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IntelliJ IDEA VS Neovim

Compare IntelliJ IDEA VS Neovim and see what are their differences

IntelliJ IDEA logo IntelliJ IDEA

Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

Neovim logo Neovim

Vim's rebirth for the 21st century
  • IntelliJ IDEA Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-20
  • Neovim Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

IntelliJ IDEA features and specs

  • Intelligent Code Completion
    IntelliJ IDEA offers advanced code completion features, which help to speed up coding by suggesting relevant keywords, variable names, and methods. It understands the context of the code, making suggestions more accurate and useful.
  • Powerful Refactoring
    IntelliJ IDEA provides an extensive set of refactoring tools that simplify code restructuring. Developers can easily rename, move, and change the signature of classes and methods without breaking the application.
  • Integrated Version Control
    Supports various version control systems such as Git, SVN, and Mercurial. This integration allows seamless code commits, merges, and history tracking directly within the IDE.
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem
    Offers a vast library of plugins to extend its functionalities by adding support for additional languages, frameworks, and tools, making it highly customizable.
  • Built-in Terminal
    Includes a powerful built-in terminal that allows for command-line operations without leaving the IDE, improving workflow efficiency.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    IntelliJ IDEA is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing consistency for developers who work across different operating systems.
  • Comprehensive Debugging
    Features advanced debugging tools that provide detailed inspection of variable states, stack traces, and execution flow, making it easier to identify and fix issues.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Offers a highly intuitive and customizable user interface that simplifies navigation and enhances productivity.

Possible disadvantages of IntelliJ IDEA

  • Resource Intensive
    IntelliJ IDEA can be very demanding on system resources, such as RAM and CPU, which may affect performance on less powerful machines.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users may find it challenging to learn all of its features and settings, as the IDE offers a wide range of tools and options.
  • Cost
    While there is a free Community edition, the Ultimate edition with full features requires a paid license, which can be expensive for individual developers or small teams.
  • Occasional Sluggishness
    Users may experience occasional sluggish performance, especially with large projects or extensive usage of plugins.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up IntelliJ IDEA for the first time, particularly for specific project configurations, can be time-consuming and complex.
  • Frequent Updates
    While regular updates are beneficial for security and new features, they can sometimes cause interruptions or require downtime to install.
  • Dependency on Plugins
    Some key functionalities may rely heavily on third-party plugins, which can sometimes lag in updates or lack sufficient documentation.

Neovim features and specs

  • Extensibility
    Neovim is designed to be highly extensible with a robust API that allows for the development of custom plugins, making it easy to tailor the editor to individual workflows.
  • Asynchronous Plugins
    Support for asynchronous plugins enables smoother and faster performance by allowing tasks like linting and autocomplete to run in the background without freezing the editor.
  • Modern Codebase
    The refactored codebase improves maintainability and introduces new features more efficiently compared to the original Vim.
  • Compatibility
    Neovim maintains compatibility with existing Vim plugins and configuration, making it easier for users to transition from Vim.
  • Improved User Interface
    Neovim provides better support for modern terminal features, GUI interfaces, and offers features like an embedded terminal emulator.

Possible disadvantages of Neovim

  • Lack of Official GUI
    Neovim does not come with an official graphical user interface (GUI), which means users who prefer a graphical experience may need to rely on third-party options.
  • Smaller Community
    Although growing, Neovim’s community is smaller compared to Vim, which means fewer community-created resources and plugins.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find Neovim’s highly customizable nature and reliance on configuration files challenging, especially if they are not familiar with Vim-type editors.
  • Potential Instability
    Frequent updates and changes can sometimes introduce bugs or instability, which may affect users who rely on a stable environment for their work.
  • Plugin Compatibility
    While most Vim plugins work, some could have compatibility issues or require modification to work with Neovim, necessitating additional effort from the user.

Analysis of IntelliJ IDEA

Overall verdict

  • IntelliJ IDEA is widely considered to be one of the best IDEs available for Java and Kotlin development, providing a comprehensive suite of tools that cater to both professional developers and beginners.

Why this product is good

  • IntelliJ IDEA, developed by JetBrains, is highly regarded for its robust feature set, including intelligent code completion, deep static analysis, powerful refactoring tools, and a wide range of plugins. It supports multiple programming languages, mainly focusing on Java, Kotlin, and Android development. The integrated development environment (IDE) is appreciated for its intuitive interface and seamless integration with various build tools and version control systems, which enhances productivity and efficiency in software development.

