Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VS Code VS CLion

Compare VS Code VS CLion and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

CLion logo CLion

A cross-platform IDE for C and C++
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • CLion Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24

VS Code features and specs

  • Cross-platform
    VS Code works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent development experience across different operating systems.
  • Extensibility
    A vast library of extensions allows users to add functionalities like debuggers, linters, and themes, making it highly customizable.
  • Integrated Git
    Built-in Git integration makes it easy to manage version control tasks directly within the editor.
  • Performance
    Lightweight compared to full-fledged IDEs, ensuring good performance even on systems with limited resources.
  • IntelliSense
    Advanced code completion and refactoring tools help improve coding efficiency and reduce errors.
  • Community Support
    A strong and active community provides extensive support, tutorials, and third-party extensions.
  • Debugging
    Robust debugging tools for various languages and frameworks are available out of the box.
  • Free and Open-Source
    VS Code is completely free to use and open-source, which is beneficial for both individual developers and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of VS Code

  • Limited IDE Features
    While extensible, it may lack some advanced features found in dedicated IDEs out of the box.
  • Extension Management
    Managing and configuring a large number of extensions can become cumbersome and sometimes lead to performance issues.
  • Learning Curve
    Although user-friendly, it has a steeper learning curve for beginners due to its numerous features and customization options.
  • Memory Usage
    Despite being lightweight, it can consume a significant amount of memory when multiple extensions are installed.
  • Update Frequency
    Frequent updates may sometimes introduce bugs or require users to adapt to new changes quickly.
  • Internet Dependency
    Some features and extensions may require an internet connection to function optimally.
  • Telemetry
    By default, VS Code collects usage data, which might be a concern for users sensitive about data privacy. However, this can be disabled.

CLion features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    CLion is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing developers to work in their preferred operating system.
  • Intelligent Code Assistance
    CLion provides smart code completion, deep code analysis, and reliable refactorings, which can significantly increase productivity.
  • Built-In Debugger
    The built-in debugger supports GDB and LLDB, offering powerful debugging capabilities within the IDE.
  • CMake Support
    CLion natively supports CMake, which is a widely-used build system in C and C++ projects.
  • Integrated Version Control
    CLion integrates with version control systems such as Git, Subversion, Mercurial, Perforce, and more, facilitating seamless code management.
  • JetBrains Ecosystem
    CLion is part of the JetBrains ecosystem, allowing for integration with other tools like PyCharm, IntelliJ IDEA, and ReSharper.
  • Robust Refactoring
    It provides multiple refactoring options such as renaming, extracting methods, and changing function signatures, which help in maintaining cleaner code.
  • Customizability
    The IDE is highly customizable, allowing developers to tailor the environment to their specific needs with plugins and themes.

Possible disadvantages of CLion

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users might find the plethora of features overwhelming and may need time to become proficient with the IDE.
  • Resource Intensive
    CLion can be quite demanding on system resources, which may lead to slower performance on less powerful machines.
  • Paid License
    While there is a free trial, CLion is a commercial product, and users have to purchase a license for continued use, which could be a barrier for some.
  • Heavyweight
    Compared to some lightweight text editors and IDEs, CLion can feel heavy and slow to start up, which might be inconvenient for quick edits.
  • Limited Native Tooling
    While CMake is well-supported, native support for other build systems (like Makefiles or Bazel) is less robust.
  • Initial Configuration
    Setting up the IDE for the first time, especially for large projects, can take a significant amount of time and effort.

Analysis of VS Code

Overall verdict

  • Yes, VS Code is generally considered a good choice for developers due to its flexibility, efficiency, and strong community support. It is lightweight, fast, and user-friendly, catering to both novice and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • VS Code, developed by Microsoft, is a widely popular and versatile code editor. It offers a robust extension ecosystem, which allows developers to customize their workflow and coding environment extensively. Additionally, VS Code supports numerous programming languages right out of the box and provides features like IntelliSense, debugging, Git integration, and a built-in terminal, making it a powerful tool for developers.

Recommended for

  • Web developers looking for a comprehensive yet lightweight coding environment.
  • Software developers who need an editor with extensive language support and customization options.
  • Beginner programmers who would benefit from a feature-rich editor that can grow with their skills.
  • Developers interested in an open-source tool with continuous updates and community-driven enhancements.

