Comparison

IntelliJ IDEA vs Theia

On the evidence we track, Theia leads this comparison with a composite score of 63/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
IntelliJ IDEA52
★Theia63
Score
vioscaleAI score
IntelliJ IDEA52 / 100medium · 72%
Theia63 / 100medium · 64%
Pricing
Free tier
IntelliJ IDEA✓
Theia✓
Model
IntelliJ IDEAfreemium
Theiafree
Price level
IntelliJ IDEAlow
Theiafree
Transparent
IntelliJ IDEA–
Theia✓
Integrations
Count
IntelliJ IDEA9
Theia3,000
Reliability
Status page
IntelliJ IDEA✓
Theia–
Adoption
Dependent repos
IntelliJ IDEA890
Theia324
Github stars
IntelliJ IDEA20,630
Theia21,710
Activity
Commits last 30d
IntelliJ IDEA100
Theia94
Release
Cadence days
IntelliJ IDEA2
Theia12
History
IntelliJ IDEA20 items
License
Spdx
IntelliJ IDEA–
TheiaEPL-2.0
Language
Primary
IntelliJ IDEAJava
Content
Faq
IntelliJ IDEA4 items
Theia6 items

Capabilities

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

Core
Type
IntelliJ IDEAFull IDE
TheiaFull IDE
Language scope
IntelliJ IDEAPolyglot
TheiaPolyglot
Deployment
Deployment
IntelliJ IDEADesktop
TheiaBoth
Platform support
OS support
IntelliJ IDEAWindows, macOS
TheiaCross-platform (browser and desktop via Electron)
Base platform
IntelliJ IDEAOriginal
TheiaOriginal
Extensibility
Extensibility
IntelliJ IDEAPlugins
TheiaExtension marketplace
DX
LSP / DAP support
IntelliJ IDEA-
Theia✓
Remote / dev-containers
IntelliJ IDEA✓
Theia-
Integrated debugger / profiler
IntelliJ IDEA✓
Theia-
Code intelligence depth
IntelliJ IDEAIDE-grade
TheiaLSP-grade
Built-in git integration
IntelliJ IDEA-
Theia-
AI
Built-in AI
IntelliJ IDEANative
TheiaNative
Licensing
Openness
IntelliJ IDEAOpen-core
TheiaOpen-source
Pricing
Pricing model
IntelliJ IDEAPer-seat subscription
TheiaFree

What each one is

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

IntelliJ IDEA

Professional integrated development environment for Java and Kotlin with built-in AI assistance for code generation and validation. Includes integrated debugging, testing, database tools, and application profiling in a unified interface.

Independently observed

Theia

Leader

Theia IDE is an extensible, multi-language development environment for both cloud and desktop deployment. It combines integrated AI assistance with privacy-preserving architecture where users maintain full control over their code, data, and AI model choices.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

IntelliJ IDEA

SubscriptionFree tier30-day trial
as of verify ↗

Theia

Leader
FreeFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
IntelliJ IDEA✗
Theia✓
macOS
IntelliJ IDEA✓
Theia✓
Windows
IntelliJ IDEA✓
Theia✓
Linux
IntelliJ IDEA✗
Theia✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
IntelliJ IDEA–
Theia✓
Self-hosted
IntelliJ IDEA–
Theia✓

Integrations

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

In common (1)
  • GitHub Copilot

IntelliJ IDEA

10 total - 9 not shared
  • Claude
  • GPT
  • Gemini
  • Grok
  • Cursor
  • Junie
  • Claude Agent
  • Codex
  • Spring Framework
Independently observed

Theia

Leader
21 total - 20 not shared
  • Python
  • Java
  • C++
  • JavaScript
  • Go
  • YAML
  • Docker
  • ESLint
  • NPM
  • GitHub Pull Requests
  • GitLens
  • GitHub
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Google
  • Ollama
  • Mistral
  • HuggingFace
  • Claude Code
  • VS Code Extensions
Independently observed
Still deciding?

IntelliJ IDEA or Theia: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

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