Notepad++ vs. PhpStorm

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Notepad++
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Notepad++ is a popular free and open source text editor available under the GPL license, featuring syntax highlighting and folding, auto-complete, multi-document management, and ac customizable GUI.N/A
PhpStorm
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
JetBrains supports PhpStorm, an integrated development environment (IDE).
$9.90
per month per user
Pricing
Notepad++PhpStorm
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
For Individuals
$99
per year per user
For Organizations
$249
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Notepad++PhpStorm
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Notepad++PhpStorm
Considered Both Products
Notepad++
Chose Notepad++
I use Notepad ++ when I'm using Windows OS, the difference is that I can have it installed on the OS or running on a pendrive.
PhpStorm
Chose PhpStorm
Notepad++ is exactly that, notepad on steriods. However, PHPStorm was designed specifically for PHP ( my language of choice ) and thus, common settings that I would have to tailor within Notepad++ ( ever time an update comes out, which is very often ), do not have to get reset …
Chose PhpStorm
Two things were decisive for choosing PhpStorm, and the first was the Education version since we were a university we were able to license for free, and the other was that we just had to use a single tool to develop our activities (coding, versioning), and operations in the …
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Notepad++PhpStorm
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User Ratings
Notepad++PhpStorm
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(62 ratings)
9.7
(20 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(4 ratings)
9.2
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
8.1
(15 ratings)
9.4
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Notepad++PhpStorm
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
well suited for 1) Coding and Development - Writing and editing code, Quick prototyping and testing of code snippets, Debugging and inspecting code using syntax highlighting and line numbering, 2) web development - Creating and editing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other web-related files .Managing and organizing web projects with multiple files and directories. Not suited for - 1) processing huge files 2) graphic designing 3) complex gui designs 3) Data Analysis and Manipulation - Editing and cleaning up text-based data files before importing them into analytical tools. Applying regular expressions to extract, transform, and manipulate data. 4) System Administration and IT - change system configuration file
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JetBrains
PhpStorm is well suited for any project that utilizes PHP. I have used it on Windows, Ubuntu, and Mac OS and it works great on all those platforms. Having a solution that keeps the developer from having to constantly switch tools to do their job is invaluable. Whether you're a junior developer, front end engineer or a senior developer, PhpStorm is a great product that will help you get your work done.
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Pros
Open Source
  • Notepad++ allows us to keep open files in tabs. Like in a web browser, these tabs let us access these files quickly and easily. Furthermore, even if we forget to save the files when closing the program or shutting down the PC, Notepad++ retains them in the open tabs when we reopen it.
  • Notepad++ supports many different file types. We usually save our files created in Notepad as normal text files, but sometimes as JSON, PHP, and HTML files.
  • Notepad++ is lightweight and requires little resources. Using it is snappy and responsive.
  • The developer of Notepad++ frequently updates the software with bug fixes, performance improvements and new features.
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JetBrains
  • Database browsing, Remote host browsing, and all the deep seated customizations for both the UI and Technical feasability are the result of an amazing integrity and compatibility with most components and technologies.
  • The built-in shell is insanely helpful for traversing code in order to debug scripts with ease, and the plug-in system makes this software quite extensible.
  • Not to mention the variety of options and settings (divided into global settings and per-project settings) are both intuitive & easy to use, especially the fact that I can export and import them across my workstations while maintaining my spacing & indentation, highlighting, inspection patterns and syntax styling.
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Cons
Open Source
  • UI looks a bit dated.
  • Sometimes the number of options are overwhelming and require a quick search to figure out where to locate a particular function.
  • Some way to do a diff between files would be great. Still need to resort to another paid app for that - unless it is a buried function I don't know about or there's a plugin for it.
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JetBrains
  • Some of the newest github copilot features lag behind what's being done in vs code and would be nice if more of the newer features were brought over though this has greatly improved recently
  • Interface can be a little overwhelming for newcomers
  • Some features like rainbow brackets should be native rather than addon
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Likelihood to Renew
Open Source
I use it every day for 13 years already and it never disappointed me
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JetBrains
No answers on this topic
Usability
Open Source
There are lot of features to talk about. Especially the usability is good. Everyone can easily to use and user-friendly. Can also update easily. Can also write and execute the programming languages like C, C++ etc. Encoding is also the major feature that helps me a lot and converter as well.
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JetBrains
PhpStorm is very easy to use, once you get the hang of it. It can take a while to get the hang of it because there's so many options, some of which are buried in the imposing settings panel. It could use some help with multi-cursor, especially multi-file editing but that's a minor gripe.
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Support Rating
Open Source
I haven't needed to utilize any support related to Notepad++. I guess this is a good thing because I found it to be quite intuitive. There are almost infinite features you can tweak and plugins you can download but I haven't had to do that because Notepad++ is really good right out of the box.
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JetBrains
The JetBrains community is all about helping others succeed, even in the most obscure setups. I have never had a question go unanswered, or I have never been able to come up with empty results in searching for the answer. My questions or concerns are typically address from other users in the community, so timing is pretty quick for a response
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Alternatives Considered
Open Source
Notepad for Windows, Microsoft Word...LibreOffice Writer....I have used all of these for code writing and editing. Once again I like the universal feel of Notepad++. Basic Notepad, is just that, basic...and kind of clunky for what it is. This is a cool that I have installed on all my computers and also keep it on a thumb drive if I need it elsewhere.
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JetBrains
Easier to use, more features, more reliable. Much more purpose built with specific integrations aimed directly at php code instead of the broad generic interfaces the other software have that are aiming to support many different languages.
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Return on Investment
Open Source
  • Productivity has increased for developers.
  • It's free so instead of buying a piece of software, you can use this to replace many of them that may only specialize in one thing.
  • It gives our developers confidence knowing they have such a reliable, free tool at their disposal.
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JetBrains
  • PhpStorm decreased the time to market of new features - we are following the Agile SCRUM methodology with 2 weeks sprints. Using PhpStorm helped with releasing UI features even faster than 2 weeks.
  • Considering the price of the license and the cost of the server where we run it, the ROI is still high due to less time spent by developers with writing code, debugging, refactoring etc. Especially when you have highly paid developers.
  • Increased people's happiness - by using a modern tool with lots of features which has made their work easier.
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ScreenShots