Alternatives to Microsoft Visual Studio for all platforms with any license

  • Visual Studio Code

    Code combines the streamlined UI of a modern editor with rich code assistance and navigation, and an integrated debugging experience – without the need for a full IDE.

    • VSC is a text editor and not a solid IDE Guest • Mar 2019 • 26 agrees and 7 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Visual Studio Code is a text editor based on electron.js just like Atom. Guest • Jul 2018 • 37 agrees and 10 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It's maybe not as capable as the real VS. But it's still a great environment and with a couple of extensions it can do a lot of things VS can. Ola • May 2019 • 8 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It has all kinds of extensions, it's open source, it has a lot of features similar to Visual Studio and it's one of the top IDEs. Guest • Jul 2019 • 2 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • As being said, VS Code is a code editor, not an IDE. Microsoft does not say it's an IDE. It's like Notepad++ in stylish. It's great to write little scripts, small programs with a manageable amount of code files and co-workers. Show me a development studio where developers are working on a huge project, on say 200 programmers with only VS Code....of course, and pigs can fly. :) Guest • Aug 2019 • 1 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • As others have stated, it's merely a text editor, apparently with intrusive telemetry built in by default. Guest • Sep 2019 • 0 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Visual Studio is a massive work horse. VS code is simpler, lighter and more nimble with major focus on editing your code. It's plugin system allows you to add just the right enough horsepower to get the job done without overkill. Guest • Sep 2018 • 4 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Visual Studio is an IDE. VS Code is a text editor. A text editor is a component of an IDE, not a full-blown replacement Guest • May 2019 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Visual studio is a full IDE. Visual studio code is a text editor program. Guest • May 2019 Disagree   Agree
    • Visual studio code is a text editor Guest • Mar 2017 • 11 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Still powerful tool with so much smaller size. Guest • Apr 2017 • 8 agrees and 7 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux Chrome OS Electron / Atom Shell

    Extensible by Plugins/Extensions Lightweight Built-in Terminal Autocompletion ... Intellisense Customizable Syntax Highlighting Code completion GIT support Plugins C++ support C# Scripting C support Graphical interface IDE Support for Javascript MarkDown support Multiple cursors Night mode/Dark Theme Ruby support Source code debugging Supports loads of file formats Supports Python Bugs Code formatting Code navigation Color coding of code Electron based Embedded debugger Extensible by Plugins/Extensions Extensions Git integration Mercurial support Minimap PHP IDE Remote Debugging Run Android Apps on Desktop Support for NodeJS Version and Source control Add a feature

    Visual Studio Code icon

  • Eclipse

    Eclipse is an extensible development platform with runtimes and application frameworks for building, deploying and managing software across the entire software...

    • Eclipse supports multiple languages, looks good too Guest • Dec 2018 • 10 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • One is for Java and the other is for C# Guest • Jul 2016 • 10 agrees and 32 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    Extensible by Plugins/Extensions IDE Python Developer Tools ... Java IDE Refactoring Autocompletion Collaborative Workspaces Debugger IDE Java Php Rich Client Platform Ruby SCM Integration Support for Themes Add a feature

    Eclipse icon

  • Apache NetBeans

    A free, open-source Integrated Development Environment for software developers. You get all the tools you need to create professional desktop, enterprise, web, and...

    • NetBeans is an IDE, but it doesn't work for .NET languages so it's hard to call it a viable alternative. bigbear • Jan 2019 • 6 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Free and Open Source Software. Changing leadership from Oracle to Apache Foundation. brandomettout • Jun 2017 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It's for MS-Windows, MacOSX and Linux too! You can make projects independent of the OS. Guest • Feb 2017 • 2 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux BSD

    Java IDE Built-in Terminal Beauty and fluid interface Code completion ... Code formatting Embedded debugger GIT support IDE Multiple languages Refactoring Simple installation Automatic Indentation Compiled Language Cross-platform Support for FTP IDE Ide integration Java Php PHP IDE Ruby Source code history Support for SVN Syntax Highlighting Page refresh Add a feature

    Apache NetBeans icon

  • MonoDevelop

    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...

    • .NET functionality, good code recommendations Guest • Jul 2019 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Has to be built from source before it'll run on Windows. Guest • Jan 2020 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Monodevelop, even though only for .NET languages (as far as i know) is probably the closest to Visual studio I have tried. Also, GTK# is awesome! Guest • 13 days ago Disagree   Agree
    • It provides not only the most similar interface but also the most similar tools Guest • 12 days ago Disagree   Agree
    • I've used MonoDevelop extensively for C# work in Linux. It can work with Visual Studio projects, and much of the shortcut key mappings match Visual Studio. Support for WinForms is available, but there is no viable GUI layout tool/functionality available. A pity that there's no XAML/WPF support under Linux.... Guest • Oct 2017 • 3 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It is specifically for C# like Visual Studio is mostly used for Guest • Nov 2016 • 9 agrees and 4 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux .NET Framework Xamarin Studio

    Code completion Intellisense Unity Integration Nuget ... Syntax Highlighting Visual Programming Add a feature

    MonoDevelop icon

  • Qt Creator

    Qt Creator is a cross-platform C++, JavaScript and QML integrated development environment which is part of the SDK for the Qt...

