IntelliJ IDEA vs NetBeans IDE vs Visual Studio

Overview

NetBeans IDE

Stacks679

Followers947

Votes514

Visual Studio

Stacks59.6K

Followers37.9K

Votes1.1K

IntelliJ IDEA

Stacks44.0K

Followers36.9K

Votes1.5K

IntelliJ IDEA vs NetBeans IDE vs Visual Studio: What are the differences?

IntelliJ IDEA, NetBeans IDE, and Visual Studio are popular integrated development environments used by developers worldwide. Each IDE has its unique features and functionalities tailored to different programming needs.

Language Support: IntelliJ IDEA provides great support for Java, Kotlin, and Groovy, making it a popular choice for JVM-based development. In contrast, NetBeans offers strong support for Java and PHP development, while Visual Studio supports a wide range of programming languages including C#, C++, and Python.
Plugin Ecosystem: IntelliJ IDEA has a rich plugin ecosystem that allows users to extend its functionality with a variety of plugins available through its marketplace. On the other hand, NetBeans comes with a comprehensive set of pre-installed plugins but lacks the extensive plugin support found in IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio boasts a vast array of plugins and extensions from both Microsoft and third-party developers, enhancing its versatility.
User Interface: IntelliJ IDEA is known for its clean and intuitive user interface, providing a seamless coding experience. NetBeans also offers a user-friendly interface with customizable layouts and a range of themes to suit individual preferences. In comparison, Visual Studio is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor the IDE to their specific needs with a wide range of UI options and settings.
Build Tools Integration: IntelliJ IDEA seamlessly integrates with popular build tools like Gradle and Maven, simplifying the build and deployment processes for developers. NetBeans also offers integration with these build tools but may require additional configuration. Visual Studio provides excellent integration with MSBuild and other Microsoft build tools, streamlining the build and deployment workflows for Windows-based applications.
Debugging Capabilities: IntelliJ IDEA offers robust debugging capabilities with features like inline debugging, variable watches, and breakpoint management to help developers identify and fix errors efficiently. NetBeans provides similar debugging features but may lack some advanced tools found in IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio excels in debugging with features like IntelliTrace, live unit testing, and code profiling, enhancing the debugging experience for developers.
Version Control Integration: IntelliJ IDEA comes with built-in support for popular version control systems such as Git, Mercurial, and Subversion, allowing seamless integration with repositories. NetBeans also offers version control integration, but some users may find it less intuitive compared to IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio provides extensive support for version control systems like Git and Team Foundation Server, offering robust tools for collaboration and code management.

In Summary, IntelliJ IDEA, NetBeans IDE, and Visual Studio differ in their language support, plugin ecosystems, user interfaces, build tools integration, debugging capabilities, and version control integration, catering to varied development needs and preferences.

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Advice on NetBeans IDE, 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

NetBeans IDE	Visual Studio	IntelliJ IDEA
NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers.	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.
Best Support for Latest Java Technologies;Fast & Smart Code Editing;Easy & Efficient Project Management;Rapid User Interface Development;Write Bug Free Code;Support for Multiple Languages;Cross Platform Support;Rich Set of Community Provided Plugins	-	Smart Code Completion;On-the-fly Code Analysis;Advanced Refactorings;Database Tools;UML Designer;Version Control Tools;Build Tools
Statistics
Stacks 679	Stacks 59.6K	Stacks 44.0K
Followers 947	Followers 37.9K	Followers 36.9K
Votes 514	Votes 1.1K	Votes 1.5K
Pros & Cons
Pros 76 Rich features 69 Crossplatform 49 Plugins(Git, SVN) 38 Extensible 38 Easy to use Cons 2 PHP debug doesn't support conditional breakpoints	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
No integrations available	No integrations available	Java

What are some alternatives to NetBeans IDE, 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.

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!

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.

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.

Related Comparisons

IntelliJ IDEA vs NetBeans IDE vs Visual Studio: What are the differences?

Language Support: IntelliJ IDEA provides great support for Java, Kotlin, and Groovy, making it a popular choice for JVM-based development. In contrast, NetBeans offers strong support for Java and PHP development, while Visual Studio supports a wide range of programming languages including C#, C++, and Python.
Plugin Ecosystem: IntelliJ IDEA has a rich plugin ecosystem that allows users to extend its functionality with a variety of plugins available through its marketplace. On the other hand, NetBeans comes with a comprehensive set of pre-installed plugins but lacks the extensive plugin support found in IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio boasts a vast array of plugins and extensions from both Microsoft and third-party developers, enhancing its versatility.
User Interface: IntelliJ IDEA is known for its clean and intuitive user interface, providing a seamless coding experience. NetBeans also offers a user-friendly interface with customizable layouts and a range of themes to suit individual preferences. In comparison, Visual Studio is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor the IDE to their specific needs with a wide range of UI options and settings.
Build Tools Integration: IntelliJ IDEA seamlessly integrates with popular build tools like Gradle and Maven, simplifying the build and deployment processes for developers. NetBeans also offers integration with these build tools but may require additional configuration. Visual Studio provides excellent integration with MSBuild and other Microsoft build tools, streamlining the build and deployment workflows for Windows-based applications.
Debugging Capabilities: IntelliJ IDEA offers robust debugging capabilities with features like inline debugging, variable watches, and breakpoint management to help developers identify and fix errors efficiently. NetBeans provides similar debugging features but may lack some advanced tools found in IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio excels in debugging with features like IntelliTrace, live unit testing, and code profiling, enhancing the debugging experience for developers.
Version Control Integration: IntelliJ IDEA comes with built-in support for popular version control systems such as Git, Mercurial, and Subversion, allowing seamless integration with repositories. NetBeans also offers version control integration, but some users may find it less intuitive compared to IntelliJ IDEA. Visual Studio provides extensive support for version control systems like Git and Team Foundation Server, offering robust tools for collaboration and code management.

IntelliJ IDEA vs NetBeans IDE vs Visual Studio

Overview