Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Notepad.exe VS Vim

Compare Notepad.exe VS Vim and see what are their differences

Notepad.exe logo Notepad.exe

Lightweight macOS code editor. Skip the setup, write code, run instantly. Built-in iOS simulator, AI assistance, and Linux support.

Vim logo Vim

Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing
Not present
  • Vim Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23

Notepad.exe features and specs

  • Extremely Lightweight
    Notepad.exe is one of the most lightweight text editors available, consuming minimal system resources and launching almost instantly, making it ideal for quick edits and low-powered machines.
  • Built into Windows
    Notepad comes pre-installed with every version of Windows, meaning users don't need to download or install any additional software to have a basic text editor ready to use.
  • Simple and Easy to Use
    The interface is incredibly straightforward with no learning curve. Anyone can open it and start typing immediately, making it accessible to users of all skill levels.
  • Plain Text Editing
    Notepad saves files as plain text by default, which is perfect for editing configuration files, code snippets, batch scripts, and other files where formatting can cause issues.
  • No Bloat or Distractions
    Notepad has no unnecessary features, toolbars, or plugins that could distract from the task at hand. It provides a clean, distraction-free writing environment for simple text tasks.

Possible disadvantages of Notepad.exe

  • Very Limited Features
    Notepad lacks many features found in modern text editors, such as syntax highlighting, line numbering, auto-complete, tabs for multiple files, and find-and-replace with regex support (though recent versions have improved slightly).
  • No Plugin or Extension Support
    Unlike editors such as VS Code or Sublime Text, Notepad does not support plugins or extensions, so users cannot expand its functionality to meet specific needs.
  • Poor Large File Handling
    Notepad has historically struggled with opening and editing very large files, often becoming slow or unresponsive when dealing with files that are several megabytes or larger in size.
  • Limited Encoding Support
    While recent versions have improved, Notepad has traditionally had limited support for different text encodings, which could cause issues when working with files in UTF-8, Unicode, or other non-ANSI encodings.
  • No Multi-Tab or Split View
    Notepad only allows one file to be open per window and does not offer split-view or tabbed editing, making it cumbersome to work with multiple files simultaneously.

Vim features and specs

  • Efficiency
    Once learned, Vim can significantly speed up text editing with its modal editing, keyboard shortcuts, and commands that allow for quick navigation and manipulation of text.
  • Lightweight
    Vim is a very lightweight editor, consuming minimal system resources, making it highly performant even on systems with lower specifications.
  • Customizability
    Vim is highly configurable and extensible through plugins and user-defined settings, allowing users to tailor the editor to their specific needs.
  • Ubiquity
    Vim is available on almost every Unix-like system and even on Windows, making it a ubiquitous tool that you can rely on being available in most environments.
  • Support for Multiple Programming Languages
    Vim supports a wide range of programming languages out of the box and offers syntax highlighting, which can be enhanced through plugins.
  • Powerful Search and Replace
    Vim offers robust searching and replacing functionalities, including support for regular expressions, which can be a powerful tool for developers.

Possible disadvantages of Vim

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Vim's modal editing and extensive set of commands can be daunting for new users, requiring significant time and effort to master.
  • Minimal Default Config
    The default configuration of Vim is quite minimalistic, which may necessitate additional setup and customization to meet modern development needs.
  • Limited GUI
    Vim primarily operates in a terminal, and while there are graphical variants like GVim, they are not as feature-rich or user-friendly as modern GUI editors.
  • Plugin Management
    While Vim is highly extensible, managing and configuring plugins can be cumbersome compared to more modern editors that offer integrated plugin management.
  • Inconsistent Behavior Across Platforms
    There may be inconsistencies in behavior or available features of Vim across different operating systems, which can complicate its use in certain environments.
  • Lack of Integrated Modern Features
    Vim lacks some modern IDE features like integrated debugging, advanced code introspection, and refined autocompletion, which often require third-party plugins to achieve.

Analysis of Notepad.exe

Overall verdict

  • Notepad.exe is a solid, no-frills text editor that excels at simplicity, speed, and reliability for basic text editing tasks, making it a dependable default tool on Windows.

Why this product is good

  • Extremely lightweight and fast, opening instantly even on older hardware
  • Simple, distraction-free interface with virtually no learning curve
  • Comes built into Windows, so there's nothing to install or configure
  • Reliable for quickly viewing or editing plain text and configuration files
  • Uses minimal system resources compared to heavier editors
  • Recent Windows updates have added useful features like tabs, autosave, and spellcheck

Recommended for

  • Users who need a quick and simple way to jot down notes or drafts
  • Viewing or making small edits to plain text and .txt files
  • Editing basic configuration or log files without formatting interference
  • Beginners who want an uncomplicated text editor
  • Anyone needing a fast, always-available tool on Windows without installing extra software

Analysis of Vim

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Vim is a good text editor, especially for users who invest the time to learn its powerful commands and features. Its steep learning curve may be challenging initially, but once mastered, it significantly enhances productivity.

