What is IntelliJ IDEA and what are its top alternatives?
IntelliJ IDEA is a popular integrated development environment (IDE) developed by JetBrains, designed for programming in Java, Kotlin, and other languages. It offers features such as code completion, refactoring tools, code analysis, and built-in version control support. However, IntelliJ IDEA can be resource-intensive and may have a steep learning curve for beginners.
- Eclipse: Eclipse is a widely-used open-source IDE with a strong focus on Java development. It offers a wide range of plugins and extensions for different programming languages and frameworks. Pros include its flexibility and large community support, but it can be less user-friendly than IntelliJ IDEA.
- Visual Studio Code: Visual Studio Code is a lightweight and versatile IDE developed by Microsoft, supporting a wide range of programming languages. Key features include a built-in terminal, Git integration, and extensive customization options. Pros include its speed and ease of use, but it may lack some advanced features found in IntelliJ IDEA.
- NetBeans: NetBeans is an open-source IDE primarily used for Java development, but supports other languages as well. It offers features such as smart code editing, project management tools, and support for multiple languages. Pros include its ease of use and comprehensive toolset, but it may be slower than IntelliJ IDEA in some cases.
- Atom: Atom is a modern and customizable IDE developed by GitHub, ideal for web development and other programming tasks. It features a sleek interface, built-in package manager, and support for multiple programming languages. Pros include its extensive plugin ecosystem and cross-platform compatibility, but it may lack some advanced features compared to IntelliJ IDEA.
- PyCharm: PyCharm is an IDE specifically tailored for Python development, offering advanced features such as code analysis, debugging tools, and support for web development frameworks. Pros include its strong support for Python development and integration with other JetBrains products, but it may be less versatile than IntelliJ IDEA for multi-language projects.
- Sublime Text: Sublime Text is a popular text editor with IDE-like features, known for its speed and simplicity. It supports customizations through plugins and themes, making it suitable for various programming tasks. Pros include its performance and extensive plugin ecosystem, but it may lack some advanced IDE features found in IntelliJ IDEA.
- Code::Blocks: Code::Blocks is an open-source IDE primarily used for C, C++, and Fortran development, featuring a simple and intuitive interface. It offers features such as project management tools, code completion, and syntax highlighting. Pros include its lightweight nature and multi-platform support, but it may have a less polished user experience compared to IntelliJ IDEA.
- CLion: CLion is an IntelliJ IDEA-based IDE specifically designed for C and C++ development, offering advanced features such as refactoring tools, code analysis, and integrated debugger. Pros include its strong support for C and C++ development and seamless integration with other JetBrains products, but it may have a steeper learning curve for beginners.
- Xcode: Xcode is an IDE developed by Apple for macOS and iOS development, featuring a comprehensive suite of tools for building and debugging apps. It offers features such as Interface Builder, storyboards, and integration with Apple's developer ecosystem. Pros include its seamless integration with Apple platforms and strong support for iOS development, but it may be limited in its applicability compared to IntelliJ IDEA.
- CodeLite: CodeLite is an open-source IDE primarily used for C, C++, and PHP development, offering features such as code completion, refactoring tools, and built-in debugger. Pros include its lightweight nature, cross-platform support, and extensive plugin support, but it may lack some advanced features found in IntelliJ IDEA for other programming languages.
Top Alternatives to IntelliJ IDEA
- Eclipse
Standard Eclipse package suited for Java and plug-in development plus adding new plugins; already includes Git, Marketplace Client, source code and developer documentation. Click here to file a bug against Eclipse Platform. ...
- PhpStorm
PhpStorm is a PHP IDE which keeps up with latest PHP & web languages trends, integrates a variety of modern tools, and brings even more extensibility with support for major PHP frameworks. ...
- Android Studio
Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready. ...
- PyCharm
PyCharm’s smart code editor provides first-class support for Python, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, CSS, popular template languages and more. Take advantage of language-aware code completion, error detection, and on-the-fly code fixes! ...
- WebStorm
WebStorm is a lightweight and intelligent IDE for front-end development and server-side JavaScript. ...
- NetBeans IDE
NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers. ...
- Visual Studio
Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications. ...
- GoLand
Cross-platform IDE focused on Go development. It makes it very easy to read, write and change the code. Out of the box support it supports technologies and databases such as Javascript, TypeScript, React, PostgresSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc. ...
