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SharpDevelop VS OmniSharp

Compare SharpDevelop VS OmniSharp and see what are their differences

SharpDevelop logo SharpDevelop

#develop (short for SharpDevelop) is a free IDE for C#, VB.NET and Boo projects on Microsoft's .

OmniSharp logo OmniSharp

OmniSharp is a family of Open Source projects, each with one goal - To enable great .NET development in YOUR editor of choice.
  • SharpDevelop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-27
  • OmniSharp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2026-05-25

SharpDevelop features and specs

  • Open Source
    SharpDevelop is open-source software, allowing developers to contribute to its development and customize it as needed.
  • Free of Charge
    It is available for free, which lowers the barrier for entry for individual developers and small teams who may not have the budget for commercial alternatives.
  • Lightweight
    SharpDevelop is lightweight compared to some other integrated development environments (IDEs), which can result in faster startup times and lower system resource consumption.
  • C# and .NET Support
    It provides good support for C# and .NET languages, catering to developers working within the Microsoft ecosystem.
  • Extensible
    The IDE is extensible, allowing developers to add features and customize it through a range of plugins and extensions.

Possible disadvantages of SharpDevelop

  • Limited Features
    Compared to larger IDEs like Visual Studio, SharpDevelop may have fewer features and tools available out of the box.
  • Discontinued Development
    Active development on SharpDevelop has been discontinued, meaning it may lack support for new technologies or bug fixes over time.
  • Community Size
    The user and developer community for SharpDevelop is relatively small, which can lead to limited support options and fewer third-party resources.
  • Compatibility
    SharpDevelop might not support all the latest features of C# and .NET, especially newer releases, due to its discontinued status.
  • Platform Limitations
    It's primarily designed for Windows, which may not be ideal for developers working in cross-platform environments.

OmniSharp features and specs

  • Cross-platform C# development
    OmniSharp enables C# development across multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux, breaking the dependency on Visual Studio and allowing developers to work in their preferred operating system.
  • Editor flexibility
    OmniSharp integrates with a wide range of popular code editors such as VS Code, Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text, and Atom, giving developers the freedom to use their preferred editor while still getting rich C# language support.
  • Open source and community-driven
    OmniSharp is fully open source and backed by an active community of contributors. This ensures transparency, continuous improvement, and the ability for developers to contribute fixes or features.
  • Rich IntelliSense and language features
    OmniSharp provides robust language services including IntelliSense, code completion, go-to-definition, find references, refactoring, and diagnostics, offering an experience comparable to full IDEs for C# development.
  • Lightweight alternative to full IDEs
    Unlike heavyweight IDEs such as Visual Studio, OmniSharp combined with a lightweight editor uses significantly fewer system resources, making it ideal for developers working on less powerful machines or those who prefer minimalist tooling.

Possible disadvantages of OmniSharp

  • Complex setup and configuration
    Setting up OmniSharp with certain editors can require significant manual configuration, including installing plugins, configuring paths, and troubleshooting compatibility issues, which can be daunting for newcomers.
  • Feature gap compared to Visual Studio
    While OmniSharp provides many language features, it still lacks some advanced capabilities found in Visual Studio such as full debugging integration, advanced profiling tools, GUI designers, and certain enterprise-level refactoring features.
  • Inconsistent experience across editors
    The quality and depth of OmniSharp integration varies across different editors. Some editors receive better plugin support and more frequent updates than others, leading to an uneven developer experience.
  • Performance issues with large projects
    OmniSharp can experience performance degradation when working with large solutions or projects, resulting in slow IntelliSense responses, high memory consumption, and longer project load times compared to optimized IDEs.
  • Debugging limitations
    OmniSharp itself does not provide debugging capabilities and relies on separate debugger extensions or tools. Setting up and configuring debugging workflows can be more cumbersome compared to the integrated debugging experience in full-featured IDEs.

Analysis of OmniSharp

Overall verdict

  • OmniSharp is a solid, open-source project that brings powerful C# language support and intelligent code completion to a wide range of editors beyond Visual Studio, making it a valuable tool for cross-platform .NET development.

Why this product is good

  • Provides rich C# IntelliSense, code completion, and navigation across many editors like VS Code, Vim, Emacs, and Sublime Text
  • Open-source and free, backed by an active community and integrated into the broader .NET tooling ecosystem
  • Enables cross-platform C# development on Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Powers the official C# extension for VS Code, giving it a large, proven user base
  • Supports Roslyn-based analysis for accurate diagnostics and refactoring

Recommended for

  • Developers writing C# in editors other than full Visual Studio
  • Cross-platform .NET developers on macOS and Linux
  • VS Code users needing robust C# language features
  • Teams and individuals seeking a free, open-source alternative to heavyweight IDE tooling
  • Contributors and enthusiasts who value community-driven open-source projects

SharpDevelop videos

Hello World App in C# with SharpDevelop IDE

More videos:

  • Review - SharpDevelop | Visual Studio Alternative For Weaker Devices | And Low Space Computers
  • Review - tuananhktmt- Hฦฐแป›ng dแบซn lแบญp trรฌnh C# trรชn SharpDevelop

OmniSharp videos

Using the OmniSharp Plugin with the Atom Text Editor

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SharpDevelop and OmniSharp)
Text Editors
71 71%
29% 29
IDE
71 71%
29% 29
Software Development
71 71%
29% 29
Developer Tools
53 53%
47% 47

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing SharpDevelop and OmniSharp, you can also consider the following products

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

MonoDevelop - MonoDevelop enables developers to write desktop and web applications on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

Qt Creator - Qt Creator is a cross-platform C++, JavaScript and QML integrated development environment. It is the fastest, easiest and most fun experience a C++ developer could wish for.

Rider - Rider is a cross-platform .NET IDE based on the IntelliJ platform and ReSharper.

Eclipse - Eclipse is an open source community, whose projects are focused on building an open development platform comprised of extensible frameworks, tools and runtimes for building, deploying and managing software across the lifecycle.

roobuilder - Vala and Javascript IDE - for building Vala Desktop applications and Javascript UI's using the roojs libraries (for bootstrap and classic) - roojs/roobuilder