Visual Studio
Visual Studio: A full-featured Windows IDE for .NET and C++ teams with broad tooling. Ranked #2 of 65 in Integrated Development Environments by our editors (9.3/10); pricing: Free plan; best for windows-focused .NET and C++ teams.
At a glance
- Editor score9.3 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forWindows-focused .NET and C++ teams
- Free planYes
- Paid from$499.92/user/yr
- Supported operating systemsWindows
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
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
Our verdict on Visual Studio
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 integration, CI/CD workflows, and container tooling. Its supported development workloads span .NET, C++, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, web, cloud, desktop, mobile, and game applications, making it a strong fit for Windows-focused .NET and C++ teams that need one environment for a broad range of work.
Pricing is structured around a free Community edition and several paid options. Community is a fully featured IDE for students, open-source projects, and individual developers. Professional monthly costs $45 per user per month and includes Visual Studio Professional plus an Azure DevOps Basic plan. Enterprise monthly costs $250 per user per month and adds Visual Studio Enterprise, Azure DevOps Basic plus Test Plans. Annual billing lists Professional standard at $99.99 per user per month and Enterprise standard at $499.92 per user per month, with additional Azure credits and support or development software depending on the tier. A standalone Professional IDE is also available for a $499 one-time price with perpetual licensing.
The tooling depth is a major reason to choose Visual Studio. Its integrated debugger supports breakpoints, stepping, call stacks, and variable inspection, while testing includes Test Explorer, Live Unit Testing, and code coverage. Build workflows cover the IDE, MSBuild, CMake, and Azure Pipelines, with integrations for GitHub Actions, Docker, Podman, and Azure. The key trade-off is platform coverage: the IDE runs on 64-bit Windows, even though applications can target other operating systems. Teams that require the development environment itself on macOS or Linux should choose another IDE; Windows-based teams needing broad Microsoft and cross-language tooling are the clearest fit.
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Visual Studio pricing
All 6 Visual Studio plans and prices →
Visual Studio fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $499.92/user/yr |
| Supported operating systems | Windows |
| Integrated debugger | Yes |
| Integrated testing tools | Yes |
| Build tools | Yes |
| Project management | Not verified |
| Dev container support | Not verified |
| Deployment | Desktop |
| Platforms | Windows |
| Support | Docs, Community |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 8 integrations: Git, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Docker … |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | visualstudio.microsoft.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Visual Studio integrations
Visual Studio lists 8 integrations on its own site.
- Git
- GitHub
- GitHub Actions
- Azure DevOps
- Azure Pipelines
- Docker
- Podman
- Azure
Alternatives to Visual Studio
- IntelliJ IDEAA full-featured, cross-platform IDE for Java and Kotlin teams.9.4
- PyCharmA full-featured Python IDE with strong testing, debugging, data, and remote workflows.9.2
- RiderA comprehensive .NET IDE for developers who need deep tooling across platforms.9.1
See all Visual Studio alternatives →
Visual Studio vs the competition
- Visual Studio vs IntelliJ IDEA
- Visual Studio vs PyCharm
- Visual Studio vs Rider
- Visual Studio vs CLion
- Visual Studio vs Eclipse IDE
- Visual Studio vs WebStorm
Compare Visual Studio with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Visual Studio is ranked in 12 of our directories; the 6 strongest besides Integrated Development Environments.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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