    • It has A lot of really use full tools and you can install many extensions and even support for other programming languages then python,c++ etc Guest • Feb 2020 • 1 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Does not support C# as they believe "it is not widely used enough" pfft ichimitch • Mar 2019 • 0 agrees and 7 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Found everything in Qt Creator for Linux that is in VS for Windows. Guest • Jan 2017 • 3 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • At first, intelligent search ib QtCreator is much better than the Microsoft's IntelliSens. Hot keys combinations are more simple and more intuitive. It looks for me more simple and intuitively clear at all. Guest • Dec 2016 • 5 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • For C++ development, QT Creator is a lot less bloated. It is fast and has all the necessary features. There is just too much unnecessary crap in VisualStudio making it slow as hell when running on a slightly older machine and also takes up gigs of disk space. Guest • Jun 2016 • 6 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Commercial $ $ $ Open Source Mac Windows Linux BSD

    Autocompletion Build system Visual studio intergration Code formatting ... Debugger IDE QT Based Refactoring Syntax Highlighting Add a feature

    Qt Creator icon

  • IntelliJ IDEA

    IntelliJ IDEA is a free / commercial Java IDE by JetBrains. Its design is centered on programmer productivity. A number of its features are intended to accelerate...

    • This is only designed for Java not .net. Guest • Jan 2018 • 9 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Freemium $ $ $ Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    Code completion Go to definition Java IDE Java Support ... Language/SDK agnostic Auto Correction Built-in Terminal IDE Java Night mode/Dark Theme Static analysis Version and Source control WYSIWYG Support Add a feature

    IntelliJ IDEA icon

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  • SharpDevelop

    #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...

    • It's small, lightweight, specialized on .NET development (but C++ is available too), supports designing both WinForms and WPF and has NuGet support. Perfect IDE for lightweight C# developing (if you don't need to handle a team of 10000 employees working on 5 big projects) lordunknown • Sep 2017 • 3 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Only to a certain extent. Lacking many features and is no longer updated. Guest • Nov 2018 • 3 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It's very similar to it and size is very low! { Visual Studio - up to 3 GB / sharp Develop - Only Up to 15 MB in size } Guest • Oct 2016 • 5 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • N0 messy azure , no complex licensing Guest • Aug 2017 Disagree   Agree
    • free and lightweight for commercial use Guest • Aug 2017 Disagree   Agree
    • Very similar IDE for C# and VB.NET. Guest • Feb 2017 Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Windows .NET Framework

    C# Scripting GUI Designer Nuget Add a feature

    SharpDevelop icon

  • Android Studio

    Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. Similar to Eclipse with the ADT Plugin, Android Studio provides integrated Android...

    • No comparable at all, as Android is not Windows. Guest • Nov 2019 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • This is Best app for android developing Guest • May 2018 • 2 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Android studio only edits programs for Android (Java language), while Visual studio has a lot of language support built-in Guest • Sep 2016 • 16 agrees and 6 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • For specific Android deployment, the native IDE is the best. Guest • Jul 2017 • 2 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Android Studio is a Java IDE specifically designed for making android apps while Visual Studio is a full .NET IDE with many platforms available. Guest • Feb 2018 • 1 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Android Studio can only edit/create applcations for Android which is an Mobile Operating System developed by Google but you cannot edit VB.net or C# on Android Studio like you can on Visual Studio. SecurityChecker • Jun 2017 • 3 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux Chrome OS

    Android Development Java IDE Code completion Developer Tools ... IDE Integrated Android Emulator Visual Programming Xterm emulation Add a feature

    Android Studio icon

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Microsoft Visual Studio Comments

Comment by evan
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Jun 2011 · Helpful Not helpful 4 Helpful Report as spam

I wish it didn't install so much extra unnecessary crap. This app definitely suffers from a serious bloat issue. Other than that, it's great to work with.

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Comment by Guest
about Microsoft Visual Studio · May 2017 · 1 Helpful Report as spam

Supports wide range of languages. Useful extra extensions. Fast build times. Nice debugging options (JIT, Editable on run, etc.). Much customizable options

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Comment by crimsonbreakfast
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Dec 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

I like VS because it covers all my needs from SQL over ASP.NET to web apps.

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Comment by martenbjork_google
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Jun 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

A great, open-source code editor

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Comment by martenbjork_google
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Jun 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

My favorite editor with great extensions

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Comment by melnikov_sergey
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Feb 2019 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

Working horse. It just do what it supposed to do.

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Comment by Horizon
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Oct 2018 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

It's a seriously bloated program which will hopefully one day be superseded by Visual Studio Code. However, Visual Studio is still perhaps the best IDE.

Another big benefit is any developer who develops with C# is guaranteed to be using VS. This makes it much easier for teams to collaborate

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5/10

Comment by RemovedUser
about Microsoft Visual Studio and GNU Compiler Collection · Jan 2014 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

Maybe a powerful IDE, but it's too bloated without an option to opt out of the bloat, and obviously it doesn't support GCC and thus you're stuck with MSVC, which means C89 and only a small subset of the features of C++11.

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Comment by icarus1633
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Jun 2011 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

It keeps bugging you just like the paid version, read my comment on MSvs and you'll know what i'm talking about.

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Comment by icarus1633
about Microsoft Visual Studio · Jun 2011 · Helpful Not helpful Report as spam

It is a good one, but still has microsoft damned policies, you pay for it but it has not php mysql support, so you have to pay for a third party extension. it has a buddy debugger that really bugs you, yeah thats right, even when you uninstall it it still keeps bugging you. I don't know what it wants from your life but there it is until you change your windows, thats what i ended up with it, i search too many blogs and forums but there was no solutions to solve my buggy thingy.

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