Recommended for

  • Java Developers
  • Kotlin Developers
  • Android Developers
  • Software Engineers requiring advanced debugging and testing tools
  • Teams looking for integration with version control systems
  • Developers needing a customizable and extensible IDE

Analysis of Neovim

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Neovim is considered good by many developers, especially those who appreciate Vim's modal editing capabilities but seek a more modern and extensible platform.

Why this product is good

  • Neovim is a highly configurable text editor built to be an improved version of Vim. It offers enhanced performance, extensibility through plugins, and better integration with modern development tools. Its user-friendly Lua configuration system makes customization easier.

Recommended for

  • Developers who like Vim but want more features and flexibility
  • Programmers seeking a lightweight and fast code editor
  • Individuals interested in customizing their development environment through plugins
  • Users who prefer using the command line
  • People looking for an editor with a strong and active community support

IntelliJ IDEA videos

Overview of IntelliJ IDEA

More videos:

  • Review - Why I Use IntelliJ IDEA
  • Review - Be More Productive With IntelliJ IDEA by Trisha Gee

Neovim videos

What is Neovim, and why should you care?

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to IntelliJ IDEA and Neovim)
IDE
75 75%
25% 25
Text Editors
70 70%
30% 30
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Software Development
67 67%
33% 33

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare IntelliJ IDEA and Neovim

IntelliJ IDEA Reviews

Explore 9 Top Eclipse Alternatives for 2024
Developed by JetBrains, IntelliJ IDEA is a versatile Integrated Development Environment (IDE) initially built for Java and Kotlin, but extends its prowess to incorporate a myriad of other languages through plugins. A unique and user-centric environment favorably touted for its tuneability and keyboard shortcuts that enhance productivity, IntelliJ IDEA has grown to compete...
Source: aircada.com
Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
IntelliJ IDEA is an IDE that was developed by JetBrains and is written in Java, Groovy, and Kotlin. It helps in building the IntelliJ IDEA community from the source code and also produces high-quality code.
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Intelligent Coding Assistance: What sets IntelliJ IDEA apart is its intelligent coding assistance. It seems to understand your code, predict your needs, and assist you with a range of development tasks from start to finish. By virtually mapping your Java projects, it can detect errors, suggest code variants, conduct refactoring, and more. It’s like having a coding assistant!
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Intellij Idea is an enterprise development, cross-platform software for multiple operating systems. It is used to review the differences between any two files, folders, text sources, or database objects, as well as between local files and their repository versions.
Source: linuxopsys.com
9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
IntelliJ IDEA, the routine tasks like coding, are handled by IntelliJ IDEA, which leads to accelerated development. It also allows the programmer to focus on functionality.

Neovim Reviews

We have no reviews of Neovim yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Neovim seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 108 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

IntelliJ IDEA mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of IntelliJ IDEA yet. Tracking of IntelliJ IDEA recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Neovim mentions (108)

  • My Tech Stack in 2025
    PDE (Personalized Development Environment): Neovim. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Optimizing My Dev Workflow in 2025
    I've used VSCode for years. It's great, no doubt. But when you have to juggle up to 5 projects daily, you'll find that it's going to block you away. Mine feels heavy, especially with multiple windows and extensions. This is why I decided to find an alternative, until I started using NeoVim instead. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Setting Up Neovim for Automad Theme Development
    As the developer of the Automad flat-file content management system, I wanted to make working with Automad themes in Neovim as smooth as possible. Automad has its own templating syntax, so I created tree-sitter-automad to provide proper syntax highlighting. Since it’s not yet an official parser, you need to manually register it in Neovim. To speed up template writing, you can also add custom snippets using... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • How to turn NEOVIM into an IDE-like code editor in NIXOS?
    Welcome to my optimized Laravel development setup featuring Nvim with LazyVim integration. This configuration is tailored to enhance productivity and streamline the development workflow for Laravel projects. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Dear (Rust) Devs: Article Request
    You want to customize your Neovim config but you don't know Lua. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing IntelliJ IDEA and Neovim, you can also consider the following products

Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Xcode - Xcode is Apple’s powerful integrated development environment for creating great apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode 4 includes the Xcode IDE, instruments, iOS Simulator, and the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDKs.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA