Free Arduino IDE AlternativesTop IDEs and other similar apps like Arduino IDE

The best free alternative to Arduino IDE is Microsoft Visual Studio. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try PlatformIO or Arduino Eclipse plugin. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Arduino IDE and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Arduino IDE are Visual Studio Code extension for Arduino, OneWare Studio, embedXcode and UECIDE.

Arduino IDE iconArduino IDE
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  • IDE
  • Free • Open Source
  • ...

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's...

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Arduino IDE alternatives page was last updated Jul 22, 2024
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  1. Microsoft Visual Studio icon

    Microsoft Visual Studio

     938 likes
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    Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for building diverse digital solutions. It supports over 36 programming languages, includes a code editor with IntelliSense, a debugger, and designers for GUI, web, and databases. The Community edition is free and integrates with GitHub Copilot.

    105 Microsoft Visual Studio alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • .NET Framework
    Microsoft Visual Studio screenshot 1

    Top Microsoft Visual Studio Features

    1.  Code Completion
    2.  Embedded debugger
    3.  NET Support
    4.  Nuget
    5.  VB.NET support
    6.  NET Framework
    7.  Syntax Highlighting
    8.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Autocompletion
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  No registration required

    Microsoft Visual Studio VS Arduino IDE

     

    • Some users think Microsoft Visual Studio is a great Arduino IDE alternative, some don't.

    • Microsoft Visual Studio is the most popular Web-based & Windows alternative to Arduino IDE.

    • Microsoft Visual Studio is the most popular free alternative to Arduino IDE.

    • Microsoft Visual Studio is Free Personal and ProprietaryArduino IDE is Free and Open Source
  2. PlatformIO icon

    PlatformIO

     51 likes
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    An open source ecosystem for IoT development. Cross-platform IDE and unified debugger. Remote unit testing and firmware updates.

    18 PlatformIO alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • EE flagEstonia
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • CLion
    • Visual Studio Code
    • Eclipse
    • Qt Creator
    • Vim
    • Sublime Text
    • GNU Emacs
    • NetBeans
    • Atom
    • Microsoft Visual Studio
    PlatformIO IDE for VSCode

    PlatformIO Features

    1.  Arduino
    2.  Code Completion
    3.  Internet of Things
    4.  Embeddable
    5.  Continuous Integration

    PlatformIO VS Arduino IDE

     
    Comments about PlatformIO as an Alternative to Arduino IDE
    jamilsonjunior
    Positive Mar 27, 2017
    0

    More complete than Arduino IDE.

    littlegreenrock
    Negative Jun 15, 2024
    0

    Installation and setup is impossible

    Arduino IDE Icon
    PlatformIO icon

    • Most users think PlatformIO is a great Arduino IDE alternative.

    • PlatformIO is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Arduino IDE.

    • PlatformIO is the most popular Open Source alternative to Arduino IDE.

    • PlatformIO is Free and Open SourceArduino IDE is also Free and Open Source

  4. Arduino Eclipse plugin

     10 likes
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    Where Arduino meets Eclipse.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Arduino IDE
    • Eclipse
    Arduino Eclipse plugin screenshot 1

    Arduino Eclipse plugin Features

    1.  Code Formatting
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Code Completion
    4.  Embedded debugger
    5.  Multiple languages
    6.  Arduino

    Arduino Eclipse plugin VS Arduino IDE

     
    Comments about Arduino Eclipse plugin as an Alternative to Arduino IDE
    Guest
    Positive May 26, 2018
    1

    It is a professional multiplatform extensible development environment that lets you create Arduino sketches at nearly the same ease as the Arduino IDE and keep nearly the full power of the professional development environment. Think about refactoring, unit testing, debugging...

    Guest
    Negative Nov 26, 2015
    -1

    Absolutely completely different

    Arduino IDE Icon

    • Most users think Arduino Eclipse plugin is a great Arduino IDE alternative.

