for note taking, editing config files or even some coding with syntac highlighting and formatting Cons It is in the end still "just" a notepad so its not suitable as a proper IDE. It is missing most feature that become critical if you seriously want to work with text Review Source TW Tonji W. Data entry Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad not better than Word" January 4, 2025 3.0 Used to creates a list , a paragraph, or essay. But not good on editing Pros Mayne a first creation before word.. It can however be used to make a list and shrinked in the corner on the front page of your laptop or computer. Cons Its nothibg like Word misiinh a lot of action. Review Source RV Rakhi V. QA Lead Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Notepadd ++ Review after usage of a year" April 20, 2026 4.0 It's the tool you reach for when you need something fast, simple, and reliable without the weight of a full editor. It's not a replacement for a proper IDE or dedicated testing tool but as a lightweight everyday utility it consistently delivers and rarely gets in the way. Pros It was incredibly useful for reviewing log files, comparing test outputs, and making quick edits to test data files without any overhead. The find and replace with regex support was a particular favorite — it saved a lot of manual work when searching through large log files or cleaning up test data in bulk. Cons The lack of a native diff or file comparison view built directly into the core tool was a gap — you had to rely on a plugin that didn't always behave consistently. Being Windows only was also a recurring frustration for anyone working in a mixed OS environment. Review Source DF Daniel F. Solutions Engineer Market Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad++ review from developer" August 7, 2025 5.0 Notepad++ is a great text editor for developers. It is our go-to software for editing files that have foreign language characters. It has many great search options, macros, and other nice features. Pros It had great options for different file encoding which works great with foreign language text. It can easily switch to UTF-8 with or without BOM character which came in very handy. It also has many search options, macro options as well. Cons I would like to see a clip library. For us coders, setting up code blocks in a clip library would be quite useful. Switched from [TextPad](https://www.capterra.com/p/234317/TextPad/) Options for foreign language characters were better Review Source AT Athira T. Sr.Software Engineer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Software beyond a text editor" April 18, 2025 5.0 very fast performance and it's part of my day to day tasks Pros It is a software beyond an editor, allows to do all formatings amendmends.It also allows to view the file in appropriate view eg:json,java class etc. Cons nothing like that as it's part of my day to day coding activities Switched from [Sublime Text](https://www.capterra.com/p/179535/Sublime-Text/) easiness to use notepad++ and it's tab support Review Source MG Mario G. IT Director Retail Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Probablt the most popular text editor" March 17, 2025 5.0 Been using for many years, and just about every feature you want is there, for an editor. Macro record and playback, case conversion and swapping, formatting and beautifying. Pros Tons of features and usable plugins. Supports massive files. Understands and formats a variety of source code formats. Cons Fonts could be easier to customize for old eyes. Alternatives considered [Visual Studio Code](https://www.capterra.com/p/186634/Visual-Studio-Code/) Reason for choosing Notepad++ Lightwight and fast. Force of habit, using for many years. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Web Developer Human Resources Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great lightwell code editing tool" April 6, 2026 5.0 My experience has been excellent. I use it daily for quick script edits, log file analysis, and as a scratchpad for code snippets. It is completely free and does exactly what it promises without any bloat. Pros Notepad++ is lightweight program with low resource consumption while containing essential features for code editing. Cons User interface could use some redesigns. While it is not a challenge to navigate, it feels outdated. Review Source HR Hayden R. Graphic Designer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Solid Code editor for everybody" May 3, 2026 5.0 I had a really good experience with Notepad ++, it supports all the feature i would like it too when i first started to write code. The initial set-up is very straightforward to do and made better being a free platform. Pros It's a simple text editor that's able to support HTML & CSS capabilities, perfect for anybody who wants to learn code. It also predicts which tag im trying to close before i type it in which is really useful. Cons I think the user interface has become a little outdated for it's time. i shortly made the switch over to Sublime Text as it's formatting and use of colour make writing and understanding code a little easier for me. Review Source AH Andrew H. Software Developer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Best Code Editor " March 29, 2025 4.0 It is the best code editor for me. It’s fast and intuitive for simple coding Pros I can be built directly within this platform with the syntax highlighting and plugin support Cons The indexing process can also be slow for large projects. