Comparison

Helix vs Visual Studio

On the evidence we track, Visual Studio leads this comparison with a composite score of 57/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Helix full profile →Visual Studio full profile →

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Helix45

★Visual Studio57

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Helix	Visual StudioLeader
Vioscale score	45 / 100low · 39%	57 / 100medium · 54%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	mid
Transparentpricing.transparent	-	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	2
Security
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2FHelix-editor%2Fhelix&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	-
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	0	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	45,941	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	27	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	75	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MPL-2.0	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Rust	-

Score

Vioscale score

Helix45 / 100low · 39%

Visual Studio57 / 100medium · 54%

Pricing

Free tier

Helix✓

Visual Studio✓

Model

Helixopen_source

Visual Studiocommercial

Price level

Helixfree

Visual Studiomid

Transparent

Helix–

Visual Studio✓

Integrations

Count

Helix–

Visual Studio2

Security

Vulnerabilities

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

Visual Studio–

Reliability

Status page

Helix–

Visual Studio✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Helix0

Visual Studio–

Github stars

Helix45,941

Visual Studio–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Helix27

Visual Studio–

Release

Cadence days

Helix75

Visual Studio–

History

Helix20 items

Visual Studio–

License

Spdx

HelixMPL-2.0

Visual Studio–

Language

Primary

HelixRust

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	Helix	Visual Studio
Core
Type	Terminal editor	Full IDE
Language scope	Polyglot	Polyglot
Deployment
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platform support
OS support	Cross-platform terminal	Windows, macOS, Linux
Base platform	Original	Original
Extensibility
Extensibility	Config file only	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

HelixTerminal editor

Visual StudioFull IDE

Language scope

HelixPolyglot

Visual StudioPolyglot

Deployment

HelixDesktop

Visual StudioDesktop

Platform support

OS support

HelixCross-platform terminal

Visual StudioWindows, macOS, Linux

Base platform

HelixOriginal

Visual StudioOriginal

Extensibility

HelixConfig file only

Visual StudioExtension marketplace

LSP / DAP support

Helix✓

Visual Studio-

Remote / dev-containers

Helix✓

Visual Studio-

Integrated debugger / profiler

Helix✗

Visual Studio✓

Code intelligence depth

HelixLSP-grade

Visual StudioIDE-grade

Built-in git integration

Helix✗

Visual Studio✓

Built-in AI

HelixNone

Visual StudioNative

Licensing

Openness

HelixOpen-source

Visual Studio-

Pricing

Pricing model

HelixFree

Visual Studio-

What each one is

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

Helix

A terminal-based code editor written in Rust featuring multiple cursors as a core editing primitive, Tree-sitter syntax highlighting, and built-in language server support for IDE-like features.

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.

Helix

Open sourceFree tier

Free, 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	Helix	Visual Studio
macOSPlatforms	✗	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✗
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

macOS

Helix✗

Visual Studio✓

Windows

Helix✗

Visual Studio✓

Linux

Helix✗

Visual Studio✓

CLI

Helix✓

Visual Studio✗

Deployment

Self-hosted

Helix✓

Visual Studio✓

Integrations

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

Helix

Not documented yet.

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.