Overview

Android Studio

Stacks25.7K

Followers20.3K

Votes361

Visual Studio

Stacks48.9K

Followers37.9K

Votes1.1K

IntelliJ IDEA

Stacks44.2K

Followers36.9K

Votes1.5K

Android Studio vs IntelliJ IDEA vs Visual Studio: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio

Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio are Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) commonly used for software development. While all three IDEs provide advanced features for coding, debugging, and testing applications, there are key differences that set them apart from each other. Below are six specific differences between Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio:

Platform Compatibility: Android Studio is specifically designed for developing Android applications and is built on top of IntelliJ IDEA. It provides seamless integration with Android SDKs and tools, making it the preferred choice for Android developers. On the other hand, IntelliJ IDEA is a more general-purpose IDE that supports several programming languages and frameworks. It is not limited to any particular platform and can be used for developing applications across different platforms. Visual Studio, on the other hand, is primarily used for developing applications for Microsoft platforms, including Windows, .NET, and Azure. It offers extensive support for Microsoft technologies and has deep integration with the Windows ecosystem.
Language Support: Android Studio, as the name suggests, is tailored specifically for Android development and supports Java and Kotlin, the two primary programming languages used for Android app development. IntelliJ IDEA, being a more general-purpose IDE, offers support for a wide range of programming languages, including Java, Kotlin, Groovy, Scala, and others. Visual Studio primarily supports programming languages such as C#, Visual Basic, F#, and C++. It also provides support for web development languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript through its various editions.
Community and Ecosystem: Android Studio benefits from a vibrant community that is focused on Android development. It has extensive documentation, tutorials, and a large number of open-source libraries and frameworks specifically designed for Android. IntelliJ IDEA, being a popular choice for developers in general, also has a supportive community, but its focus extends to a wider range of programming languages and frameworks. Visual Studio, being Microsoft's flagship IDE, has a large and active community, especially for .NET development, with a wide range of libraries, frameworks, and extensions available.
User Interface and Customization: Android Studio and IntelliJ IDEA have a similar user interface as they are both developed by JetBrains. They provide a clean and intuitive interface with a wide range of customizability options. Visual Studio, on the other hand, has a more complex and feature-rich interface with multiple tool windows, making it suitable for developers who prefer a highly customizable workspace.
Debugging and Profiling Tools: Android Studio provides advanced debugging and profiling tools specifically tailored for Android app development. It includes features like real-time code analysis, memory and CPU profiling, and support for debugging across multiple devices. IntelliJ IDEA also provides similar debugging and profiling capabilities, but it lacks some of the Android-specific features offered by Android Studio. Visual Studio offers powerful debugging and profiling tools specifically built for Microsoft platforms. It includes features like Just-In-Time debugging, performance analysis, and support for remote debugging.
Built-in Support and Plugins: Android Studio comes with built-in support for Android development tools and frameworks, such as the Android SDK, Gradle, and the Android Emulator. It also provides seamless integration with Google Cloud services. IntelliJ IDEA has a similar level of support for Android development, but it also offers additional features for web development, database management, version control systems, and more. Visual Studio offers extensive support for Microsoft platforms and technologies out of the box, including Azure integration, Git version control, and built-in tools for building Windows apps.

In summary, Android Studio is the preferred choice for Android development, with deep integration with Android SDKs and tools. IntelliJ IDEA is a general-purpose IDE supporting multiple programming languages, while Visual Studio is primarily used for Microsoft platform development with rich integration for Windows and .NET technologies.

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Advice on Android Studio, Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA

christy

Program Manager

Jul 1, 2020

Needs adviceon

Python

Eclipse

IntelliJ IDEA

UPDATE: Thanks for the great response. I am going to start with VSCode based on the open source and free version that will allow me to grow into other languages, but not cost me a license ..yet.

I have been working with software development for 12 years, but I am just beginning my journey to learn to code. I am starting with Python following the suggestion of some of my coworkers. They are split between Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA for IDEs that they use and PyCharm is new to me. Which IDE would you suggest for a beginner that will allow expansion to Java, JavaScript, and eventually AngularJS and possibly mobile applications?