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Principal Software Engineer Financial Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A good choice when moving for a powerful text editor for the first time" January 24, 2025 4.0 It was a very good transition tool while moving on from the Windows Notepad application, it allowed me to get used to some more powerful features while not changing too much of the UX. Pros It is a powerful text/code editor with a look and feel similar to a traditional notepad application. Cons While working on multiple files, the application can have a high memory consumption. Review Source LL Luca L. IT programmer and analyst Building Materials Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Usefull and very complete" December 25, 2024 5.0 Pros Free, complete, with a bunch Of functions. through Adding new language, you can highligths a lot Of languages Cons Slow with some types of file. Addon are not at the same quality (written by users and not from notepad++) Review Source MP Mike P. Network Administrator Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best Notepad you can have" December 4, 2024 5.0 I am not a coder so I really don't use the product to the full, but as a notepad it far exceeds any other that's out there. Pros The #1 reason I love Notepad++ is that it keeps my notes without saving them, perfect for when I am in a rush or don't pay attention to my battery life. Cons There is not a Mac or Linux version out there. Review Source PG Paulo G. Sr. QA Automation Engineer Insurance Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best text editor I have used as of now" September 12, 2024 5.0 Best text editor I have used as of now in my work experience Pros It is easy to switch between programing languages, and also work in column mode Cons nothing specific to mention I dislike, it is a great and versatile tool Review Source SA Setareh A. Electrical Engineer Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad++ is a must-have text editing tool" April 20, 2023 5.0 Overall, Notepad++ is an extremely reliable tool that is perfect for anyone who needs a powerful text editor. Its intuitive interface, extensive feature set, and support for multiple programming languages make it a wonderfl choice among program developers. Pros I use Notepad++ everyday at work. I use it mainly for writing programs and codes. Notepad++ is a powerful text editor that I recommed it to whoever spends a significant amount of time on text editing and coding. Notepad++ makes your life easier. It is completely free to download and use. It is also open-source, which means that users can customize and modify the source code as per their specific needs.Furthermore, Notepad++ is a lightweight application that doesn't take up too much space on your computer. One of the standout features of Notepad++ is its robust syntax highlighting, which supports over 50 programming and markup languages. This feature allows me to quickly and easily identify different parts of my code, and therefore making editing and debugging much easier.Another important feature is the ability to use multiple tabs, allowing users to work on multiple files without having to switch between them manually. Cons There are no specific cons for Notepad++. The only thing I can mention is that compared to an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Notepad++ comes with limited features. I do not consider this as a disadvantage, since it is free and naturally it is not developed as an IDE. I enjoy using Notepad++ at work. It totally worth it, I recommend it to everyone who needs a text editing tool. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Sales Engineering Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Proven little helper for all kinds of text relatedthings" September 18, 2023 5.0 I typically use Notepad++ for all kinds of small text-related use cases. Formatting texts or replacing strings in text (even with newlines or returns), I can copy a code snippet - e.g., from an online documentation - and it filters out all the ugly HTML stuff. Hence, I can copy it into a Word document or other notekeeper. I also like using it as an extended clipboard with scripting work. It's just mocking and pasting - no attempts to correct any spelling mistakes that aren't there or trying to apply upper-case/lower-case rules. I would not use it for full programming or software development. It lacks a few features and functions of professional IDEs - but that's not necessarily the main purpose of that tool anyway. Pros It's a small app with lots of features. It stayed consistent with the UI over the last 15 years, making it easy for me to use. The UI may be a bit old-school, but clean and easy to understand. It's available for all kinds of operating systems and even as a portable app! I can't complain about performance; it runs stable - I have never had a crash or outage since using Notepad++. It also maintains the last status, so I can shut my laptop down without losing unsaved work. I love that it is multi-tabbed and not a single large board (e.g., compared to tools such as Miro - they have a different focus).And all of that for free! Cons Plugins are sometimes a bit tricky to install. But once you get the pattern, it's easy. Remembering keyboard shortcuts for the new features is the biggest hurdle, but that's not on Notepad++. Review Source Andrei P. Lead Game Developer Computer Games Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great free text editor with font limitations and a less than modern look" May 10, 2020 5.0 Notepad++ increased the productivity of my small studio by having a free, fast, and lightweight tool to use that always got the job done compared to other free applications such as Notepad(cannot open large files) and Wordpad(for writing documents, not code). The macros and different styles of multi-selection saved me a lot of time when doing repetitive tasks. It was great for me for modifying files such as HTML, JS, CSS without having to download specific software. As long as the user has an idea about the programming language, for small changes and IDE is not required and this is where Notepad++ comes into play. The interface is a drawback but I just went along with it. The backups saved me a few times (can specify to auto-backup every few seconds!). Notepad++ is also my