Alternatives to Visual Studio Code
Microsoft's code editor, free to use but shipped under a Microsoft licence rather than an open one. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft's code editor, free to use but shipped under a Microsoft licence rather than an open one.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Visual Studio Code.
VSCodium
Visual Studio Code built from the same source without Microsoft’s branding, telemetry or licence.
VSCodium is built from the same source under the MIT licence with telemetry disabled, but uses Open VSX and cannot use Microsoft's proprietary extensions like Remote Development.
Cursor
An AI code editor built on VS Code, with coding agents that plan and carry out tasks.
Cursor is built on VS Code with AI agents and codebase indexing, but it is closed source, depends on hosted models, and heavier use requires a paid plan.
Zed
A Rust editor from the people who built Atom, written for speed and for two people editing one file.
Zed is a native Rust editor with GPU rendering and real-time collaboration, but it has a smaller extension ecosystem and weaker remote development than VS Code.
Sublime Text
A fast native editor for code and prose, paid for but with an evaluation that never stops working.
Sublime Text is native and fast with large files, but it is paid, closed source and relies on third-party packages for language support.
code-server
Use a VS Code-based workspace through your browser.
code-server runs a VS Code-based workspace in the browser on a machine you control, under the MIT licence, and requires a configured host.
Lapce
A code editor written in Rust with GPU rendering, built-in LSP support, optional modal editing and remote development.
Lapce is a free native Rust editor with built-in LSP and remote development, but it is pre-1.0 with a tiny WASI-based plugin ecosystem.
Pulsar
Community-maintained continuation of the Atom text editor.
Pulsar continues the Atom editor under the MIT licence with its own package registry, also Electron-based but with a much smaller maintainer team.
Neovim
A modern rewrite of Vim with a built-in language server client, Lua configuration and an embeddable API.
Neovim is a free terminal editor with a built-in LSP client and Lua configuration, requiring modal editing and assembling plugins yourself.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Visual Studio Code as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Apache NetBeans
An open-source IDE for Java, PHP, JavaScript, HTML and other languages from Apache.
Visual Studio Code swaps a full Java IDE for a general editor with extensions for most languages and remote development, but its shipped build is not open source and collects telemetry.
BBEdit
A long-running macOS text and code editor for writers, web authors and software developers.
Visual Studio Code adds cross-platform builds, an integrated terminal, Git and a large extension ecosystem, but it is Electron-based, not open source and collects telemetry by default.
CLion
C and C++ IDE with CMake integration and deep static analysis.
Visual Studio Code is a free general-purpose editor that relies on extensions for C and C++ support instead of CLion's built-in CMake integration and static analysis.
CodeEdit
A lightweight, open-source code editor for macOS, built natively in Swift.
Visual Studio Code offers extensions for nearly every language plus Git, terminal and debugger across platforms, but it is Electron-based and not open source.
CodeRunner
A lightweight macOS programming editor that runs and debugs code in many languages.
Visual Studio Code is free on Windows, macOS and Linux with extensions for nearly every language and an integrated debugger, but is Electron-based and collects telemetry by default.
CotEditor
A free, open-source plain-text and code editor made for macOS.
Visual Studio Code moves to a cross-platform Electron editor with extensions, integrated Git and debugging, free to use but not open source and with telemetry by default.
Eclipse IDE
Long-established open-source IDE with a very large plugin marketplace.
Visual Studio Code is a lighter free editor with extensions for nearly every language, but it is not open source and collects telemetry by default.
ecode
A lightweight multi-platform code editor built on a hardware-accelerated GUI, focused on responsiveness and performance.
Visual Studio Code offers far more extensions, remote development and an integrated debugger, but is Electron-based, heavier, not open source and collects telemetry by default.
EmEditor
A Windows text editor built for very large files, CSV data, logs and code.
Visual Studio Code is a free cross-platform editor with a large extension ecosystem, but it is Electron-based and heavier on memory than EmEditor for huge files.
Geany
A small, fast IDE built on GTK that starts instantly and does not depend on a heavy desktop environment.
Visual Studio Code has extensions for nearly every language and an integrated debugger, but it is Electron-based and heavier than Geany on modest hardware.
gedit
A general-purpose text editor for Linux that is easy to learn and integrates with GNOME.
Visual Studio Code brings extensions, integrated Git, terminal and debugger across platforms, but it is heavier, Electron-based and not open source.
GNOME Builder
An IDE for building GNOME and other Linux applications, with debugging, profiling and Flatpak support.
Visual Studio Code is a general-purpose editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with extensions, debugger and remote development, but it is not open source and lacks Builder's GNOME-specific tooling.
GNU Emacs
An editor that is really a Lisp environment, extensible to the point where people run their email, calendar and shell inside it.
Visual Studio Code is a graphical editor with extensions for most languages and integrated Git and debugging, but it is not open source and collects telemetry.
GoLand
Go IDE with completion, refactoring and an integrated debugger.
Visual Studio Code is free and uses the Go language server through extensions, which is lighter than GoLand but lacks its Go-aware refactorings and inspections.
IntelliJ IDEA
Java and Kotlin IDE with deep code analysis and refactoring.
Visual Studio Code is a lighter free editor with Java extensions and remote development, without IntelliJ's project-wide refactorings and inspections.
Kate
KDE's text editor: syntax highlighting for over 400 languages, split views, multi-cursor editing and an embedded terminal.
