Alternatives to Xcode
Apple's IDE for developing, testing and distributing apps for all Apple platforms. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Xcode
Apple's IDE for developing, testing and distributing apps for all Apple platforms.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Xcode as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
CLion
C and C++ IDE with CMake integration and deep static analysis.
Xcode is a free macOS-only Apple IDE with debugging and profiling tools, mainly useful for Apple platform development rather than general C++ projects.
KDevelop
A cross-platform open-source IDE from KDE for C, C++, Python, QML/JavaScript and PHP.
Xcode is Apple's free macOS-only IDE, suited to C, C++ and Swift work aimed at Apple platforms rather than Qt or KDE projects.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Swift
A general-purpose, compiled programming language and toolchain available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
Android Studio
Google's official IDE for building Android apps, based on IntelliJ.
Safari Technology Preview
Apple's early-access Safari build for macOS with the latest WebKit engine and developer tools.
Tart
A command-line toolset for building, running and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon.
Nova
A native macOS code editor and IDE from Panic with built-in terminals, Git and debugging.
Visual Studio
Microsoft's integrated development environment for .NET, C++ and Windows development, with a free Community edition.