note writing program due to the tabbing system they have. Pros I've been using Notepad++ for around 8 or more years and I don't see myself moving away from it anytime soon. I can't remember a time when I thought Notepad++ was not a good choice. It's an amazingly sturdy text editor with support for an enormous amount of programming and markup languages yet very lightweight and on top of everything, completely free! Working with a lot of log files my first goto software to open them was the usual Notepad which quickly reminded me that big text files will just freeze it. Notepad++ however doesn't have any of those issues. It's like Window's Notepad on steroids. Plugins are a big thing in Notepad++ but I must admit I never found any reason to use them. For extensive work however I'm sure they can come in handy. Notepad++ excels at automating repetitive tasks with the use of the Macro feature and column mode. This made fixing spreadsheets really easy. It can also be easily integrated in WinSCP for small changes in remote files and even if the connection drops, Notpad++ will have backups of the files. The tab support is very handy especially that as a browser, it can be selected to open up with the same tabs as last time. The automatic backup is invaluable for unlucky situations. At some point my computer crashed and next time I opened Notepad++ the tabs were gone to my despair (had very useful info in them and I had no idea where they were saved) but I quickly found them in the backup folder. Cons The font limitations are somewhat of a problem as these can only be changed globally. I have yet to find a way (and I did search quite some time) how I could make certain text in Bold or Italic. The average answer I find redirects me to use different software because Notepad++ "is just a text editor" when it has more features than some paid IDEs. The interface of Notepad++ looks very outdated making the program look like a Windows 98 application even though it gets updated very frequently. On top of this, the icons under the toolbar for quick actions are very small. Still related to the interface, even though it's customizable up to some degree, it feels very cluttered. A lot of features stacked side by side that most people will probably never use. The menu with drop down submenus is also huge containing out of the box things like "Encoding" , "Run", "Window" and my favourite "?" which has the about section, the API section and other program related FAQ buttons. Again, related to the interface, some dropdown menus have huge options in them making the dropdown menu ridiculously wide. Updates are good, right? Well not if the software wants to update every 3 days! Out of the box, Notepad++ would like to update at least 2 times a week and when working on different devices at different rates, the update pop-up can become downright annoying. This can be disabled however. I have not found a way to adjust the frequency it looks for updates so right now it's either On or Off. Review Source Ansh R. Web Developer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Useful Tool for My Development Task, Easily Change in Website Coding Part" November 16, 2022 5.0 Notepad is a great choice for a text editor. It's basic features are perfect for taking quick notes or working on small projects. The tabbed editing is extremely helpful when working with multiple files at once. i can write all website page code very fast and upload in to ftp file. In our organization lots of employee use this tool because it is light weight and easy handling. The product's name comes from the fact that it was originally just a simple notepad application - but it has since grown into so much more. Overall, I highly recommend this product. Pros Before notepad ++, I used dreamweaver and notepad simply for coding, but this tool was not effective and useful for me. Then my senior recommended notepad ++ to work fast and easy. For HTML website pages if i need to change in all pages then i can apply one command it apply to all web pages. I can change languages like php, Html, Css and other languages. notepad ++ takes very low storage space and everyone can download it in their computer system and work quickly. Cons The user interface is very good and has many customization options. No issue faced in Notepad++. Review Source JLF José Luis F. Director Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "An improved version of MS Notepad" July 26, 2021 5.0 I started using Notepad++ to solve some coding problems in text files that I needed to share between different platforms. I currently use it as my exclusive plain text editor, because I don't know of a better one so far. Pros It is free software, distributed under the GNU General Public License. It is permanently updated, which is a very good feature in a free software. It has virtually everything you would expect from a plain text editor and much more. Allows you to work with projects, sessions and different views, which gives you great power when working with multiple related files or several groups of files. It recognizes many programming languages and also allows you to create your own language. It also works with Markdown. It supports five types of character encoding, with the possibility of transforming texts from one to another. A large number of character sets can also be used, including several oriental ones. It is capable of generating MD5 and SHA-256 hashes, from text and from files. It has very powerful search and text replacement functions. It has automatic spelling correction and the possibility of adding dictionaries of different languages. Allows recording and execution of macros. You can work with two synchronized files in the same view. Accepts the addition of plugins and because of that an unlimited number of functions can be added. Cons I have had some problems with the use of the Spanish dictionary, which is installed separately. It has an ASCII character panel, but it would be nice if it natively included a more complete UNICODE character map. