Visual Studio Express AlternativesIDEs and other similar apps like Visual Studio Express

Visual Studio Express is described as 'Edition is a slimmed-down version of Visual Studio only supporting C#, but is better for beginners' and is a IDE in the development category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Visual Studio Express for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, .NET Framework and Web-based apps. The best Visual Studio Express alternative is Visual Studio Code, which is free. Other great apps like Visual Studio Express are VSCodium, Microsoft Visual Studio, Apache NetBeans and Qt Creator.

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Visual Studio Express alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Visual Studio Code icon

    Visual Studio Code

     1369 likes
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    Free and extensible code editor with built-in Git support, smart IntelliSense, integrated debugger, 30,000+ extensions, works offline, supports markdown and syntax highlighting for numerous languages.

    200 Visual Studio Code alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Snapcraft
    Visual Studio Code screenshot 1
     

    • Visual Studio Code is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Visual Studio Express.

    • Visual Studio Code is the most popular free alternative to Visual Studio Express.

    • Visual Studio Code is Free and ProprietaryVisual Studio Express is also Free and Proprietary
    • Visual Studio Code is CustomizableVisual Studio Express is not according to our users
  2. VSCodium icon

    VSCodium

     395 likes
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    This repository contains a build file to generate FLOSS release binaries of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code - Open Source ("Code - OSS") project, the open source core of the proprietary Visual Studio Code.

    194 VSCodium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Electron
    • Snapcraft
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VSCodium screenshot 1
     

    • VSCodium is the most popular Open Source alternative to Visual Studio Express.

    • VSCodium is Free and Open SourceVisual Studio Express is Free and Proprietary
    • VSCodium is Customizable, Privacy focused and LightweightVisual Studio Express is not according to our users
  4. Microsoft Visual Studio icon

    Microsoft Visual Studio

     949 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.

    108 Microsoft Visual Studio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • .NET Framework
    Microsoft Visual Studio screenshot 1
     
  5. Apache NetBeans icon

    Apache NetBeans

     742 likes
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    A free, open-source Integrated Development Environment for software developers. You get all the tools you need to create professional desktop, enterprise, web, and mobile applications with the Java language, C/C++, and even dynamic languages such as PHP, JavaScript, Groovy, and...

    96 Apache NetBeans alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Editor
     
  6. Qt Creator icon

    Qt Creator

     112 likes
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    Qt Creator is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) built for the maximum developer experience. Qt Creator runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS desktop operating systems and allows developers to create software across desktop, mobile, and embedded platforms.

    129 Qt Creator alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Qt Creator screenshot 1
     

    • Qt Creator is the most popular commercial alternative to Visual Studio Express.

    • Qt Creator is Paid and Open SourceVisual Studio Express is Free and Proprietary
  7. MonoDevelop icon

    MonoDevelop

     127 likes
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    MonoDevelop enables developers to write desktop and web applications on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. It also makes it easy to port .NET applications created with Visual Studio to Linux and Mac OS X maintaining a single code base for all platforms.

    29 MonoDevelop alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • .NET Framework
    • Xamarin Studio
    MonoDevelop screenshot 1
     
  9. SharpDevelop icon

    SharpDevelop

     81 likes
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    #develop (short for SharpDevelop) is a free IDE for C#, VB.NET and Boo projects on Microsoft's .NET platform. It is open-source, and you can download both sourcecode and executables.

    25 SharpDevelop alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • .NET Framework
    SharpDevelop on Vista
     
  10. Komodo IDE icon

    Komodo IDE

     52 likes
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    Code smarter and faster with Komodo IDE, the cross-platform professional development environment for dynamic languages and open technologies. Komodo's award-winning feature set includes standard editor functionality like code formatting, commenting, auto-indent and syntax...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    UI with dark theme
     
  11. B4X icon

    B4X

     51 likes
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    Cross platform development tools for native iOS, Android, desktop and server applications. B4X is a Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool for real world apps. The programming language is a modern version of Visual Basic.

    71 B4X alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    IDE screenshot
     

    • B4X is the most popular Android, iPhone, iPad & Android Tablet alternative to Visual Studio Express.

    • B4X is Freemium and ProprietaryVisual Studio Express is Free and Proprietary
  12. Cevelop icon

    Cevelop

     12 likes
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    The C++ IDE for professional developers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Cevelop screenshot 1
     
  13. Xojo icon

    Xojo

     18 likes
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    Real Software and Real Studio are now Xojo. Create your own apps, like commercial or in house apps, games, utilities and more with Xojo! This object-oriented multi-platform development tool enables ordinary people to create extraordinary apps for the Desktop, Web, Console, and...

    37 Xojo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Xojo screenshot 1
     
  14. UEStudio icon

    UEStudio

     4 likes
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    UEStudio offers all the functionality of UltraEdit plus other exciting and powerful features! Whether you are simply editing text, building applications, maintaining databases, or constructing websites, UEStudio's stunning array of innovative features offers the...

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    UEStudio screenshot 1
     
12 of 25 Visual Studio Express alternatives