Eclipse vs IntelliJ IDEA vs NetBeans IDE

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Eclipse

2.6K
2.3K
+ 1
392
IntelliJ IDEA

43.2K
36.2K
+ 1
1.5K
NetBeans IDE

686
946
+ 1
514

Eclipse vs IntelliJ IDEA vs NetBeans IDE: What are the differences?

Key differences between Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE

Introduction:

In the domain of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE are three prominent options. Each of these IDEs has its own set of features and functionalities, which distinguish them from one another. In this Markdown document, we will highlight the key differences between these IDEs in a succinct manner.

  1. Compilation and Build Systems: Eclipse primarily uses its built-in Java Compiler (ECJ) for compilation and build process. On the other hand, IntelliJ IDEA and NetBeans IDE utilize the standard Java Compiler (javac). IntelliJ IDEA additionally offers seamless integration with Maven and Gradle build systems, providing more flexibility and convenience in project management.

  2. User Interface and Look-and-Feel: Eclipse provides a highly customizable user interface with a rich set of plugin options, which allows developers to tailor the IDE according to their preferences. IntelliJ IDEA, known for its sleek and modern design, offers a more streamlined and intuitive user interface with advanced coding assistance features. NetBeans IDE follows a visually appealing and user-friendly approach, making it ideal for beginners.

  3. Code Analysis and Refactoring Tools: IntelliJ IDEA stands out with its extensive code analysis and refactoring capabilities. It offers various tools, such as intelligent code completion, inspections, and quick-fixes, which help in writing clean and error-free code. Eclipse also provides these features but to a lesser extent compared to IntelliJ IDEA. NetBeans IDE offers a decent range of code analysis and refactoring tools, making it suitable for small to medium-sized projects.

  4. Support for Programming Languages: While Eclipse is primarily focused on Java development, it also provides support for other programming languages like C/C++ and Python through plugins. IntelliJ IDEA, apart from Java, offers excellent support for multiple programming languages such as Kotlin, JavaScript, and more. NetBeans IDE provides support for a wide range of programming languages, including Java, PHP, HTML, and C/C++.

  5. Version Control Systems Integration: All three IDEs (Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE) offer integration with popular version control systems like Git and SVN. However, IntelliJ IDEA provides more advanced features and built-in tools for version control, making it easier to manage and track code changes compared to Eclipse and NetBeans IDE.

  6. Plugins and Community Support: Eclipse boasts a vast collection of plugins and a thriving community that actively contributes to its ecosystem. It offers a wide array of plugins for almost any use case. IntelliJ IDEA, although it has a smaller plugin marketplace compared to Eclipse, has a strong community and is known for the quality and reliability of its plugins. NetBeans IDE also has a good number of plugins available, but it lags behind Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA in terms of community support.

In summary, Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE differ in various aspects such as compilation systems, user interface, code analysis and refactoring tools, support for programming languages, version control system integration, as well as the availability of plugins and community support. The choice between these IDEs depends on individual preferences, project requirements, and the desired level of functionality and flexibility.

Advice on Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE
christy craemer
Needs advice
on
EclipseEclipseIntelliJ IDEAIntelliJ IDEA
and
PyCharmPyCharm

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?

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Replies (12)
Vlad Vetsh
Recommends
on
Visual Studio CodeVisual Studio Code

Pycharm is great for python development, but can feel sometimes slow and community version has Somme very annoying restrictions (like they disabled jupyter notebooks plugin and made it premium feature). I personally started looking into VS Code as an alternative, and it has some very good potential. I suggest you take it into account.

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Recommends
on
PyCharmPyCharm

The Community version of PyCharm is free and should give you what you need to get started with Python. Both PyCharm and IntelliJ are made by JetBrains. IntelliJ is initially focused on Java but you can get plugins for lots of other things. I subscribe to JetBrains' Toolbox: https://www.jetbrains.com/toolbox-app/ and have access to all of their great tools.

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Recommends
on
Visual Studio CodeVisual Studio Code

Hi, I will give my opinion based on my experience. I have used PyCharm, both community and Professional version. The community has limited functions, like you can't use a Jupyter notebook whereas it's available in the Professional version. PyCharm is slower compared to Visual Studio Code. Also Visual Studio Code is an editor which supports various languages. I myself have used both Visual Studio Code and PyCharm. I feel Visual Studio Code would be better choice. You may as well decide based upon your requirements.