Visual Studio Code offers extensions for nearly every language and an integrated debugger, but it is Electron-based and not open source.
Lite XL
Edit text and code in a lightweight Lua-based editor.
Visual Studio Code has extensions for nearly every language and an integrated debugger, but it is Electron-based, heavier and not open source.
Notepad++
The fast Windows text and source code editor that replaced Notepad for a generation of users.
Visual Studio Code adds extensions for nearly every language, Git and a debugger across platforms, but is Electron-based and heavier.
Notepad3
A lightweight open-source Notepad replacement for Windows with syntax highlighting and code folding.
Visual Studio Code adds extensions, an integrated debugger and Git, and runs on macOS and Linux, but it is Electron-based, heavier and not open source.
Notepads
Use a lightweight Windows text editor with tabs and Markdown preview.
Visual Studio Code is a full code editor with extensions and Git integration across platforms, but heavier and not open source.
Nova
A native macOS code editor and IDE from Panic with built-in terminals, Git and debugging.
Visual Studio Code is free, runs on Windows and Linux too, and has extensions for nearly every language, but is Electron-based rather than a native Mac app.
Phoenix Code
An open-source code editor for web development that continues the Brackets project, with live preview.
Visual Studio Code covers essentially every language through extensions with integrated Git, terminal and debugger, but is not open source and collects telemetry by default.
PhpStorm
A commercial JetBrains IDE for PHP, with built-in JavaScript, TypeScript and SQL support.
Visual Studio Code is free and relies on extensions for PHP and framework support, adding remote development, but it is not open source and collects telemetry by default.
Positron
A free data science IDE for Python and R from the makers of RStudio.
Visual Studio Code is a general-purpose editor that relies on extensions for Python and R data work, and it collects telemetry by default.
PyCharm
Python IDE with debugging, testing, scientific tools and web framework support.
Visual Studio Code is a free general editor that covers Python through extensions, with remote development and an integrated debugger, but it is not open source and collects telemetry by default.
PyScripter
A free, open-source and lightweight Python IDE for Windows.
Visual Studio Code is a general-purpose editor that covers Python through extensions and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, but is not open source and collects telemetry by default.
Qt Creator
A cross-platform IDE for building C++ and Qt applications, maintained by the Qt project.
Visual Studio Code covers C++ through extensions with an integrated debugger, but it is a general editor without Qt-specific design tools.
Rider
Cross-platform .NET IDE combining ReSharper analysis with a full IDE.
Visual Studio Code is free and handles .NET through extensions, including Microsoft's C# debugger, but lacks Rider's ReSharper analysis and built-in game engine integration.
RJ TextEd
A freeware Unicode text and source code editor for Windows with web preview, hex mode and SFTP.
Visual Studio Code runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with extensions, Git, terminal and remote development, but is Electron-based and heavier than a native editor.
RStudio
A free, open-source IDE for R with a data viewer, environment pane and support for Python and SQL.
Visual Studio Code is a general-purpose editor that supports R and Python through extensions, without a dedicated data viewer or environment pane.
RubyMine
A JetBrains IDE for Ruby and Ruby on Rails with navigation, debugging and integrated tools.
Visual Studio Code is a free editor that supports Ruby and Rails through extensions, lighter than RubyMine but not open source and with telemetry by default.
RustRover
A JetBrains IDE for Rust with code analysis, refactoring, debugging, testing and Cargo integration.
Visual Studio Code is a free editor that supports Rust through a language server extension, lighter than RustRover but with telemetry by default.
Spyder
An open-source Python IDE for scientific work with a variable explorer and an IPython console.
Visual Studio Code is a general editor that handles Python and notebooks through extensions, without a built-in variable explorer and with telemetry on by default.
TextMate
An open-source macOS text editor known for bundles, snippets, multiple carets and scoped settings.
Visual Studio Code runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with a huge extension ecosystem, but it is Electron-based and not open source.
Theia IDE
An open-source IDE for desktop and browser from the Eclipse Foundation that runs VS Code extensions.
Visual Studio Code gives access to the Microsoft extension marketplace and a larger community, but it is not open source and collects telemetry.
Thonny
A Python IDE for beginners that comes bundled with Python and includes a simple debugger.
Visual Studio Code is a general editor that handles Python through extensions, requiring a separate Python install and more setup than Thonny.
Trae
An AI-powered code editor with built-in chat and agent modes for writing and changing code.
Visual Studio Code is a free editor with AI features from Microsoft and a huge extension ecosystem, but it is not open source.
UltraEdit
A commercial text, code and hex editor for Windows, macOS and Linux that handles very large files.
Visual Studio Code is a free cross-platform editor with a huge extension ecosystem, but it is Electron-based and less suited to very large files.
WebStorm
JavaScript and TypeScript IDE with first-class framework support.
Visual Studio Code is free with extensions for JavaScript and TypeScript frameworks and an integrated debugger, but framework support comes from extensions rather than being built in.
Wing Python IDE
A Python IDE with a debugger, editor and testing tools, plus features for managing AI coding agents.
Visual Studio Code is a free general-purpose editor that handles Python through extensions and includes a debugger, but ships under a Microsoft licence with telemetry on.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
GitHub Copilot
An AI coding assistant from GitHub that suggests code and carries out coding tasks in editors and terminals.
