When comparing GNU grep vs PowerGREP, the Slant community recommends PowerGREP for most people. In the question“What are the best grep implementations for Windows?” PowerGREP is ranked 2nd while GNU grep is ranked 6th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great for people used to *NIX systems
Since it's pretty much the same grep used on UNIX systems, people who have used grep on any *NIX system will find themselves at home with the Windows version.
Pro It handles files of any size
At least in Linux.
Pro Price is reasonable for such a powerful tool.
Pro Easy to use GUI
PowerGREP has a very easy to use GUI, with a great preview mode that allows you to be sure on what you are replacing.
Pro Accessible from the right-click menu
You can easily search inside folders by right clicking them.
Pro Powerful data collection features
Pro Supports ZIP files
Cons
Con Cannot handle files
When searching through files with 10MB or more it starts having issues and even crashes depending on the file size and the machine it's running on.
Con Paid
PowerGREP is not free and costs at least 119 EUROS for a single license.