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Charles Nelson
Recommends
on
IntelliJ IDEAIntelliJ IDEA

I couldn't imagine using a development tool other than the IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate All Products Pack. A single license allows me to work directly on my server running Ubuntu and/or my workstation running Windows 10 Pro simultaneously. My current project uses HTML, W3CSS, JavaScript, Java, Groovy, Grails, C, GO, Python, Flask, and Rust. For me it's worth every penny of the $150 license fee. And you can try it for free.

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Ivan Martinez Morales
Software Engineer Intern · | 4 upvotes · 689.6K views
Recommends
on
Visual Studio CodeVisual Studio Code

I'd personally recommend Visual Studio Code as it gives you the flexibility of working in any language, so long as there are extensions to support it. It gives you the flexibility to learn Python, venture into Java, Javascript, and eventually AngularJS, and potentially mobile applications. It's also free and you can install it on your personal computer. I think Visual Studio Code would serve your intended use case best.

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awesomebanana2018
Recommends
on
Visual Studio CodeVisual Studio Code

Visual Studio code is easy to use, has a good UI, and a large community. Python works great with it, but unlike some other editors, it works with most languages either by default or by downloading a plugin. VS Code has built in linting, syntax coloring, autocompletes (IntelliSense), and an api for plugins to do there own tooling.

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Isaac Povey
Casual Software Engineer at Skedulo · | 3 upvotes · 689.7K views
Recommends
on
IntelliJ IDEAIntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ really is the best for Java, I switched from eclipse years ago and never looked back. As for javascript, python and angular either using the standalone products from jetbrains (pycharm for python, webstorm for js) or installing the relevant plugins for InteliJ will be your best bet. Pycharm etc. are really just InteliJ with some additional plugins installed.

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Pranshu Verma
Engineer at Cisco Systems · | 3 upvotes · 689.7K views
Recommends
on
PyCharmPyCharm

If you starting with Python then PyCharm is better. For Java I would suggest to go with IntelliJ IDEA but people also prefer eclipse so I would say try both and then decide. For JS/Angular/React I would suggest go with VSCode. I personally use it and prefer as its light weight and have good integration with chrome for frontend development.

PyCharm, IntelliJ IDEA are both products of JetBrains. They have a free (limited feature) and paid edition. Eclipse is free. VSCode is also free.

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Recommends
on
PyCharmPyCharm

Pycharm is all you need to get start coding in python or any of its framework. Its an awesome tool you should give it a try :)

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Brian Turner
System Architect at Mary's Watch, Inc. · | 1 upvotes · 689.6K views
Recommends
on
IntelliJ IDEAIntelliJ IDEA

Easy to learn and everything you need

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Recommends
on
PyCharmPyCharm

All three are great, however, I believe that IntelliJ IDEA's multiple IDE's are slightly more straight-forward and more up-to date than Eclipse. If I had to choose one specifically for Python projects I would go with PyCharm.

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Pritam Nandy
Engineering Manager at Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited · | 1 upvotes · 637.1K views
Recommends
on
PyCharmPyCharm

This is a very easy to use tool and gives you the opportunity to start coding right after the installation with almost everything setup automatically by the tool.

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Decisions about Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE
Samriddhi Sinha
Machine Learning Engineer at Chefling · | 6 upvotes · 1M views

Lightweight and versatile. Huge library of extensions that enable you to integrate a host of services to your development environment. VS Code's biggest strength is its library of extensions which enables it to directly compete with every single major IDE for almost all major programming languages.

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Manabu Tokunaga
CEO, Co-Founder at WinguMD · | 10 upvotes · 522.5K views

I originally chose IntelliJ over Eclipse, as it was close enough to the look and feel of Visual Studio and we do go back and forth between the two. We really begin to love IntelliJ and their suite of IDEs so we are now using AppCode for the IOS development because the workflow is identical with the IntelliJ. IntelliJ is super complex and intimidating at first but it does afford a lot of nice utilities to get us produce clean code.

