Overview

Eclipse

Stacks2.6K

Followers2.3K

Votes392

Visual Studio

Stacks48.9K

Followers37.9K

Votes1.1K

IntelliJ IDEA

Stacks44.2K

Followers36.9K

Votes1.5K

Eclipse vs IntelliJ IDEA vs Visual Studio: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio

Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio are integrated development environments (IDEs) that are widely used by developers for coding and software development projects. Each IDE has its own set of features and functionality that sets it apart from the others. Here are the key differences between Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio:

User Interface Design and Customizability: IntelliJ IDEA offers a more modern and intuitive user interface design compared to Eclipse and Visual Studio. It provides more customization options, allowing developers to personalize their workspace according to their preferences. Eclipse, on the other hand, has a more traditional and less visually appealing interface. Visual Studio provides a highly customizable interface but lacks the modern look and feel of IntelliJ IDEA.
Code Assistance and Refactoring Tools: IntelliJ IDEA is well-known for its advanced code assistance and refactoring tools. It provides intelligent code completion, quick fixes, and suggestions based on the context, which greatly improves productivity. Eclipse also offers decent code assistance and refactoring tools, but they may not be as powerful or comprehensive as IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio has its own set of code assistance and refactoring tools, which are considered on par with IntelliJ IDEA.
Language Support: IntelliJ IDEA has strong support for various programming languages, including Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, and more. It offers dedicated plugins and built-in features for specific languages, making it a versatile choice for multi-language projects. Eclipse also provides good language support, but it may require additional plugins for certain languages. Visual Studio primarily focuses on Microsoft technologies such as C#, .NET, and Visual Basic, offering excellent support for those languages.
Build and Deployment Tools: Visual Studio has robust build and deployment tools, specifically designed for .NET and Microsoft-based projects. It simplifies the build process, allowing developers to compile, debug, and deploy their applications seamlessly. Eclipse, though it supports various build systems, may require some configuration and setup for specific requirements. IntelliJ IDEA provides a good balance between the two, offering extensive build and deployment tools with flexibility and ease of use.
Debugger and Profiling: IntelliJ IDEA offers advanced debugging and profiling capabilities, making it easier for developers to identify and fix issues in their code. It provides powerful debugging features like variable watches, breakpoints, and step-by-step code execution. Eclipse also offers a reliable debugger with similar features, but it may lack some of the advanced profiling options. Visual Studio, being a Microsoft-based IDE, offers excellent debugging and profiling tools specifically tailored for .NET development.
Community and Plugin Ecosystem: Eclipse has a strong open-source community and a vast plugin ecosystem. It has been around for a long time and has a large number of plugins developed by the community, providing additional functionality and extensibility. IntelliJ IDEA also has a vibrant community and plugin ecosystem, though it may not be as extensive as Eclipse. Visual Studio, being a proprietary IDE, has a smaller community but provides official support and a curated set of plugins for specific technologies.

In summary, IntelliJ IDEA excels in terms of its modern user interface, powerful code assistance, and extensive language support. Visual Studio is the go-to choice for Microsoft-based development, offering robust build and deployment tools. Eclipse combines a strong open-source community and plugin ecosystem with decent functionality and language support. Choosing the right IDE depends on the specific needs and preferences of the developer and the project at hand.

Advice on Eclipse, Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA

christy

Program Manager

Jul 1, 2020

Needs adviceon

Python

Eclipse

IntelliJ IDEA

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?

2.03M views2.03M

Comments

Manabu

CEO, Co-Founder at WinguMD

Jun 13, 2020

Decided

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.

551k views551k

Comments

Samriddhi

Machine Learning Engineer at Chefling

Sep 26, 2020

Decided

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.

1.04M views1.04M

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Eclipse	Visual Studio	IntelliJ IDEA
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.	Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.	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.
-	-	Smart Code Completion;On-the-fly Code Analysis;Advanced Refactorings;Database Tools;UML Designer;Version Control Tools;Build Tools
Statistics
Stacks 2.6K	Stacks 48.9K	Stacks 44.2K
Followers 2.3K	Followers 37.9K	Followers 36.9K
Votes 392	Votes 1.1K	Votes 1.5K
Pros & Cons
Pros 131 Does it all 76 Integrates with most of tools 64 Easy to use 63 Java IDE 32 Best Java IDE Cons 14 2000 Design 9 Bad performance 4 Hard to use	Pros 305 Intellisense, ui 244 Complete ide and debugger 165 Plug-ins 104 Integrated 93 Documentation Cons 16 Bulky 14 Made by Microsoft 6 Sometimes you need to restart to finish an update 3 Too much size for disk 3 Only avalible on Windows	Pros 301 Fantastically intelligent 242 Best-in-class ide 190 Many languages support 158 Java 121 Fast Cons 20 Large footprint required to really enjoy (mem/disc) 16 Very slow 8 Bad for beginners 7 UI is not intuitive 5 Constant reindexing
Integrations
Java	No integrations available	Java

What are some alternatives to Eclipse, Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA?

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.

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.

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!

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.

RubyMine

JetBrains RubyMine IDE provides a comprehensive Ruby code editor aware of dynamic language specifics and delivers smart coding assistance, intelligent code refactoring and code analysis capabilities.

CLion

Knowing your code through and through, CLion can take care of the routine while you focus on the important things. Boost your productivity with the keyboard-centric approach (Vim-emulation plugin is also available in plugin repository), full coding assistance, smart and relevant code completion, fast project navigation, intelligent intention actions, and reliable refactorings.

Xcode

The Xcode IDE is at the center of the Apple development experience. Tightly integrated with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, Xcode is an incredibly productive environment for building amazing apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Pharo

A pure object-oriented programming language and a powerful environment, focused on simplicity and immediate feedback.

Nuclide

A unified developer experience for web and mobile development, built as a suite of packages on top of Atom to provide hackability and the support of an active community.