IntelliJ IDEA alternatives & related posts
- Does it all131
- Integrates with most of tools76
- Easy to use64
- Java IDE63
- Best Java IDE32
- Open source9
- Hard for newbews3
- Great gdb integration2
- Professional2
- Good Git client allowing direct stage area edit2
- True open source with huge contribution2
- Great code suggestions2
- Extensible2
- Lightweight2
- Works with php0
- 2000 Design14
- Bad performance9
- Hard to use4
related Eclipse posts
UPDATE: Thanks for the great response. I am going to start with VSCode based on the open source and free version that will allow me to grow into other languages, but not cost me a license ..yet.
I have been working with software development for 12 years, but I am just beginning my journey to learn to code. I am starting with Python following the suggestion of some of my coworkers. They are split between Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA for IDEs that they use and PyCharm is new to me. Which IDE would you suggest for a beginner that will allow expansion to Java, JavaScript, and eventually AngularJS and possibly mobile applications?
Have been a Visual Studio Code user since just after launch to the general public, having used the likes of Eclipse and Atom previously. Was amazed how mature it seemed off the bat and was super intrigued by the bootstrapped nature of it having been written/based on Electron/TypeScript, and of course being an open-source app from Microsoft. The features, plugin ecosystem and release frequency are very impressive. I do dev work on both Mac and Windows and don't use anything else now as far as IDEs go.
- Best ide for php287
- Easy to use232
- Functionality218
- Plugins166
- Code analysis160
- Integrated version control87
- Great php ide for mac76
- All-round php ide73
- Local history62
- Themes53
- Best PHP IDE18
- Database control11
- Easy to find anything and everything in your code10
- Best bebugging9
- Best inspection variable9
- Command line integration7
- Great frameworks integration7
- PHPUnit integration7
- Getting Better7
- UX7
- Composer integration6
- Performance6
- Coolest IDE6
- Real time code validation5
- Easy to use and github interaction5
- Neat does the job and easy5
- Best ide for advanced php and symfony5
- Best ide for php4
- TypeScript support4
- Code indexing4
- It has no match. it filled one of the biggest void4
- Fast and relevant auto-complete4
- Great refactoring support4
- Cross platform4
- Integration with Vagrant and Docker3
- Debugger for Javascript3
- Good3
- Very good3
- Debugging in the Just-In-Time Mode2
- Perfect locahost / host sync2
- Awesome debugging features2
- Uses a lot of memory14
- Does not open large files10
- Slow9
- Uses Java machine8
- No way to change syntax highlight for files without ext3
- No save prompt or asterisk on file change2
related PhpStorm posts
I've been in the #frontend game for about 7 years now. I started coding in Sublime Text because all of the tutorials I was doing back then everyone was using it. I found the speed amazing compared to some other tools at the time. I kept using Sublime Text for about 4-5 years.
I find Sublime Text lacks some functionality, after all it is just a text editor rather than a full fledged IDE. I finally converted over to PhpStorm as I was working with Magento and Magento as you know is mainly #PHP based.
This was amazing all the features in PhpStorm I loved, the debugging features, and the control click feature when you click on a dependency or linked file it will take you to that file. It was great.
PhpStorm is kind of slow, I found that Prettier was taking a long time to format my code, and it just was lagging a lot so I was looking for alternatives. After watching some more tutorial videos I noticed that everyone was using Visual Studio Code. So I gave it a go, and its amazing.
It has support for everything I need with the plugins and the integration with Git is amazing. The speed of this IDE is blazing fast, and I wouldn't go back to using PhpStorm anymore. I highly recommend giving Visual Studio Code a try!
- Go because it's easy and simple, facilitates collaboration , and also it's fast, scalable, powerful.
- Visual Studio Code because it has one of the most sophisticated Go language support plugins.
- Vim because it's Vim
- Git because it's Git
- Docker and Docker Compose because it's quick and easy to have reproducible builds/tests with them
- Arch Linux because Docker for Mac/Win is a disaster for the human nervous system, and Arch is the coolest Linux distro so far
- Stack Overflow because of Copy-Paste Driven Development
- JavaScript and Python when a something needs to be coded for yesterday
- PhpStorm because it saves me like 300 "Ctrl+F" key strokes a minute
- cURL because terminal all the way
- Android studio is a great tool, getting better and bet176
- Google's official android ide103
- Intelligent code editor with lots of auto-completion37
- Its powerful and robust25
- Easy creating android app5
- Amazing Layout Designer3
- Great Code Tips3
- Great tool & very helpful3
- Easy to use2
- Built in Emulator2
- Keyboard Shortcuts are Amazing Out of the box2
- Slow emulator4
- Huge memory usage4
- Using Intellij IDEA, while Intellij IDEA have too2
- Complex for begginers2
- No checking incompatibilities2
- Lags behind IntelliJ IDEA1
- Slow release process1
related Android Studio posts
As a Engineering Manager & Director at SmartZip, I had a mix of front-end, back-end, #mobile engineers reporting to me.
