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GNU nano VS Windows Notepad

Compare GNU nano VS Windows Notepad and see what are their differences

GNU nano logo GNU nano

GNU nano is a small and friendly text editor.

Windows Notepad logo Windows Notepad

Most simple text editor. Just plain text, saves in .txt format.
  • GNU nano Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-20
  • Windows Notepad Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-08-21

GNU nano features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    GNU nano is designed to be easy for beginners to use, with on-screen prompts and an intuitive layout.
  • Lightweight
    It is a lightweight text editor that runs efficiently on most systems, consuming minimal system resources.
  • Pre-installed on Many Systems
    GNU nano often comes pre-installed on many UNIX-like systems including many distributions of Linux, making it readily available.
  • Basic Yet Sufficient Features
    While it does not have the extensive features of some other editors, it includes enough functionality for basic editing tasks such as search/replace and spell checking.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts Displayed
    The bottom two lines of the screen display important keyboard shortcuts, which makes it easier for users to find commands.

Possible disadvantages of GNU nano

  • Limited Functionality
    Compared to other editors like Vim or Emacs, GNU nano provides fewer advanced features and customization options.
  • Not Ideal for Large Projects
    For large codebases or projects, it may not be as efficient or productive compared to more feature-rich editors.
  • Basic UI
    The User Interface is very basic and text-based, which might not appeal to users looking for a more modern or graphical interface.
  • Limited Extensibility
    There are limited options for extending or adding plugins to GNU nano, unlike editors such as Emacs or VSCode.
  • Less Efficient for Power Users
    Power users who are proficient in editors with advanced functionalities (like Vim's powerful text manipulation commands) may find nano less efficient for their workflows.

Windows Notepad features and specs

  • Simplicity
    Windows Notepad offers a simple, no-frills interface that is easy to use for quick text editing tasks. Its minimalist design helps users focus purely on text without any distractions from additional features or complex menus.
  • Fast Load Time
    Notepad is lightweight and loads almost instantly, making it a great tool for quickly jotting down notes or reviewing text files without any delay.
  • Low Resource Usage
    Notepad consumes minimal system resources, ensuring that it runs smoothly even on older or less powerful machines. This makes it an ideal choice for basic editing needs without heavy resource consumption.
  • Built-in Availability
    Notepad comes pre-installed on all Windows operating systems, providing immediate access to a text editor without the need to download or install additional software.

Possible disadvantages of Windows Notepad

  • Limited Functionality
    Notepad lacks advanced features found in more comprehensive text editors, such as syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and integrated development tools, which can limit its usefulness for programming or more complex text editing tasks.
  • Basic Formatting
    Notepad supports only fundamental text formatting options and does not allow for rich text formatting (such as bold, italics, or different fonts), which can be a limitation when trying to create more visually appealing documents.
  • No Tabbed Editing
    Unlike some other text editors, Notepad does not support tabbed document editing, which means multiple open files will each occupy a separate window, potentially cluttering the workspace and making it harder to manage multiple documents at once.
  • Lack of Autosave
    Notepad does not have an autosave feature, which means users must remember to manually save their work frequently to avoid data loss in case of unexpected shutdowns or crashes.

Analysis of GNU nano

Overall verdict

  • GNU nano is considered a good choice for those who prioritize ease of use and require a straightforward text editor for basic editing tasks. Its simplicity and accessibility make it a dependable tool for users who are not looking for the advanced features that come with other editors.

Why this product is good

  • GNU nano is highly regarded for its simplicity and ease of use, especially appealing to new users who are entering the world of command-line text editors. It provides a straightforward interface with clear on-screen prompts for common commands, reducing the learning curve significantly. Unlike more advanced editors like Vim or Emacs, nano doesn't require understanding complex commands, making it an ideal choice for quick edits and straightforward text processing tasks.

Recommended for

    GNU nano is best recommended for beginners, casual users, or anyone who needs a quick and simple way to edit text files from the command line. It's ideal for users who appreciate minimalistic and intuitive interfaces without the need to delve into extensive documentation or tutorials to perform simple tasks.

Analysis of Windows Notepad

Overall verdict

  • Windows Notepad is a good choice for users who need a basic text editor without any additional features or complexity. Its simplicity makes it accessible and easy to use for anyone, regardless of technical expertise. However, it may not meet the needs of users looking for advanced features like syntax highlighting, plugins, or collaborative tools found in more robust text editors.

Why this product is good

  • Windows Notepad is a lightweight and straightforward text editor developed by Microsoft. It is widely used for its simplicity, low resource usage, and availability on all Windows systems. Its minimalist design makes it perfect for quick edits, taking notes, and creating simple text files without distractions. It supports a variety of encoding options, which can be helpful for viewing and editing different file types.

Recommended for

  • Users who need a quick and easy text editor for simple tasks.
  • Beginners who prefer a no-frills interface.
  • Developers who need a tool for quick code or text checks and edits.
  • Anyone looking for a lightweight application that launches quickly.

GNU nano videos

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Windows Notepad videos

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 review: Good notepad, bad notebook

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU nano and Windows Notepad)
Text Editors
18 18%
82% 82
IDE
20 20%
80% 80
Software Development
34 34%
66% 66
IDEs And Text Editors
7 7%
93% 93

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GNU nano and Windows Notepad

GNU nano Reviews

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Windows Notepad Reviews

10 Best Notepad Alternatives With a Better UI and Features
As far as features go, Notepad has exactly none. It was designed back in the days of MS-DOS, and as a result was intended to be used in writing programs that would be easy to compile and execute. Notepad has undergone very few, if any, changes since its inception, and there has been no need for change either. Microsoft has its word processing software, Microsoft Word, for...
Top 8 Sublime Text Alternatives You Can Use in 2019
Notepad++ is a free source code editor which supports several programming languages under the MS Windows environment. It uses the Scintilla editor component and is written in C++ with “Win32 API calls using only STL to increase performance and reduce program size”. While the software has support for macros and plugins, it isn’t as feature-rich as many of the other editors on...
Source: beebom.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GNU nano seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GNU nano mentions (1)

  • Inspired by a meme made by u/Craz_64
    GNU nano is a text editor for Unix-like computing systems or operating environments using a command line interface. It emulates the Pico text editor, part of the Pine email client, and also provides additional functionality. Unlike Pico, nano is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Source: about 4 years ago

Windows Notepad mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Windows Notepad yet. Tracking of Windows Notepad recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GNU nano and Windows Notepad, you can also consider the following products

Notepad++ - A free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment.

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

VSCodium - Binary releases of Visual Sudio Code without Microsoft branding, telemetry and licensing