Comparison

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA vs Visual Studio Code

On the evidence we track, Visual Studio Code leads this comparison with a composite score of 61/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA47
Visual Studio Code61
Score
Vioscale score
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA47 / 100low · 31%
Visual Studio Code61 / 100medium · 67%
Pricing
Free tier
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Model
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAcommercial
Visual Studio Codecommercial
Price level
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Codefree
Transparent
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Integrations
Count
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA6
Visual Studio Code7
Security
Disclosure policy
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Gdpr
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Scorecard
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code7.4
Soc2
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Reliability
Status page
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Adoption
Dependent repos
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code1
Github stars
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code189,621
Activity
Commits last 30d
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code100
Release
Cadence days
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code6
History
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code20 items
License
Spdx
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio CodeMIT
Language
Primary
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio CodeTypeScript
Market
Availability
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio CodeAvailable worldwide

Capabilities

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

Core
Type
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAFull IDE
Visual Studio CodeFull IDE
Language scope
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAPolyglot
Visual Studio CodePolyglot
Deployment
Deployment
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEADesktop
Visual Studio CodeBoth
Platform support
OS support
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAWindows, Mac, Linux
Visual Studio CodeWindows, macOS, Linux
Base platform
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAOriginal
Visual Studio CodeOriginal
Extensibility
Extensibility
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAPlugins
Visual Studio CodeExtension marketplace
DX
LSP / DAP support
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Remote / dev-containers
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Integrated debugger / profiler
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Code intelligence depth
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAIDE-grade
Visual Studio CodeIDE-grade
Built-in git integration
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
AI
Built-in AI
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEANative
Visual Studio CodeNative
Licensing
Openness
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAClosed
Visual Studio CodeOpen-core
Pricing
Pricing model
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAPer-seat subscription
Visual Studio CodeFree

What each one is

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

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

Desktop IDE that combines advanced code editing, debugging, and analysis tools with native AI integration to help developers write high-quality Java and Kotlin code efficiently throughout the development lifecycle.

Independently observed

Visual Studio Code

Leader

A multi-platform code editor combining traditional editing, debugging, and terminal capabilities with built-in AI agents that research, modify code, run commands, and iterate toward task completion.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

Pricing not documented yet.

Visual Studio Code

Leader
FreeFree tier

Free

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
macOS
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Windows
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Linux
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
CLI
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code
Self-hosted
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
Visual Studio Code

Integrations

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

In common (1)
  • GitHub Copilot

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

6 total - 5 not shared
  • Claude
  • GPT
  • Gemini
  • Grok
  • Cursor
Independently observed

Visual Studio Code

Leader
7 total - 6 not shared
  • GitHub
  • GitHub Actions
  • Azure Pipelines
  • GitLab CI
  • Azure DevOps
  • MCP servers
Independently observed

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