WinDbg vs Delve

WinDbg9.0Visit DDelve8.8Visit

Higher score WinDbg #3 in Debuggers 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Microsoft

vs

D Delve #4 in Debuggers 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Delve

• WinDbg fits best

  Windows and kernel debugging

• Delve fits best

  Go developers

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Side by side

Feature	WinDbg 9.0/10 Visit ↗	DDelve 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.8
Ranking	#3 in Debuggers	#4 in Debuggers
Best for	Windows and kernel debugging	Go developers
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop, Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows	Linux, Windows, macOS
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features WinDbg 5/5 · Delve 5/5
Remote debugging	✓	✓
Conditional breakpoints	✓	✓
Exception breakpoints	✓	✓
Time-travel debugging	✓	✓
Core dump debugging	✓	✓
Specs
Supported languages	C++, C#, JavaScript, assembly	Go
Target platforms	Windows; Linux crash dumps	Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD
Our review
Pros	Combines user-mode and kernel-mode debugging for Windows code and drivers Supports crash dumps, remote sessions, and configurable exception handling Time Travel Debugging records and replays execution for deeper analysis	Free and open-source with source-level Go debugging Remote, headless, JSON-RPC, and DAP support Core dumps, goroutines, and reverse execution inspection
Cons	Its primary focus is Windows rather than cross-platform debugging Linux support centers on kernel and ELF core-dump analysis The broad feature set may be more than basic application debugging requires	Supports only the Go programming language Primarily a command-line debugging experience No AI-assisted debugging features
Our verdict	WinDbg is Microsoft’s debugger for live user-mode and kernel-mode code, crash dumps, and minidumps. It is aimed at software developers, driver developers, system engineers, and incident investigators working with Windows applications,… Read the review →	Delve is an open-source, source-level debugger for Go programs. It is designed for Go developers who need more than basic breakpoints, including control over running processes, runtime inspection, remote debugging, and editor integration.… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• WinDbg — where it wins

  • Combines user-mode and kernel-mode debugging for Windows code and drivers
  • Supports crash dumps, remote sessions, and configurable exception handling
  • Time Travel Debugging records and replays execution for deeper analysis

  Where it doesn't

  • Its primary focus is Windows rather than cross-platform debugging
  • Linux support centers on kernel and ELF core-dump analysis
  • The broad feature set may be more than basic application debugging requires

• Delve — where it wins

  • Free and open-source with source-level Go debugging
  • Remote, headless, JSON-RPC, and DAP support
  • Core dumps, goroutines, and reverse execution inspection

  Where it doesn't

  • Supports only the Go programming language
  • Primarily a command-line debugging experience
  • No AI-assisted debugging features

• WinDbg9.0/10 · Free plan

  A free, deeply capable debugger for Windows applications, drivers, and crash analysis.

  Visit MicrosoftFull verdict →
• DDelve8.8/10 · Free plan

  A deep, free Go debugger for developers who need process and runtime control.

  Visit DelveFull verdict →