Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Notepad++ VS Side Space

Compare Notepad++ VS Side Space and see what are their differences

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Notepad++ logo Notepad++

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

Side Space logo Side Space

The World's First Al Assistant for Your Tabs
  • Notepad++ Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-07
  • Side Space
    Image date //
    2025-11-17
  • Side Space
    Image date //
    2025-05-13

An Al-powered vertical tabs manager in your side panel.

An alternative to Arcโ€™s Sidebar and Edgeโ€™s Vertical Tabs โ€” now upgraded with a built-in AI assistant.

Side Space gives you complete control over your browsing experience with powerful vertical tab management and Side Copilot, an AI that helps you research, organize, and automate your workflow directly from the side panel.

๐Ÿš€ How do vertical tabs work?

When vertical tabs are enabled, your open tabs are moved from the top of the browser window to the left side panel. This layout stacks tabs vertically instead of horizontally, giving you more space, better visibility, and easier navigationโ€”especially when working with many tabs.

โœจ Features

  • โšก๏ธ Vertical Tabs Panel โ€” Manage tabs and tab groups efficiently in a clean, space-saving sidebar.
  • ๐Ÿ—‚๏ธ Save, restore, and reorder tabs or tab groups with intuitive drag-and-drop.
  • ๐Ÿ”„ Side-by-side layout that keeps all your open tabs visible at a glance.
  • ๐Ÿ” Fuzzy search to instantly find the tab you're looking for.
  • ๐Ÿงน Suspend tabs to save memory and keep your browser running smoothly.
  • โ˜๏ธ Cloud sync (cross-browser) with a single login.
  • ๐ŸŒ› Dark Mode support.
  • ๐Ÿ’พ Space Backup Solutions

    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Export sessions as JSON
    • โ˜๏ธ Sync to the cloud via login
  • โœจ AI-powered Tab Grouping for automatically organizing related tabs.

  • ๐Ÿ”— Group Guardian automatically groups tabs based on URL patterns.

๐Ÿค– Introducing Side Copilot โ€” Your AI Assistant in the Side Panel

Side Copilot brings AI directly into your browsing workflow:

  • Ask questions about the page you're viewing
  • Research topics with auto-opened results
  • Summarize long articles instantly
  • Organize tabs and windows through natural language commands
  • Trigger automated actions across your browser

Just open AI Chat in the extension and start talking to your browser โ€” it does the rest.

Notepad++

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Side Space

$ Details
Free Trial $39.0 / One-off
Platforms
Google Chrome Firefox Edge Brave Comet Opera
Release Date
2023 October
Startup details
Country
Hong Kong
Founder(s)
Robert Shaw
Employees
1 - 9

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.

Side Space features and specs

  • ๐ŸŒˆ Arc-like Side Panel
    Weโ€™ve built an Arc-like side panel that transforms your tabs into a sleek vertical layout, making it easier than ever to navigate and manage your workspace.
  • ๐Ÿง  Smart AI Grouping
    Itโ€™s not just about organizing tabsโ€”itโ€™s about doing it intelligently. Our AI grouping feature clusters tabs based on content for a streamlined experience. Plus, you have control with our Group Guardian feature, letting you customize tab groupings using URL matches to set your own organizational rules.
  • โ˜๏ธ Spaces & Cloud Sync
    Take productivity to the next level! Save your tabs into different Spaces and we automatically sync them to the cloud. Your organized tabs are accessible across devices, so you can browse seamlessly wherever you are.
  • ๐Ÿค– AI Assistant
    Research, summarize, and organize, chat with your tabs and let Al Assistant help you browse smarter.

Analysis of Notepad++

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Notepad++ is considered a good editor for both programmers and general users who need a reliable and feature-rich text editing tool.

Why this product is good

  • Notepad++ is a popular text and code editor due to its lightweight design, wide array of features, and support for numerous programming languages. It offers syntax highlighting, macro recording, customizable interfaces, and plugin support, making it highly versatile for various coding and text editing tasks. Its open-source nature allows for community-driven improvements, and it runs efficiently on Windows systems without consuming significant resources.

Recommended for

    Notepad++ is recommended for programmers, developers, and writers who need a robust text editor with advanced features. It's ideal for anyone using Windows who wants a free, efficient, and customizable editing solution capable of handling a wide range of file types and coding languages.

Analysis of Side Space

Overall verdict

  • SideSpace is a well-regarded browser productivity tool that helps users organize their tabs and workspaces efficiently, making it a solid choice for anyone who struggles with tab overload.

