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Head-to-head · Integrated Development Environments

Visual Studio vs Rider

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Visual Studio #2 in Integrated Development Environments 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Visual Studio
Rider #4 in Integrated Development Environments 9.1/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit JetBrains

Visual Studio leads on 0 checks, Rider on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreVisual Studio · 9.3/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly Rider
  • Most featuresRider · 5 of 5

Visual Studio scores higher on our rubric for integrated development environments: 9.3 against 9.1 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #4.

Visual Studio is the better fit for windows-focused .NET and C++ teams. Rider is the better fit for .NET developers across platforms.

  • Visual Studio fits best

    Windows-focused .NET and C++ teams

  • Rider fits best

    .NET developers across platforms

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Side by side

Feature Visual Studio 9.3/10 Visit ↗ Rider 9.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 9.1
Ranking #2 in Integrated Development Environments #4 in Integrated Development Environments
Best for Windows-focused .NET and C++ teams .NET developers across platforms
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $499.92/user/yr —
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — 30 days
Deployment Desktop Desktop
Platforms Windows Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Docs, Community Tickets, Community, Docs
Integrations 8 integrations 12 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Visual Studio 3/5 · Rider 5/5
Integrated debugger ✓ ✓
Integrated testing tools ✓ ✓
Build tools ✓ ✓
Project management Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Dev container support Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Supported operating systems Windows Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Broad support for .NET, C++, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript
  • Integrated debugging, testing, builds, Git, CI/CD, and containers
  • Free Community plan for eligible individual, student, and open-source use
  • Extensive C#, F#, and VB.NET editing, debugging, and testing tools
  • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with remote development support
  • Combines Docker, databases, version control, and AI assistance in one IDE
Cons
  • The IDE itself is supported only on 64-bit Windows
  • Enterprise monthly pricing is $250 per user per month
  • Advanced paid editions add substantial cost beyond Community
  • Commercial development requires a paid subscription
  • Non-commercial use is limited to qualifying individual development
  • Non-commercial support is limited to public forums and the bug tracker
Our verdict

Visual Studio is Microsoft's full-featured integrated development environment for professional developers and teams. It brings code editing with IntelliSense and extensions together with debugging, testing, project and solution builds, Git…

Read the review →

Rider is JetBrains' cross-platform integrated development environment for .NET and game developers. It supports C#, F#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, web technologies, databases, and SQL. Its core workspace brings together…

Read the review →
  1. Visual StudioIntegrated Development Environments 9.3Free plan
  2. RiderIntegrated Development Environments 9.1Free plan · 30-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Visual Studio — where it wins

    • Broad support for .NET, C++, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript
    • Integrated debugging, testing, builds, Git, CI/CD, and containers
    • Free Community plan for eligible individual, student, and open-source use

    Where it doesn't

    • The IDE itself is supported only on 64-bit Windows
    • Enterprise monthly pricing is $250 per user per month
    • Advanced paid editions add substantial cost beyond Community

  • Rider — where it wins

    • Extensive C#, F#, and VB.NET editing, debugging, and testing tools
    • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with remote development support
    • Combines Docker, databases, version control, and AI assistance in one IDE

    Where it doesn't

    • Commercial development requires a paid subscription
    • Non-commercial use is limited to qualifying individual development
    • Non-commercial support is limited to public forums and the bug tracker

More comparisons

All integrated development environments comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update