Popular: Data updated October 26, 2026

Categories

Internet1,355
Communication321
Audio & video898
Graphics & design539
Office & productivity1,120
Developer tools3,132
AI tools527
Security & privacy385
System tools3,113
Games523
Education & science239
Network & IT284

Programmer's Notepad alternatives

A free, open source, text editor with special features for coders.

Simon Steele Text editors #86 Text editors

12 Windows apps in the same category as Programmer's Notepad, ranked by what they have in common and by popularity.

  • Notepad++

    Notepad++ is a free source code editor that supports several languages.

    Open source 8.9.8.1 22M ↓ ★ 29.6K editor, notepad, text
  • Atom

    A hackable text editor for the 21st Century, free and open source.

    Open source 1.60.0 1.3M ↓ ★ 60.7K editor, notepad, text
  • Neovim

    Vim-fork focused on extensibility and usability

    Open source 0.12.6 744.4K ↓ ★ 103.1K editor, notepad, text
  • Notepad3

    Notepad like text editor based on the Scintilla source code.

    Free 7.26.602.1 84.4K ↓ ★ 6.7K code, coding, editing
  • Geany

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

    Open source 2.1.0 36.4K ↓ ★ 3.7K editor, text
  • FontForge

    FontForge is a free and open source font editor brought to you by a community of fellow type lovers.

    Open source 20251009 19.3K ↓ ★ 8K editor
  • WordPress.com

    A control panel for all your WordPress sites.

    Open source 8.2.4 11.2K ↓ ★ 12.6K editor
  • Brackets

    With focused visual tools and preprocessor support, Brackets is a modern text editor that makes it easy to design in the browser. It's crafted from the ground up for web designers and front-end developers.

    Open source 1.14.17770 180.6K ↓ ★ 33K editor
  • Avidemux

    Avidemux is a simple platform video editor for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

    Open source 2.8.1 78.3K ↓ ★ 984 editor
  • Markdown Monster

    The Markdown Editor for Windows

    Proprietary 4.5.8.0 202.9K ↓ ★ 1.7K editor, text
  • Helix

    Helix Editor

    Open source 25.07.1 20.6K ↓ ★ 46.7K editor, text
  • EmEditor

    A fast, lightweight, yet extensible, easy-to-use text editor, code editor, CSV editor, and large file viewer for Windows.

    Proprietary 26.4.0 12.6K ↓ code, coding, editing

Comparison

AppLicenceVersionUpdatedGitHub starsChocolatey downloads
Programmer's Notepad Free 2.4.2 February 17, 2023 — 5.4K
Notepad++ Open source 8.9.8.1 September 24, 2026 29.6K 22M
Atom Open source 1.60.0 March 8, 2022 60.7K 1.3M
Neovim Open source 0.12.6 October 9, 2026 103.1K 744.4K
Notepad3 Free 7.26.602.1 June 2, 2026 6.7K 84.4K
Geany Open source 2.1.0 July 6, 2025 3.7K 36.4K
FontForge Open source 20251009 October 18, 2025 8K 19.3K
WordPress.com Open source 8.2.4 September 29, 2026 12.6K 11.2K
Brackets Open source 1.14.17770 June 8, 2021 33K 180.6K
Avidemux Open source 2.8.1 February 14, 2025 984 78.3K
Markdown Monster Proprietary 4.5.8.0 October 23, 2026 1.7K 202.9K
Helix Open source 25.07.1 July 18, 2025 46.7K 20.6K
EmEditor Proprietary 26.4.0 October 22, 2026 — 12.6K