Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Notepad++ VS Kakoune

Compare Notepad++ VS Kakoune and see what are their differences

Notepad++ logo Notepad++

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

Kakoune logo Kakoune

Vim inspired — Faster as in less keystrokes — Multiple selections — Orthogonal design
  • Notepad++ Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-07
  • Kakoune Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-13

Notepad++ features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    Notepad++ is completely free to download and use, and its source code is open for anyone to review, modify, and contribute to.
  • Lightweight and Fast
    Notepad++ is lightweight, meaning it uses fewer system resources compared to more complex IDEs, allowing for quick loading times and responsiveness.
  • Syntax Highlighting
    Supports syntax highlighting for over 80 programming languages, making it easier to read and write code.
  • Plugin Support
    Offers a wide range of plugins to extend its functionality, including customization options, code analyzers, and more.
  • Tabbed Interface
    Allows multiple documents to be opened in the same window through a tabbed interface, which greatly improves productivity.
  • Regular Updates
    Frequently receives updates and patches, improving its features and fixing bugs.

Possible disadvantages of Notepad++

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Lacks some of the advanced features and integrations of full-fledged IDEs, which might be necessary for professional software development.
  • Windows Only
    Natively available only on Windows, although it can be run on other systems using compatibility layers like Wine, which might affect performance.
  • Manual Plugin Management
    Managing plugins can be cumbersome, as users often need to download and install them manually.
  • Occasional Stability Issues
    Although generally stable, users sometimes encounter crashes or bugs, particularly when using many plugins.

Kakoune features and specs

  • Modal Editing
    Kakoune uses a modal editing style similar to Vim, which can be more efficient for experienced users who prefer to keep their hands on the keyboard.
  • Interactive and Asynchronous
    Kakoune is designed to be both interactive and asynchronous, providing immediate feedback for commands which can enhance the editing experience.
  • Selections
    Kakoune treats text editing as a multiple selections-oriented operation, enabling powerful, simultaneous edits across multiple text locations, which can speed up complex text manipulations.
  • Simplicity in Configuration
    Kakoune’s configuration files are written in a simple, declarative syntax, making it easier for users to customize their setup without extensive scripting.
  • Performance
    Kakoune is designed with performance in mind, resulting in a lightweight and fast editor even with large files.
  • Extensible Plugin System
    Kakoune supports various plugins and has a community-driven set of extensions, allowing users to extend functionality as needed.
  • Language Support
    Built-in support for syntax highlighting and other language-specific features for many programming languages.

Possible disadvantages of Kakoune

  • Learning Curve
    Kakoune has a steep learning curve, especially for users not familiar with modal editing or coming from different types of text editors.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    While Kakoune has an extensible plugin system, its plugin ecosystem is not as mature or extensive as more established editors like Vim or Emacs.
  • Limited GUI Support
    Kakoune primarily operates in the terminal, with limited graphical user interface support, which might be a drawback for users who prefer more visual editing environments.
  • Smaller User Base
    Kakoune has a smaller user base compared to more mainstream editors, potentially resulting in fewer community resources, tutorials, and third-party tool integrations.
  • Reliance on Command Line
    Heavy reliance on command-line operations can be intimidating or cumbersome for users who are not comfortable with the terminal.
  • Limited IDE Features
    Kakoune lacks some of the advanced integrated development environment (IDE) features out-of-the-box, such as integrated debugging or project management tools.

Notepad++ videos

Notepad++ Review

More videos:

  • Review - Notepad++ Review
  • Review - Notepad++ Text Editor: Intro for Beginners

Kakoune videos

Kakoune Is A More Efficient Text Editor

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Notepad++ and Kakoune)
Text Editors
89 89%
11% 11
IDE
90 90%
10% 10
Software Development
93 93%
7% 7
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

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++ and Kakoune

Notepad++ Reviews

  1. the best assistant at work

    I've been using it for a long time, I can say that it has become my main tool in my work. First, you need to get used to using it and look at all the functionality. Overall, it's useful for me!


Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Notepad++ provides a tabbed interface, allowing you to work on multiple files simultaneously. Its intuitive user interface makes it easy to navigate and edit your code efficiently. With features like syntax highlighting, code folding, and auto-completion, Notepad++ helps you write clean and error-free code.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
If you’re a beginner who needs a text editor, Notepad++ is far easier to understand than some of the other options on this list. Not only that, but you’ll enjoy the ability to locate words and replace them all, while also revealing certain bits of code with highlighting. As for advanced users, Notepad++ also does the trick, with its syntax highlighting for HTML, PHP, and...
Source: kinsta.com
Top 10 Free CSV Readers in 2023!
Notepad++: A popular text editor for Windows that has a CSV plugin for viewing and editing CSV files.
Source: www.retable.io
Top 10 Notepad++ Alternatives for Mac in 2022
First, you can get a better version of Notepad++ Mac. For instance, Setapp caters to your own Notepad++ Mac. You can also Notepad++ Mac using an emulator. Typically, the emulator is a form of creating a layer of compatibility where you can run the Notepad++ Mac on your operating system. Another thing you can do t enjoy Notepad++ Mac is by using Wine. This can help you have e...
Source: www.imymac.com
The Top 7 Notepad++ Alternatives for You
I have provided you with mainly free Notepad++ alternatives here. This is not that surprising because Notepad++ is free also. When choosing a Notepad++ alternative you need to consider what you are going to use it for and your level of programming experience.

Kakoune Reviews

We have no reviews of Kakoune yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Notepad++ seems to be a lot more popular than Kakoune. While we know about 175 links to Notepad++, we've tracked only 10 mentions of Kakoune. 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++ mentions (175)

  • How to Run Windows Applications on Linux Using Bottles: A Step-by-Step Guide
    Are you transitioning from Windows to Linux but struggling to replace tools like Notepad++ or WinMerge? Thanks to Wine and Bottles, you can now run Windows-only applications natively on Linux. This guide will show you how to install Windows apps on Linux effortlessly, perfect for .NET developers or anyone needing Windows tools in a Linux environment. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Currency converter in Rust + WebAssembly
    Then we need to modify Cargo.toml file located in your folder that you created with the above command, right click and edit I use notepad++ (to download notepad++ use this link (https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) so you will get the option to edit file directly. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • What I learned from my NodeJS course (part 1)
    Always working in the js-fundamentals.js file Open the file with any text editor. For now, use Notepad++. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • 6 free Markdown (.md) WYSIWYG desktop Editors – Part3
    Where to get it: Https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ Plugin: inside Plugin Admin. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Hack WKHTMLTOPDF PDF to enable Adobe Acrobat Field Editing
    This issue was a difficult to research, but I did find a complaint on GitHub. The problem is due to the fact that an "interactive" flag is missing, but I don't believe that this is even a feature within WKHTMLTOPDF (apart from the --enable-forms option). WK also generates a 1.4 versioned PDF. Is the interactive option even available in v1.4 PDFs? The hack to make PDFs compatible with Adobe Acrobat required... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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Kakoune mentions (10)

  • Show HN: Ki Editor
    Fascinating idea! To summarize for those who know [Kakoune](https://github.com/mawww/kakoune), the idea is that every command has the form ["selection mode" -> "movement" -> "action"](https://ki-editor.github.io/ki-editor/comparisons/modal-editors.html) instead of Kakoune's movement->action. So, instead of having separate commands for "next character", "next word", "next structural element", there is one command... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Helix: Release 24.03 Highlights
    Helix's modal editing is based on Kakoune's modal editing which is like an evolution to Vim's modal editing. You can think of it as being always in selection (visual) mode. https://github.com/mawww/kakoune?tab=readme-ov-file#selectio.... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • I don't need your query language
    You might like kakoune (https://github.com/mawww/kakoune), which does exactly that: first you select the range (which can even be disjoint, e.g. All words matching a regex), then you operate on it. By default, the selected range is the character under cursor, and multiple cursors work out of the box. It also generally follows the Unix philosophy, e.g. By using shell... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • I use nano BTW.
    It might be worth checking out kakoune if you are experimenting with editors. It’s supposed to be equally powerful to vim but much easier to learn. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Mle is a small, flexible, terminal-based text editor written in C
    For that, try Kakoune[1], which is modal with a mostly-postfix language instead of vi's usually-prefix one and uses this to also be a multiple-selections editor with immediate visual feedback. It falls too much into the uncanny valley of almost-but-not-quite-vi for some people, though. [1] https://kakoune.org/, https://github.com/mawww/kakoune. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Notepad++ and Kakoune, you can also consider the following products

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.

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

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

Light Table - Light Table is a new interactive IDE that lets you modify running programs and embed anything from...

GNOME - An easy and elegant way to use your computer, GNOME is designed to put you in control and get things done.

GNU Emacs - GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more.