# Notepad++ Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Notepad++ the right Source Code Management solution for you? Explore 2004 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/185965/Notepad/reviews --- Notepad++ 4.7 (2004) [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 June 3rd, 2026 # Reviews of Notepad++ Ease of use 4.7 Customer Service 4.3 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Free and open-source software 97% positive reviews out of 146 Most reviewers appreciate pricing, noting Notepad++ is completely free, open-source, and offers strong value without cost. Outdated and basic interface design 46% negative reviews out of 234 Some reviewers comment user interface appears dated, plain, and less visually appealing compared to modern editors. Lance G Operations Manager, 11 - 50 employees. "It could use a more modern interface; it feels somewhat dated." Fast, resource-efficient text editor 98% positive reviews out of 134 Most reviewers describe lightweight performance as enabling rapid startup and smooth operation, even on older computers. Netra S Senior RPA Developer, 10,001+ employees. "Notepad++ is a lightweight application that requires very less memory storage which makes it easy to use and it opens very quickly with very less loading time." Struggles with very large files 54% negative reviews out of 126 Most reviewers report large file handling causes slowdowns, crashes, or unresponsiveness when opening or editing big documents. Alvaro C Software Developer, 1 employee. "Its performance may suffer when working with very large or complex text files." Advanced search and replace tools 97% positive reviews out of 88 Most reviewers find search and replace features powerful, supporting bulk edits, regex, and multi-file operations efficiently. Vasco B Founder, 1 employee. "For me the most useful is the flexible search and replace feature." Frequent and disruptive update prompts 48% negative reviews out of 91 Some reviewers describe updates as frequent, with persistent pop-ups and a cumbersome update process disrupting workflow. ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 2004 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 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 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 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 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 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 SS Scott S. Project Manager Human Resources Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Simple and Efficient" March 3, 2026 5.0 Notepad++ is a simple tool but extremely practical to work on text, scripts or configuration files. Even in a non-technical environment, it is very useful on a daily basis. Pros I appreciate its lightness and speed. Notepad++ opens instantly and allows to handle text files much easier than a classic editor. 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. Cons Also, even if it is perfect for editing text, it is obviously not a collaboration tool: as soon as you need to work as a team, you have to use other platforms. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Data Scientist Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The Best Open Source Text Editor" June 26, 2024 4.0 My overall Experience has been really amazing . Can't tell you how much I am addicted to this tool . It just makes my day every time I open a file on this . The classic UI also is one of the main reasons for me to still be using this after so many years ! Pros As an IT Organization individual, Notepad++ is assisting me increasingly more with the everyday work. Some things which I like the most are, 1. The Notepad++ reserve keeps numerous pages dynamic regardless of whether I neglected to save and close it. 2. Notepad++ shows the progression of the content/program, which assists with forestalling committing errors. 3. Bunch arrangement and arranging are more helpful in any event, while working in Succeed. Duplicate to Notepad++ and do it without any problem. 4. It provides additional features such as checksum generation, ascii to hex and vice versa conversions which are very handy for developers. Cons The main issue with Notepad++ is that it does not support MacOS . Also , I noticed that Notepad++ struggles with big binary files. It might get slower, or messier when dealing with those . Switched from [Sublime Text](https://www.capterra.com/p/179535/Sublime-Text/) Notepad ++ is a free software while sublime required a paid subscription. Nothing beats the simple UI of notepad ++ . Review Source NS Netra S. Senior RPA Developer Oil & Energy Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Reliable and fast code editor" December 5, 2024 5.0 Notepad++ is a lightweight application that requires very less memory storage which makes it easy to use and it opens very quickly with very less loading time. Pros It's a very low memeory application. It supports almost all programming languages. I use it for editing the code and I really like the ease with which editing can be done because of the clean User Interface Cons No features to dislike. I like all the features the product offers Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Software Developer Senior Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My experience with Notepad++" November 29, 2024 5.0 It's the first free Windows Dev tool I used when I was in College and have been using it for 20+ years. Pros Free open source and lots of plugins. Great community. Cons Windows Only. It would be nice if MacOs or Linux supported Review Source MC Miranda C. Director of IT Retail Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Simple software for code" February 21, 2025 4.0 It's simple notepad but for writing code. You can do anything with it. Pros Simple and easy to use. You can write whatever you want with it. Cons There is no terminal or debugging. You need to be 100% confident in your own abilities. 