Side by side
Notepad2 vs Poe
Both stand on text editors. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Windows
Notepad2 offers a focused Windows editing environment with broad syntax and encoding support, including portable use. Its single-document design, limited regular expressions and memory requirements for very large files define its boundaries.
Visit Notepad2 Free plan LinuxMacWindows
Poe centers on private, individual writing with offline access and focused editing tools. Choose Poe Pro when project management, narration, calendar, comments, reference tools, or ambient audio are needed.
Visit PoeThe facts
| Notepad2 | Poe | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Windows | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Poe Pro: $6.99 a year |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Maker | Notepad2 | Not published |
| Website | flos-freeware.ch | getpoe.com |
| On text editors | #50 of 82 | #46 of 82 |
Notepad2: what it does well
- Free and open source
- Syntax highlighting for many languages
- Portable operation without registry entries
- x86 and x64 downloads
- Can replace Windows Notepad
What to know first
- Windows only
- Single-document interface
- Regex search is limited to single lines
- Very large files can exhaust memory
Poe: what it does well
- Works offline without an account or cloud service
- Includes focus mode, timers, goals, and writing stats
- Project mode combines word counts across files
- Narrator offers selectable voices and adjustable speed
- No AI tools or user-data training
What to know first
- No mobile apps
- No publishing tools or real-time collaboration
- Saves content as Markdown
- Some features and searches require internet access