Why this product is good

  • Vim is considered a powerful text editor because of its efficiency and versatility. It offers extensive features, such as syntax highlighting, a robust plugin system, and support for numerous programming languages. Vim is highly configurable, enabling users to customize its environment to fit their needs. It is particularly appreciated for its speed and the ability to perform complex text manipulations using simple commands.

Recommended for

    Vim is recommended for programmers, developers, and system administrators who require a highly efficient and customizable text editing experience. It is especially useful for those who work extensively in terminal environments or need a quick, resource-light text editor for remote systems.

Notepad.exe videos

Notepad part1 - use notepad.exe on Fedora Linux

Vim videos

What Vim Is and Why You Should Learn It

More videos:

  • Review - JAC Vapour VIM Review - JAC does a side by side mod...
  • Review - Jac Vapour VIM - Quick Look

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Notepad.exe and Vim)
IDE
3 3%
97% 97
Text Editors
2 2%
98% 98
Software Development
5 5%
95% 95
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Notepad.exe and Vim

Notepad.exe Reviews

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Vim Reviews

Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Vim offers a variety of features like split windows, macros, and extensive customization options. It has a steep learning curve, but once you master it, youโ€™ll be amazed at the speed and productivity it brings to your coding workflow. Vim is a favorite among experienced developers who value speed and efficiency above all else.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
Itโ€™s tough to say which developers would enjoy Vim as a text editor. Itโ€™s an old system with an outdated interface. Yet, it still has the charm and powerful feature-set that the average developer needs. I would recommend it to more advanced developers who enjoy using open source software and being a part of a communityโ€“like the one you can find behind Vim.
Source: kinsta.com
12 Best LaTeX Editors You Should Use
The entire installation process is perfectly documented on their Sourceforge page, which you must definitely pay a visit. There is another standalone Vim software, known as the gVim that brings a GUI-based interface to the Vim document editor. Vim-LaTeX has been developed specifically for the programmers and it is so highly configurable that it can function anyway, ranging...
Source: beebom.com
The Top 7 Notepad++ Alternatives for You
Vim is a totally free Notepad++ alternative. It is available to use on Windows, Mac and Linux computers and it is very powerful. I was able to customize Vim to get it to look and function just how I want it. There is really good help support with Vim so if you are new to programming it will get you through most issues.
10 Best Notepad++ Alternatives in 2020
Vim is an advanced text editor open source tool which is also considered to be an IDE in its way. This tool allows managing your text editing activities with vim editors and UNIX System which can be used on-premise or online.
Source: www.guru99.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Vim should be more popular than Notepad.exe. It has been mentiond 10 times 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.

Notepad.exe mentions (4)

Vim mentions (10)

  • regular Vim has lua?!
    Lua is quite small, encouraging distros to include it. The ubuntu gvim has, and the gvim AppImage linked from vim.org does. The default Makefile from github is set up to not include it, but you can uncomment one line there to get it. Source: over 3 years ago
  • is there a way to make highlighted text persistent after quit when using something like [match Search /\%'.line('.').'l/] ?
    I've not used vimwiki locally (tho I'm old enough to remember the Vim wiki on vim.org :), but I think what you are wanting to do is extend vimwiki's syntax file. I presume it installs one at $VIMRUNTIM/syntax or or ~/.vim/syntax. If this sounds right, then create a ~/.vim/after/syntax/vimwiki.vim file and place your match command in there. Then everytime you open a vimwiki file it should apply your... Source: over 3 years ago
  • vim.org - Is there a reason for this 1800s-esque design?
    Vim.org has 242k total visitors, tailwindcss.com has 4.4m, planetscale.com has 412k, jpl.nasa.gov has 2.6m, all built with Tailwind, all several years younger than Vim's website. Unnecessary comparison, unnecessary defence. It's a valuable tool, fine, but a complete disregard for anyone who doesn't love a crappy website and would like to navigate a website like a normal human is not something to be defended. Maybe... Source: almost 4 years ago
  • What is YOUR process of writing ?
    I write in Vim with some customizations in my vimrc to gear it more towards prose writing than code editing. It's not pretty, but Normal Mode and Ex commands are the most powerful text editing tools out there, so that means I spend less time on making corrections and other edits. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Why developers need to know about Vim
    If you are open minded and would like to try it out, click me for more information! Cheers. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Notepad.exe and Vim, you can also consider the following products

Notepad++ for Mac - Notepad++ for Mac is a free, open-source, native macOS code editor. Universal Binary for Apple Silicon (M1โ€“M5) and Intel Macs. No Wine, no Rosetta, no emulation.

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.

Avalonia - A multi-platform .NET UI framework

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

Productivity Power Tools - Extension for Visual Studio - A set of extensions to Visual Studio 2012 Professional (and above) which improves developer productivity.

GNU Emacs - GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editorโ€”and more.