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 VM Viktoriia M. Customer Support Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Notepad++ review" August 25, 2024 5.0 Pros I use Notepad++ daily for notes. The most important to me that in one window I can work with multiple files in different tabs. It increases my productivity. Cons Cons: works only on Windows platform. And also one downside that it doesn't detect mistakes. 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 AI Anwarul I. Software Engineer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notepad++ Review" June 29, 2021 5.0 I can say Notepad ++ is the king of Text Editor, Actually it is more than a Text Editor, Every single day I use this while I need to organize a bunch of text, Finding particular word & replace with other one, If my device crushes I can rest assure my doc will not be lost, To be honest I stared my programming career with Notepad++, I used to write HTML, CSS code in Notepad++. Pros • Notepad++ is easy to install & light weight, User friendly & versatile, • Multiple encoding of text is really useful, • MD5 & Sha-256 digest are also useful features, • Can record while typing is really cool, • Super fast in search & replace including complex ones, • Regex can be used in finding and replacing, • Multiple tabs can be opened at once, • Auto save feature is really user friendly, • Can be used as universal programming environment, • If Notepad++ is used as IDE it's colors for different parts of code (language vs variables) is really useful, • Multiple plugins can be integrated and thus makes Notepad++ more powerful & expandable, • Particular file type can be selected while saving files. Cons • UI looks a little old, • As Notepad++ has a universal programming environment, • Multiple themes can be added • Adding compilation would be great while using as IDE • As this is a text editor, So feature like bold & italic could be available Review Source AA Alex A. System Analysis Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Come for the easy way to view and edit text files, stay for features " October 13, 2021 5.0 Notepad++ has become one of the first programs I install and any new computer or server. Having a light weight way to open up any source code files, being able to view the code in a extremely readable manner, and being able to make quick changes has been extremely valuable to me in to many situations to count. Notepad++ is to programming what a good multitool is to handyman work, its unobtrusive enough to always keep on you and will save a ton of time when a more powerful or specialized tool will not yield better results. Pros Light weight and open source, can be installed on pretty much anything without having to worry about taking up resources. Extremely useful to keep on a server. Recognizes a lot of programming languages and syntax right out of the box, but also has the options of adding plugins to expand upon its functionality. Notepad++ is exactly what you would expect from the name, it is like the basic Notepad application with a ton of useful extras. Most importantly though is the program does not bombard you with its extra functionality, instead letting the user explore freely. If you are in the market for a better version of Notepad that is exactly what you will find when you first open it, and if you like it enough that you want to explore further you can discover a large amount of additional useful features. Cons As a piece of open source free software for viewing and editing raw text files and source code I cannot think of any cons. Compared to a full IDE Notepad++ lacks may critical features, but Notepad++ is not a full IDE and does not claim to be. When viewed through the lens of being a simple text editor that extends itself just beyond its necessary scope for the users convivence I cannot find any faults. Review Source pA peter A. IT Asset & Configuration Analyst, Service Catalog Manager and Knowledge Base Manager Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best Times With NotePad As a developer" November 14, 2022 5.0 Notepad++ has given me a good experience when it comes to finding where an error is in a code. I can say with this too i have developed my hawk eye of spotting bugs. Pros Notepad++ is very easy and simple to use. It menu is simple and the tools available makes programming enjoying. I love it ability to identify a line of code where there is an error , when you try to compile what you have coded. It is light on the machine, it does not consume cpu or memory making it ease to code and play music or movie at same time. Cons I have not yet seen a feature that stores previous code and compares to current code , so that you can easily spot out what lines where changed or added. I think it will be a good feature to have Switched from [ECLIPSE](https://www.capterra.com/p/27349/ECLIPSE/) I needed something light to work with Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Source Code Management](https://www.capterra.com/source-code-management-software/)[Application Development](https://www.capterra.com/application-development-software/)