2.03M views2.03M

Comments

Manabu

CEO, Co-Founder at WinguMD

Jun 13, 2020

Decided

I originally chose IntelliJ over Eclipse, as it was close enough to the look and feel of Visual Studio and we do go back and forth between the two. We really begin to love IntelliJ and their suite of IDEs so we are now using AppCode for the IOS development because the workflow is identical with the IntelliJ. IntelliJ is super complex and intimidating at first but it does afford a lot of nice utilities to get us produce clean code.

551k views551k

Comments

Samriddhi

Machine Learning Engineer at Chefling

Sep 26, 2020

Decided

Lightweight and versatile. Huge library of extensions that enable you to integrate a host of services to your development environment. VS Code's biggest strength is its library of extensions which enables it to directly compete with every single major IDE for almost all major programming languages.

1.04M views1.04M

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Android Studio	Visual Studio	IntelliJ IDEA
Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready.	Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.	Out of the box, IntelliJ IDEA provides a comprehensive feature set including tools and integrations with the most important modern technologies and frameworks for enterprise and web development with Java, Scala, Groovy and other languages.
Flexible Gradle-based build system.;Build variants and multiple APK generation.;Expanded template support for Google Services and various device types.;Rich layout editor with support for theme editing.;Lint tools to catch performance, usability, version compatibility, and other problems.;ProGuard and app-signing capabilities.;Built-in support for Google Cloud Platform, making it easy to integrate Google Cloud Messaging and App Engine.	-	Smart Code Completion;On-the-fly Code Analysis;Advanced Refactorings;Database Tools;UML Designer;Version Control Tools;Build Tools
Statistics
Stacks 25.7K	Stacks 48.9K	Stacks 44.2K
Followers 20.3K	Followers 37.9K	Followers 36.9K
Votes 361	Votes 1.1K	Votes 1.5K
Pros & Cons
Pros 176 Android studio is a great tool, getting better and bet 103 Google's official android ide 37 Intelligent code editor with lots of auto-completion 25 Its powerful and robust 5 Easy creating android app Cons 4 Slow emulator 4 Huge memory usage 2 No checking incompatibilities 2 Using Intellij IDEA, while Intellij IDEA have too 2 Complex for begginers	Pros 305 Intellisense, ui 244 Complete ide and debugger 165 Plug-ins 104 Integrated 93 Documentation Cons 16 Bulky 14 Made by Microsoft 6 Sometimes you need to restart to finish an update 3 Too much size for disk 3 Only avalible on Windows	Pros 301 Fantastically intelligent 242 Best-in-class ide 190 Many languages support 158 Java 121 Fast Cons 20 Large footprint required to really enjoy (mem/disc) 16 Very slow 8 Bad for beginners 7 UI is not intuitive 5 Constant reindexing
Integrations
Android SDK	No integrations available	Java

What are some alternatives to Android Studio, Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA?

PhpStorm

PhpStorm is a PHP IDE which keeps up with latest PHP & web languages trends, integrates a variety of modern tools, and brings even more extensibility with support for major PHP frameworks.

WebStorm

WebStorm is a lightweight and intelligent IDE for front-end development and server-side JavaScript.

NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers.

PyCharm

PyCharm’s smart code editor provides first-class support for Python, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, CSS, popular template languages and more. Take advantage of language-aware code completion, error detection, and on-the-fly code fixes!

Eclipse

Standard Eclipse package suited for Java and plug-in development plus adding new plugins; already includes Git, Marketplace Client, source code and developer documentation. Click here to file a bug against Eclipse Platform.

RubyMine

JetBrains RubyMine IDE provides a comprehensive Ruby code editor aware of dynamic language specifics and delivers smart coding assistance, intelligent code refactoring and code analysis capabilities.

CLion

Knowing your code through and through, CLion can take care of the routine while you focus on the important things. Boost your productivity with the keyboard-centric approach (Vim-emulation plugin is also available in plugin repository), full coding assistance, smart and relevant code completion, fast project navigation, intelligent intention actions, and reliable refactorings.

Xcode

The Xcode IDE is at the center of the Apple development experience. Tightly integrated with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks, Xcode is an incredibly productive environment for building amazing apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Pharo

A pure object-oriented programming language and a powerful environment, focused on simplicity and immediate feedback.

Nuclide

A unified developer experience for web and mobile development, built as a suite of packages on top of Atom to provide hackability and the support of an active community.