Notepad++: when to install it, and when not to
A fast Windows text editor for opening a config file, checking a log, or making one small edit without waiting for a project IDE to load. Tabs, syntax…
The short version
Notepad++: Replaces Notepad for anything involving line endings, encodings, regex search or large log files. Light enough to open in a fraction of a second, which is why it survives next to VS Code.
| Licence / price | Free · Open source |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows |
| Category | Developer Tools — 12 programs |
| Official download | https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/ ↗ |
What it is for
A fast Windows text editor for opening a config file, checking a log, or making one small edit without waiting for a project IDE to load. Tabs, syntax highlighting and find-in-files cover most of that work.
When to pick something else
It is Windows-only and it is an editor, not an IDE. If you need a debugger, a language server or integrated terminals, VS Code is the right install and this one is redundant.
What independent reviewers found
We do not run lab tests or benchmarks. These summaries are written in our own words, with the publisher named and the original linked. Our citation policy explains what we will and will not reproduce.
Stack Overflow — 2025
What the source says. The 2025 Stack Overflow survey still reports Notepad++ at 27.4% usage among respondents, alongside VS Code at 75.9%.
What we take from it. A small editor remaining that widely used alongside a dominant IDE is the point: they are different jobs, and a fast text window is still worth having.
Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 ↗ (Stack Overflow · 2025 · Developer survey)
How it compares in Developer Tools
These are the alternatives we would consider for the same job. The notes are the same ones used on the main list, so there is no separate ranking hiding on this page.
| Program | Licence / price | Platforms | Why it is on the list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Studio Code Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Source-available | Windows, macOS, Linux | The default editor for most languages, with the largest extension ecosystem in existence. Note that official builds ship Microsoft telemetry, so turn it off in settings or use VSCodium if that matters to you. |
| Windows Terminal Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows | Tabs, panes, proper font rendering and a config file, in place of the old console window. On Windows 11 it is already installed. On Windows 10 get it from the Microsoft Store. |
| Microsoft PowerToys Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows | A bundle of small fixes for Windows: PowerRename for bulk renames, FancyZones for window layouts, a colour picker, a text extractor and more. Enable the two or three you want and ignore the rest. |
Practical notes
- Keep it as the default handler for .log, .ini and .cfg files rather than for source code you will compile.
- Turn on the setting that remembers the session, so a crash does not lose a set of open files.
- For large files, use find-in-files rather than pasting the whole thing into another application.
Questions people ask
Why not just use VS Code for everything?
You can. Notepad++ earns its place when you want a small window open in two seconds for a file you will close in thirty.
Where it appears in our guides
See the full Developer Tools explainer for the other 11 programs in this category.
How to read this page. How to read this page. Platform, licence and publisher details come from our directory data. Where an independent review, audit or survey is mentioned, it is summarised in our own words with the source named and linked; our /sources page sets out that policy. The recommendation, the trade-offs and every 'skip it if' line are our editorial judgement. We do not run benchmarks, publish measured performance figures or host installers, and every download link goes to the publisher's own site. If a detail is out of date, our About page explains how to tell us.