Why this product is good

  • Helps organize and group browser tabs into dedicated spaces, reducing clutter
  • Improves productivity by allowing quick switching between different projects or contexts
  • Offers a clean, intuitive interface that's easy to adopt
  • Saves and restores tab sessions so you never lose your place
  • Reduces memory usage by managing inactive tabs effectively

Recommended for

  • Power users who juggle many browser tabs at once
  • Professionals managing multiple projects or clients simultaneously
  • Researchers and students who need to organize reference materials
  • Remote workers seeking better digital workspace organization
  • Anyone prone to tab overload looking to streamline their browsing

Notepad++ videos

Notepad++ Review

More videos:

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

Side Space videos

Side Space 2.0 | The World First AI Assistant for your Tabs

More videos:

  • Demo - Introducing Side Space 1.0

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Notepad++ and Side Space)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Chrome Extensions
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Notepad++ and Side Space.

What makes your product unique?

Side Space's answer:

Side Space combines powerful vertical tab management with an integrated AI assistant, that's something no other browser extension offers.

Instead of choosing between a better tab manager or an AI browser, Side Space gives you both in one clean side panel.

What's the story behind your product?

Side Space's answer:

I am the kind of person who always ends up with too many tabs, too many windows, and no idea where that one page I read yesterday has gone. I tried a bunch of the new AI browsers, but they all felt like replacements for tools I already rely on. I didnโ€™t want a new browser. I just wanted my existing one to feel less chaotic.

So I built Side Copilot for myself first. It helps me manage tabs, jump between windows, find stuff I opened days ago, and generally clean up the mess I constantly create. The thing that changed everything for me was giving it the ability to understand natural commands. I can tell it to group my research tabs or bring back an article from last week and it actually does it. It also has a simple chat mode for quick summaries or translating a page on the spot.

I realized it solved a real problem for me, so I decided to make Side Copilot completely free. Iโ€™m curious how other heavy browser users feel about this. Would an assistant like this make your browsing less stressful?

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Side Space's answer:

  1. The worldโ€™s first AI assistant built for your tabs

Most AI tools only analyze text. Side Copilot controls your tabs, windows, history, and pages using real browser APIs. You can research, summarize, organize, open sites, perform searches, restore sessions, and automate actions โ€” all with natural language.

  1. A true vertical tabs manager, not a browser replacement

You donโ€™t need to switch to Arc or Edge. Side Space turns Chromeโ€™s side panel into a clean vertical tabs system with:

Drag-and-drop tab & group management

Fuzzy search

Memory-saving tab suspension

Saved spaces & session restore

Cloud sync

Dark mode

You get a modern browser experience without leaving Chrome.

  1. Dual AI modes for different tasks

Chat Mode โ†’ instant content analysis (summary, translation, extraction, quick answers)

Agent Mode โ†’ deep automation (organize tabs, clean up windows, run research workflows)

Fast when you need speed, powerful when you need automation.

  1. Page, tab, window, and history tools powered by real browser capabilities

Side Copilot isnโ€™t โ€œjust another chatbot.โ€ It uses more than 20 AI MCP tools built on Chrome Extension APIs:

Tab tools: create, close, group, move

Window tools: tile, arrange, focus

History tools: analyze, find, reopen past pages

Page interaction tools: scroll, navigate, search, capture screenshots

Session tools: restore recently closed tabs/windows

This gives Side Space automation capabilities even AI browsers donโ€™t have.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Side Space's answer:

Side Space is designed for anyone who works, researches, or creates directly in the browser โ€” especially those who manage dozens of tabs every day. If the browser is your workspace, this is for you.

Productivity-Driven Professionals

Marketers, PMs, developers, designers, analysts โ€” anyone who needs a smarter, faster way to organize tabs, windows, and workflows.

Power Browsers with Endless Tabs

For users juggling 20โ€“200+ tabs across multiple windows. Side Space brings structure, clarity, and smart automation without forcing you to switch browsers.

AI-Forward Users

If you want to control your browser with natural language, automate tasks, and let Side Copilot handle the heavy lifting, this is your perfect tool.

Researchers & Knowledge Workers

Students, academics, journalists, content creators, and anyone who collects and analyzes information online. Summarize, extract, search, and research pages instantly.

People Who Want Arc/Edge-Style Features โ€” But in Chrome

Enjoy a vertical tabs manager, powerful side panel, and full AI assistant experience without giving up the browser you already love.

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 Side Space

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!


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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.

Side Space Reviews

We have no reviews of Side Space yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Notepad++ seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 176 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++ mentions (176)

  • Microsoft dumps AI into Notepad as 'Copilot all the things' mania takes hold
    I would like to recommend notepad++. It does the job and I especially like it for multi-document and the other feautures like regex replace and plugins, etc... https://notepad-plus-plus.org. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • 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 / over 1 year 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 / over 1 year 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 / over 1 year ago
  • 6 free Markdown (.md) WYSIWYG desktop Editors โ€“ Part3
    Where to get it: Https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ Plugin: inside Plugin Admin. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

Side Space mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Side Space yet. Tracking of Side Space recommendations started around Feb 2024.

What are some alternatives?

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

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

OneTab - Whenever you find yourself with too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all of your tabs into a list. When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once.

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.

Workona - A better way to work in the browser.

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

tabExtend - Easily save tabs and quickly create notes in your browser