Comparison

Emacs vs Visual Studio

On the evidence we track, Visual Studio leads this comparison with a composite score of 58/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Emacs full profile →Visual Studio full profile →

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Emacs36

★Visual Studio58

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Emacs	Visual StudioLeader
Vioscale score	36 / 100medium · 53%	58 / 100medium · 54%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	mid
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	2	2
Security
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	3.2	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Femacs-mirror%2Femacs&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	-
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	0	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	5,170	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	GPL-3.0	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Emacs Lisp	-

Score

Vioscale score

Emacs36 / 100medium · 53%

Visual Studio58 / 100medium · 54%

Pricing

Free tier

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

Model

Emacsopen_source

Visual Studiocommercial

Price level

Emacsfree

Visual Studiomid

Transparent

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

Integrations

Count

Emacs2

Visual Studio2

Security

Scorecard

Emacs3.2

Visual Studio–

Vulnerabilities

EmacsCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Femacs-mirror%2Femacs&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Visual Studio–

Reliability

Status page

Emacs–

Visual Studio✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Emacs0

Visual Studio–

Github stars

Emacs5,170

Visual Studio–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Emacs100

Visual Studio–

License

Spdx

EmacsGPL-3.0

Visual Studio–

Language

Primary

EmacsEmacs Lisp

Visual Studio–

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ides & code editors. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for IDEs & Code Editors
Capability	Emacs	Visual Studio
Core
Type	Terminal editor	Full IDE
Language scope	Polyglot	Polyglot
Deployment
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platform support
OS support	GNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Haiku, Android	Windows, macOS, Linux
Base platform	Original	Original
Extensibility
Extensibility	Plugins	Extension marketplace
DX
LSP / DAP support	✓	-
Remote / dev-containers	✗	-
Integrated debugger / profiler	✓	✓
Code intelligence depth	LSP-grade	IDE-grade
Built-in git integration	✗	✓
AI
Built-in AI	None	Native
Licensing
Openness	Open-source	-
Pricing
Pricing model	Free	-

Core

Type

EmacsTerminal editor

Visual StudioFull IDE

Language scope

EmacsPolyglot

Visual StudioPolyglot

Deployment

EmacsDesktop

Visual StudioDesktop

Platform support

OS support

EmacsGNU/Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Haiku, Android

Visual StudioWindows, macOS, Linux

Base platform

EmacsOriginal

Visual StudioOriginal

Extensibility

EmacsPlugins

Visual StudioExtension marketplace

LSP / DAP support

Emacs✓

Visual Studio-

Remote / dev-containers

Emacs✗

Visual Studio-

Integrated debugger / profiler

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

Code intelligence depth

EmacsLSP-grade

Visual StudioIDE-grade

Built-in git integration

Emacs✗

Visual Studio✓

Built-in AI

EmacsNone

Visual StudioNative

Licensing

Openness

EmacsOpen-source

Visual Studio-

Pricing

Pricing model

EmacsFree

Visual Studio-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Emacs

A free and open-source text editor built on a Lisp interpreter that enables extensive customization through Lisp code. It combines core text editing with broader functionality including project planning, email and news reading, debugging, calendar, and IRC capabilities.

Independently observed

Visual Studio

Leader

Comprehensive integrated development environment for .NET and C++ development with AI-powered assistance, integrated debugging, testing, and CI/CD integration. Available as Visual Studio IDE for Windows and macOS, plus Visual Studio Code for cross-platform web development.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Emacs

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Visual Studio

Leader

from $45/moHybridFree tier

Free Community edition; subscriptions from $45/user/mo to $499.92/user/mo

CommunityFree
- Full IDE capabilities for .NET and C++ development
Professional standard$99.99/user/mo (paid annually), renews at $66.59/user/mo
- Visual Studio Professional
- Azure DevOps (Basic plan)
- $50 Azure credit per month
- Basic dev/test software
- Training and support
Enterprise standard$499.92/user/mo (paid annually), renews at $214.09/user/mo
- Visual Studio Enterprise
- Azure DevOps (Basic + Test plan)
- $150 Azure credit per month
- Premium dev/test software
- Extended training and support
- +1 more
Professional monthly$45/user/mo
- Visual Studio Professional
- Azure DevOps (Basic plan)
Enterprise monthly$250/user/mo
- Visual Studio Enterprise
- Azure DevOps (Basic + Test plan)

as of 2026-08-03verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Emacs	Visual Studio
AndroidPlatforms	✓	✗
macOSPlatforms	✓	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✓	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✗
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

Android

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✗

macOS

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

Windows

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

Linux

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

CLI

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✗

Deployment

Self-hosted

Emacs✓

Visual Studio✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Emacs

2 total

Tree-Sitter
EditorConfig

Independently observed

Visual Studio

Leader

2 total

GitHub
Azure

Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.