Learn Visual Studio Code in 15 minutes: 2026 Official Beginner Tutorial
By Visual Studio Code ·
Playing loads YouTube. YouTube will receive your IP address and device information.
Best Free IDEs 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best free IDEs compared: Visual Studio Code, VSCodium, Visual Studio, PyCharm and 2 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•4 min read•Code Editors, IDEs & Playgrounds
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Studio Code | Free (for private or commercial use per Microsoft's FAQ) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | One editor for many languages | Docs only |
| VSCodium | Free (community builds of VS Code source with telemetry disabled) | Windows, macOS, Linux | VS Code users who want an open-source build | Docs only |
| Visual Studio | Free (Community edition: free for individuals, up to five users in non-enterprise organizations, and unlimited users for classroom learning, academic research and open source; enterprises (over 250 PCs or over $1 million annual revenue) are limited to those uses); paid from $45 per user/month (Professional, monthly subscription) | Windows | Windows developers building .NET or C++ apps | Docs only |
| PyCharm | Free (Core features are free forever for commercial and non-commercial use per the FAQ; Pro adds Django, Flask, FastAPI, full Jupyter, remote development and database tools, with a 30-day trial) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Python projects that need a full IDE | Docs only |
| Eclipse IDE | Free (Free open-source software) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Java developers who want an open-source IDE | Docs only |
| IntelliJ IDEA | Free (Product page says IntelliJ IDEA is free, with 30 days of Ultimate included; which features need a subscription is not stated on that page) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Java and Kotlin developers who want refactoring tools | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
See the tools in action
Explore the interface and watch a workflow before choosing.
Good fit if
- You write in several languages (Visual Studio Code is the pick)
- You build .NET or C++ apps on Windows (Visual Studio is the pick)
- You write mainly Python (PyCharm is the pick)
- You want fully open-source tooling (Eclipse IDE is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
An IDE bundles an editor, a debugger and project tools, and the free options are good enough that few developers need to pay. The main split is between a full IDE and a lighter editor with plugins. Visual Studio Code and VSCodium are editors that become IDEs once you add language extensions, which keeps them fast and flexible but means you assemble the setup. Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA and Visual Studio come configured for particular languages: Eclipse and IntelliJ for Java, Visual Studio for .NET and C++. Their free editions cover a lot, but each draws a line. Visual Studio Community is free for individuals and for up to five users in non-enterprise organizations, and IntelliJ's product page offers a free tier with 30 days of Ultimate included. PyCharm's core features are free for commercial and non-commercial use, with the Pro edition adding web frameworks such as Django. If you work in a single language, the dedicated IDE usually gives better refactoring and debugging. If you jump between languages, a plugin-based editor means learning one tool. Memory use matters on older laptops, as the heavier IDEs can take noticeable time to start. Check the license terms before using a free edition at work, because some are free only for individuals or small teams.
Visual Studio Code
Free for private or commercial use per Microsoft's FAQ; the download is under a Microsoft product license, not the open-source repo license. Becomes an IDE through extensions for almost any language.
Price: Free (for private or commercial use per Microsoft's FAQ) (Visual Studio Code pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Web. Microsoft product license (source in the MIT-licensed Code - OSS repository).
Best for: One editor for many languages.
Worth knowing: The downloadable product is under a Microsoft license; the MIT license covers the separate Code - OSS repository.
Compare: Visual Studio Code alternatives
VSCodium
MIT-licensed builds of the VS Code source with telemetry disabled. Same interface as VS Code, but extensions come from Open VSX, so a few Microsoft-only extensions will not install.
Price: Free (community builds of VS Code source with telemetry disabled) (VSCodium pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 33.8k GitHub stars · latest release 1.143.17183 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: VS Code users who want an open-source build.
Worth knowing: It uses the Open VSX registry instead of Microsoft's Marketplace, so some extensions with restrictive licenses may not work.
Visual Studio
The Community edition is free for individuals, up to five users in non-enterprise organizations, and unlimited users in some cases. Heavy to install, but the strongest option for .NET and C++ on Windows.
Price: Free (Community edition: free for individuals, up to five users in non-enterprise organizations, and unlimited users for classroom learning, academic research and open source; enterprises (over 250 PCs or over $1 million annual revenue) are limited to those uses); paid from $45 per user/month (Professional, monthly subscription) (Visual Studio pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Windows developers building .NET or C++ apps.
Compare: Visual Studio alternatives
PyCharm
Core features are free forever for commercial and non-commercial use per the FAQ. Pro adds Django, Flask and FastAPI support. A full Python IDE with refactoring and debugging out of the box.
Price: Free (Core features are free forever for commercial and non-commercial use per the FAQ; Pro adds Django, Flask, FastAPI, full Jupyter, remote development and database tools, with a 30-day trial) (PyCharm pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Proprietary (JetBrains).
Best for: Python projects that need a full IDE.
Compare: PyCharm alternatives
Eclipse IDE
EPL-2.0 open-source IDE, free to download. Long established for Java through plug-ins; the interface feels older and the setup can take time, but there is no license fee.
Price: Free (Free open-source software) (Eclipse IDE pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. EPL-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 171 GitHub stars · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Java developers who want an open-source IDE.
Worth knowing: Licence is that of the eclipse.platform repo; individual plug-ins can differ.
IntelliJ IDEA
JetBrains says it is free, with 30 days of Ultimate included; the page does not list which features need a subscription. Well regarded for Java and Kotlin, so check the edition limits before relying on it.
Price: Free (Product page says IntelliJ IDEA is free, with 30 days of Ultimate included; which features need a subscription is not stated on that page) (IntelliJ IDEA pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Proprietary (JetBrains).
Best for: Java and Kotlin developers who want refactoring tools.
Which one to pick
- You write in several languages: Visual Studio Code
- You build .NET or C++ apps on Windows: Visual Studio
- You write mainly Python: PyCharm
- You want fully open-source tooling: Eclipse IDE
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Visual Studio Code, VSCodium, Visual Studio, PyCharm, Eclipse IDE, IntelliJ IDEA: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
Related guides
More in Code Editors, IDEs & Playgrounds
All Code Editors, IDEs & Playgrounds alternatives →Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Visual Studio Code, VSCodium, Visual Studio, PyCharm, Eclipse IDE, IntelliJ IDEA. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.