    • Arduino Eclipse plugin is Free and Open SourceArduino IDE is also Free and Open Source
  5. Visual Studio Code extension for Arduino icon

    Visual Studio Code extension for Arduino

     2 likes
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    The Arduino extension makes it easy to code, build, deploy and debug your Arduino sketches in Visual Studio Code with IntelliSense, highlighting, board & library manager, and serial monitor.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code

    Visual Studio Code extension for Arduino Features

    1.  VSCode
    2.  Arduino
    3.  Debugging

    Visual Studio Code extension for Arduino VS Arduino IDE

     
  6. OneWare Studio icon

    OneWare Studio

     2 likes
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    OneWare Studio is the next generation IDE for electronics development. It supports a broad range of development languages including VHDL, Verilog, C++, and more. It is designed to streamline electronics development with features like a high-speed simulation viewer and advanced...

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    OneWare Studio screenshot 1

    OneWare Studio Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Syntax Highlighting
    4.  Ad-free

    OneWare Studio VS Arduino IDE

     
  7. embedXcode icon

    embedXcode

     9 likes
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    embedXcode is a template for Xcode. It eases development for the most popular embedded computing boards.

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Xcode
    embedXcode screenshot 1

    embedXcode Features

    1.  Arduino

    embedXcode VS Arduino IDE

     
  9. UECIDE icon

    UECIDE

     11 likes
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    Universal Embedded Computing IDE - UECIDE is aiming to be a generic IDE based on the Arduino IDE which can easilly support ALL the available boards.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    UECIDE screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The latest version (0.11.10) is from May 2021, and the official website is unavailable.

    UECIDE Features

    1.  JSON Pretty Print
    2.  Embeddable
    3.  Arduino
    4.  Binary file conversion

    UECIDE VS Arduino IDE

     
    Comments about UECIDE as an Alternative to Arduino IDE
    Guest
    Positive Sep 30, 2019
    1

    It supports the development of PIC µCs

    Arduino IDE Icon
    UECIDE icon
    • UECIDE is Free and Open SourceArduino IDE is also Free and Open Source
  10. Codecraft icon

    Codecraft

     1 like
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    Codecraft is a graphical programming platform based on Scratch 3.0 language. It enables programming by simply clicking “drag and drop” options.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Country of Origin

    • CN flagChina

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Codecraft screenshot 1

    Codecraft Features

    1.  Internet of Things
    2.  Arduino
    3.  Scratch-Block programming

    Codecraft VS Arduino IDE

     
  11. Visual Micro icon

    Visual Micro

     9 likes
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    Arduino IDE for Visual Studio and Atmel Studio Arduino developement plugin for Microsoft Visual Studio. A fully compatible alternative to Arduino IDE. The arduino plugin includes features such as:- arduino compiler, arduino upload to any board, full arduino library support, tutor.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Visual Micro screenshot 1

    Visual Micro Features

    1.  Debugging
    2.  Arduino

    Visual Micro VS Arduino IDE

     
  12. Zerynth icon

    Zerynth

     9 likes
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    A set of software tools for designing embedded applications and IoT connected devices using any 32-bit microcontrollers and connecting to any cloud infrastructure. All in Python & hybrid C/Python language.

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • IT flagItaly
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    Zerynth screenshot 1

    Zerynth Features

    1.  Arduino
    2.  Internet of Things
    3.  Python IDE

    Zerynth VS Arduino IDE

     

    • Zerynth is the most popular Android & iPhone alternative to Arduino IDE.

    • Zerynth is Freemium and ProprietaryArduino IDE is Free and Open Source
  13. Embeetle IDE icon

    Embeetle IDE

     Like
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    Embeetle is a new IDE for microcontrollers, built from scratch. It provides only the features you need for embedded programming, and makes those features intuitive.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Embeetle IDE screenshot 1

    Embeetle IDE Features

    1.  Arduino

    Embeetle IDE VS Arduino IDE

     
    Comments about Embeetle IDE as an Alternative to Arduino IDE
    Guest
    Positive Apr 22, 2021
    0

    Embeetle shows all the code files that are hidden in Arduino.

    Arduino IDE Icon
    Embeetle IDE icon
    • Embeetle IDE is Free and ProprietaryArduino IDE is Free and Open Source
  14. B4R icon

    B4R

     6 likes
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    Development tool for native Arduino programs.

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    B4R screenshot 1

    B4R Features

    1.  Portable

    B4R VS Arduino IDE

     
12 of 23 Arduino IDE alternatives