Sprints after sprints, I noticed some inefficiencies on the MobileDev side. People working multiple sprints in a row on their Xcode / Objective-C codebase while some others were working on Android Studio. After which, QA & Product ensured both applications were in sync, on a UI/UX standpoint, creating addional work, which also happened to be extremely costly.
Our resources being so limited, my role was to stop this bleeding and keep my team productive and their time, valuable.
After some analysis, discussions, proof of concepts... etc. We decided to move to a single codebase using React Native so our velocity would increase.
After some initial investment, our initial assumptions were confirmed and we indeed started to ship features a lot faster than ever before. Also, our engineers found a way to perform this upgrade incrementally, so the initial platform-specific codebase wouldn't have to entirely be rewritten at once but only gradually and at will.
Feedback around React Native was very positive. And I doubt - for the kind of application we had - no one would want to go back to two or more code bases. Our application was still as Native as it gets. And no feature or device capability was compromised.
In my modest opinion, Flutter is the future of mobile development. The framework is as important to mobile as React is to the web. And seeing that React Native does not finish taking off, I am focusing all my efforts on learning Flutter and Dart. The ecosystem is amazing. The community is crazy about Flutter. There are enough resources to learn and enjoy the framework, and the tools developed to work with it are amazing. Android Studio or Visual Studio Code has incredible plugins and Dart is a pretty straight forward and easy-to-learn language, even more, if you came from JavaScript. I admit it. I'm in love with Flutter. When you are not a designer, having a framework focused on design an pretty things is a must. And counting with tools like #flare for animations makes everything easier. It is so amazing that I wish I had a big mobile project right now at work just to use Flutter.
- Smart auto-completion112
- Intelligent code analysis93
- Powerful refactoring77
- Virtualenv integration60
- Git integration54
- Support for Django22
- Multi-database integration11
- VIM integration7
- Vagrant integration4
- In-tool Bash and Python shell3
- Plugin architecture2
- Docker2
- Django Implemented1
- Debug mode support docker1
- Emacs keybinds1
- Perforce integration1
- Slow startup10
- Not very flexible7
- Resource hog6
- Periodic slow menu response3
- Pricey for full features1
related PyCharm posts
UPDATE: Thanks for the great response. I am going to start with VSCode based on the open source and free version that will allow me to grow into other languages, but not cost me a license ..yet.
I have been working with software development for 12 years, but I am just beginning my journey to learn to code. I am starting with Python following the suggestion of some of my coworkers. They are split between Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA for IDEs that they use and PyCharm is new to me. Which IDE would you suggest for a beginner that will allow expansion to Java, JavaScript, and eventually AngularJS and possibly mobile applications?
I am a QA heading to a new company where they all generally use Visual Studio Code, my experience is with IntelliJ IDEA and PyCharm. The language they use is JavaScript and so I will be writing my test framework in javaScript so the devs can more easily write tests without context switching.
My 2 questions: Does VS Code have Cucumber Plugins allowing me to write behave tests? And more importantly, does VS Code have the same refactoring tools that IntelliJ IDEA has? I love that I have easy access to a range of tools that allow me to refactor and simplify my code, making code writing really easy.