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Pros of Eclipse
Pros of IntelliJ IDEA
Pros of NetBeans IDE
  • 131
    Does it all
  • 76
    Integrates with most of tools
  • 64
    Easy to use
  • 63
    Java IDE
  • 32
    Best Java IDE
  • 9
    Open source
  • 3
    Hard for newbews
  • 2
    Great gdb integration
  • 2
    Professional
  • 2
    Good Git client allowing direct stage area edit
  • 2
    True open source with huge contribution
  • 2
    Great code suggestions
  • 2
    Extensible
  • 2
    Lightweight
  • 0
    Works with php
  • 301
    Fantastically intelligent
  • 242
    Best-in-class ide
  • 190
    Many languages support
  • 158
    Java
  • 121
    Fast
  • 82
    Code analysis
  • 79
    Reliable
  • 76
    Out of the box integration with maven, git, svn
  • 64
    Plugin architecture
  • 61
    Integrated version control
  • 12
    Code refactoring support
  • 11
    Best java IDE
  • 7
    Local history
  • 6
    Code Completion
  • 6
    Kotlin
  • 6
    Integrated Database Navigator
  • 6
    Built-in terminal/run tools
  • 5
    All
  • 5
    Free for open-source development, students and teacher
  • 5
    Base for Android Studio
  • 5
    Free If you're a Student
  • 4
    ERD Diagrams
  • 4
    Free
  • 4
    Cross platform
  • 4
    IDE
  • 4
    Database/Code integration
  • 3
    Out Of The Box features
  • 3
    Column Selection Mode
  • 3
    Server and client-side debugger
  • 3
    More than enough languages for any developer
  • 3
    Typescript support
  • 3
    Multicursor support
  • 3
    Reformating Code
  • 3
    Intuitive
  • 3
    Command-line tools
  • 3
    Android Integration
  • 3
    Vim support
  • 3
    Special icons for most filetypes in project list
  • 3
    Supports many frameworks
  • 3
    Built-in web server
  • 3
    Live Templates
  • 3
    Scala support
  • 2
    Works fine with mac os catalina
  • 2
    A lot of plugin
  • 2
    Just works
  • 2
    Integrated Ssh/Ftp Managers
  • 2
    Full support
  • 2
    Task managers
  • 2
    Diff tools
  • 2
    File Watchers
  • 2
    Support for various package managers
  • 2
    Integrated Code Linting
  • 2
    Clean UI
  • 2
    Open source
  • 2
    So modernised
  • 2
    Efficient, one Stop solution
  • 76
    Rich features
  • 69
    Crossplatform
  • 49
    Plugins(Git, SVN)
  • 38
    Easy to use
  • 38
    Extensible
  • 35
    PHP Support
  • 34
    Java support
  • 28
    File History
  • 21
    Code analysis
  • 18
    MySQL support
  • 14
    Free
  • 14
    Open source
  • 10
    Code completion
  • 9
    Strong Maven Support
  • 8
    NodeJs support
  • 6
    Webdev king
  • 6
    Easy maven project start
  • 6
    Best
  • 4
    Jira Plugin
  • 4
    Foss
  • 3
    Out of the box integration with maven, git, svn
  • 3
    History of changes, friendly tabs
  • 3
    Mandatory
  • 2
    Intuitive ui
  • 2
    Chrome plugin to live update javascript from browser
  • 2
    Groovy support
  • 2
    Native Nette support
  • 2
    I don't like NetBeans
  • 2
    Smarty support
  • 2
    Visual GUI Builder for Swing / AWT
  • 2
    Custom html tags support
  • 1
    Powerful refactoring
  • 1
    Composer commands inside IDE

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Cons of Eclipse
Cons of IntelliJ IDEA
Cons of NetBeans IDE
  • 14
    2000 Design
  • 9
    Bad performance
  • 4
    Hard to use
  • 20
    Large footprint required to really enjoy (mem/disc)
  • 16
    Very slow
  • 8
    Bad for beginners
  • 7
    UI is not intuitive
  • 5
    Not nearly as many tools to integrate as vs code
  • 5
    Constant reindexing
  • 4
    Needs a lot of CPU and RAM power
  • 3
    Built in terminal is slow
  • 3
    Doesn't work that well with windows 10 edu
  • 1
    Ruby is a plug in
  • 1
    Pesky warnings increase with every release
  • 0
    AAD
  • 2
    PHP debug doesn't support conditional breakpoints

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What is 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.

What is IntelliJ IDEA?

Out of the box, IntelliJ IDEA provides a comprehensive feature set including tools and integrations with the most important modern technologies and frameworks for enterprise and web development with Java, Scala, Groovy and other languages.

What is NetBeans IDE?

NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers.

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What companies use Eclipse?
What companies use IntelliJ IDEA?
What companies use NetBeans IDE?

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What tools integrate with Eclipse?
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What are some alternatives to Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans IDE?
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.
Visual Studio
Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.
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!
Atom
At GitHub, we're building the text editor we've always wanted. A tool you can customize to do anything, but also use productively on the first day without ever touching a config file. Atom is modern, approachable, and hackable to the core. We can't wait to see what you build with it.
JavaScript
JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.
See all alternatives