Analysis of CLion

Overall verdict

  • CLion is considered one of the best IDEs available for C and C++ development. With its comprehensive feature set, it is highly beneficial for developers looking for efficiency and productivity.

Why this product is good

  • CLion is developed by JetBrains, a reputable company known for creating robust development environments.
  • It provides excellent support for C and C++ languages, along with features like code analysis, refactoring, and generation.
  • The IDE offers powerful debugging capabilities, including support for GDB and LLDB.
  • CLion integrates well with popular build systems like CMake, Gradle, and Makefile.
  • It has great support for version control systems such as Git, Subversion, and Mercurial.
  • The IDE includes a customizable interface as well as a variety of plugins to enhance functionality.

Recommended for

  • C and C++ developers seeking an integrated development environment with advanced features.
  • Individuals looking for an IDE that supports both small and large projects with ease.
  • Developers who prefer an IDE with robust debugging and code analysis capabilities.
  • Teams that use modern version control systems and need seamless integration.

VS Code videos

My New Favorite Text Editor - Visual Studio Code

More videos:

  • Review - 7 reasons why I switched to Visual Studio Code from Sublime Text

CLion videos

CLion Quick Tour

More videos:

  • Review - C++ Programming - JetBrains CLion First Impressions
  • Review - Introducing CLion

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and CLion)
Text Editors
97 97%
3% 3
IDE
96 96%
4% 4
Developer Tools
98 98%
2% 2
Software Development
95 95%
5% 5

User comments

Share your experience with using VS Code and CLion. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare VS Code and CLion

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    · Working at SpeechKit ·

Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Visual Studio Code, commonly known as VS Code, is a powerful and extensible code editor developed by Microsoft. With its rich ecosystem of extensions and features like IntelliSense, debugging, and Git integration, VS Code enhances your coding productivity.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
Finally, the Visual Studio Code website has numerous tabs for you to learn about the software. The documentation page walks you through steps like the setup and working with different languages. You’re also able to check out some tips and tricks and learn all of the Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts. Along with a blog, updates page, extensions library and API...
Source: kinsta.com
Jupyter Notebook & 10 Alternatives: Data Notebook Review [2023]
Previously, VS Code was more suited to developers or engineers due to its lack of data analysis capabilities, but since 2020, the VS Code team has collaborated with the Jupyter team to create an integrated notebook within VS Code. The end result is a fantastic IDE workbook for data analysis.
Source: lakefs.io
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Overview: Although not a traditional IDE, VS Code has gained popularity as a lightweight code editor.
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Visual studio code is a code editor made by Microsoft. It supports several development operations like debugging, task running, and version control. It works on Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems.
Source: linuxopsys.com

CLion Reviews

What's The Best C++ IDE? Our Top C++ IDEs & Editors In 2024
For me, one of CLion's standout features is its smart code analysis. This goes beyond simple syntax checking; it delves into your code's structure, ensuring both accuracy and efficiency. The IDE effectively catches errors and suggests relevant fixes even before you run your code, a boon for maintaining code quality.
Source: hackr.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1146 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.

VS Code mentions (1146)

  • What Are the Best Code Editors for Collaborative Coding?
    Visual Studio Code is a highly popular, lightweight, and versatile code editor. Its Live Share extension transforms it into a powerful collaborative tool. With Live Share, developers can co-edit and co-debug codes in real-time, making it easier to handle complex projects together. It offers:. - Source: dev.to / 2 days ago
  • Before the Code: Why I Chose Web Development and How I Got Started
    Built-in terminal (you’ll love this later) Download it here. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • #The Chronicles of Sam: 10,000 Hours to Say “Hi” Automatically 💬
    Somewhere between enabling CORS and accidentally enabling IAM authentication, Sam backed out slowly and did what all developers eventually do when faced with AWS UI: They closed the tab and opened [VSCode 🖥️].(https://code.visualstudio.com/). - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
  • Build Python Docker Development Environment on Win11 from Scratch
    Download VSCode through the following URL Https://code.visualstudio.com/. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • How to Handle File Uploads with Node.js and Express - Multer Edition
    A text editor or lightweight IDE such as Visual Studio Code. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
View more

CLion mentions (0)

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

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and CLion, you can also consider the following products

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.

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.

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

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

Notepad++ - A free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment.

Netbeans - NetBeans IDE 7.0. Develop desktop, mobile and web applications with Java, PHP, C/C++ and more. Runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris. NetBeans IDE is open-source and free.