- Intelligent ide187
- Smart development environment128
- Easy js debugging108
- Code inspection97
- Support for the Latest Technologies95
- Created by jetbrains55
- Cross-platform ide53
- Integration36
- Spellchecker30
- Language Mixing/Injection24
- Debugger11
- Local History10
- Web developer can't live without this8
- Fast search7
- Git support7
- Angular.js support6
- Sass autocompletion6
- Better refactoring options5
- FTP5
- There is no need to setup plugins (all from the box)5
- Show color on the border next to hex string in CSS5
- Smart autocompletion5
- JSON Schema5
- Awesome5
- Built-in js debugger5
- Running and debugging Node.js apps remotely5
- Easy to use4
- A modern IDE stuck in the 90s4
- TypeScript support4
- Smart coding assistance for React4
- Node.js integration4
- 1114
- Protractor support out of the box4
- Intelligent4
- Paid but easy to crack4
- Dart support3
- Solid intelligent features3
- Great app3
- Integrated terminal3
- Vagrant and SSH Console3
- Free for students3
- Unused imports inspection3
- Docker intergration3
- Remote Files Syncronization2
- Grate debug tools for React Apps2
- Easier to keep running than eclipse2
- Auto imports1
- Vim support1
- Rename helpers1
- Auto refactoring helpers1
- Less autocompletion1
- GIT partial commits1
- Paid4
- Expensive1
related WebStorm posts
When I switched to Visual Studio Code 12 months ago from PhpStorm I was in love, it was great. However after using VS Code for a year, I see myself switching back and forth between WebStorm and VS Code. The VS Code plugins are great however I notice Prettier, auto importing of components and linking to the definitions often break, and I have to restart VS Code multiple times a week and sometimes a day.
We use Ruby here so I do like that Visual Studio Code highlights that for me out of the box, with WebStorm I'd need to probably also install RubyMine and have 2 IDE's going at the same time.
Should I stick with Visual Studio Code, or switch to something else? #help
We use Prettier because when we rebooted our front-end stack, I decided that it would be an efficient use of our time to not worry about code formatting issues and personal preferences during peer review. Prettier eliminates this concern by auto-formatting our code to a deterministic output. We use it along with ESLint and have 1st-class support in our WebStorm and Visual Studio Code editors.
NetBeans IDE
- Rich features76
- Crossplatform69
- Plugins(Git, SVN)49
- Easy to use38
- Extensible38
- PHP Support35
- Java support34
- File History28
- Code analysis21
- MySQL support18
- Free14
- Open source14
- Code completion10
- Strong Maven Support9
- NodeJs support8
- Webdev king6
- Easy maven project start6
- Best6
- Jira Plugin4
- Foss4
- Out of the box integration with maven, git, svn3
- History of changes, friendly tabs3
- Mandatory3
- Intuitive ui2
- Chrome plugin to live update javascript from browser2
- Groovy support2
- Native Nette support2
- I don't like NetBeans2
- Smarty support2
- Visual GUI Builder for Swing / AWT2
- Custom html tags support2
- Powerful refactoring1
- Composer commands inside IDE1
- PHP debug doesn't support conditional breakpoints2
related NetBeans IDE posts
Visual Studio
- Intellisense, ui305
- Complete ide and debugger244
- Plug-ins165
- Integrated104
- Documentation93
- Fast37
- Node tools for visual studio (ntvs)35
- Free Community edition33
- Simple24
- Bug free17
- Made by Microsoft8
- Full free community version6
- JetBrains plugins (ReSharper etc.) work sufficiently OK5
- Productivity Power Tools3
- Vim mode2
- VIM integration2
- I develop UWP apps and Intellisense is super useful1
- Cross platform development1
- The Power and Easiness to Do anything in any.. language1
- Available for Mac and Windows1
- Bulky16
- Made by Microsoft14
- Sometimes you need to restart to finish an update6
- Too much size for disk3
- Only avalible on Windows3
related Visual Studio posts
I use C# because of the ease of designing user interfaces compared to Java. Using Visual Studio makes C# a breeze for prototyping and creating apps and I really appreciate how quickly I can turn an idea into reality. I was first introduced to C# in a special topics course and quickly started preferring it over Java. The similarities between the two made the switch easy while the added benefits C# offers made it very worth it.
I use TypeScript because it greatly simplify my refactoring efforts. I regularly re-validate my assumption about application architecture, and strictness of types allow me write make changes safely using just Visual Studio tooling. Integration with existing JavaScript libraries very simple and fast. If I have no time, I could just use any
type as output of JS module. When I have more time, I could just submit PR to DefinitelyTyped and it would be quickly accepted. Overall it gives less ambiguity for my code.
- Auto-completion that is fast and comprehensive4
- Refactoring is efficient and has a simple UI4
- Git interaction becomes very simple and fast2
- Not free2
related GoLand posts
YouTrack feels much more lightweight than Jira and additionally have all of features that Jira have, of course lacks at some analytics features, but it's more powerful at permission management and agile workflow. Additionally YouTrack have awesome integration with other JetBrains products such as incoming JetBrains Space and all other IDEs such as GoLand.