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Data Scientist Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad ++ (As name suggests better than Notepad)" August 5, 2022 5.0 Pros The most important feature I like in this software is find and replace in all opened documents which reduces our job. And based on the extension given for the file name while saving, it colours the keywords and gives proper indentation whenever we switch to next line. An last thing is the suggestion system it has. It makes our job very easy. Cons It does not highlight keywords for all the language files. Still more features need to be added like advanced languages compilers and also the feature to add external extensions. These are still yet to come and hope Notepad++ get these features ASAP. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Senior Software Engineer/ Lead Engineer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Its old school, but simple and I love it" June 4, 2021 4.0 I just love it. As I said whenever I have a small code file that needs to be opened, this is what comes to my mind. I do use other code editors, but this will always be my emergency code editor and emergency code, reader. Pros The simplicity of Notepad++ makes me want to use it more and more. it will always be the first thing that comes to my mind when I need to edit some code or open a code file for emergencies. I like the vertical selection feature and search in folders feature. Cons The main thing missing is integration with the latest frameworks and programming languages. To work according to the syntaxes of the latest languages, I think it is better to be integrated with them properly. I am not suggesting to make it more complicated by adding all the plugins like version controls, emulator connection, and all. Please keep the simplicity but please make this up to date. Review Source Krunal A. Web developer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Partner in the Journey of text editing to coding" March 18, 2023 5.0 Overall existence is good for a senior developers for making your junior better than you but not recommended at this time also Pros Before smart coding tool we have notepd++ as our coding partner where we learn very strict coding, after comes smart tool we are left behind by notepad++ but it make our journey very grateful because of notepad we are learning every aspect of our programming language and we need to focus for not make mistake while coding and this is the best thing about notepad, at that time it is totally free and open source so everyone can use this and learn and work in coding, talk about feature so notepad not have such a great but want to start strict coding then you can go with this Cons The most disliked thing is it is not smart so that you need to continuously watch your code to not make mistakes and this is hard after a large number of code, it is not suggested for your large project also so please this thing in your mind Switched from [Visual Studio Code](https://www.capterra.com/p/186634/Visual-Studio-Code/) I am switch notepad to vs code Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Principal Engineer Telecommunications Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad++ is very powerful tool with great performance" August 14, 2023 5.0 I use NPP for developing applications in PHP, Perl, Python, Javascript. Also I use it for processing some text data, comparing files, etc. Pros Mostly I like code highlighting, themes, auto backups, plugins, performance, ability to work with huge files, flexible search/replace with regex support. Cons Some plugins don't have 64-bit version. NPP is not full replacement of IDE, it has no advanced debug features, but for scripting languages is has all that I need. Review Source SS Stuart S. Electronic Design Engineer Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent lightweight text/code editor" May 20, 2019 4.0 Notepad++ is one of my favourite utility programs. It does one thing and does it very well, with intelligent, easy-to-use design. It is an excellent sidekick for programming projects; useful for inspecting files at all stages of an embedded software project, from C++ source to HEX. I have also used it as a main editor for more old-fashioned languages which do not come with an IDE. In this scenario the built-in code highlighting for all common languages (and some not-so-common ones) as well as the rudimentary code completion come in very handy. A great tool! Pros Notepad++ is my Swiss Army knife of software; useful for so many things. If I need to quickly open a piece of source code to remind myself how something works (without opening the full project in the IDE), Notepad++ is perfect. I like to open all kinds of files, not just text, with Notepad++ to find out what their internal structure looks like. A lot of proprietary file formats are human-readable and often contain standard elements like XML or INI. Notepad++ has just enough features to be useful, keeping it very lightweight. This helps it start up virtually instantly. A complement to the fast startup time is the Windows context menu entry. This really is fantastic and means if I want to peek inside any file I can simply right-click and 'Edit with Notepad++'. Supports a wide range of plugins if extended functionality is required. I have used and liked the Diff and HEX editing plugins, which were easy to install and worked well. It remembers which files are open when it is closed, meaning I can resume working straight away next time. Tabbed interface works well for a text editor, especially when combined with the Diff plugin. Cons Popups which ask if I want to update every time I open the software are annoying and break my workflow, and unfortunately Notepad++ is guilty of this. Really not much apart from that! Review Source Similar Products Featured