Software Alternatives & Startups

VS Code VS Vis

Compare VS Code VS Vis and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Vis logo Vis

A vi-like editor based on Plan 9's structural regular expressions.
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • Vis Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-26

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.

Vis features and specs

  • Efficiency
    Vis is designed to be a highly efficient, text-based editor that operates with low resource consumption, making it suitable for use on systems with limited hardware resources.
  • Modal Editing
    Inspired by Vim, Vis offers modal editing, which allows users to switch between different modes for inserting text and manipulating files, providing a powerful and efficient workflow.
  • Keyboard-centric Interface
    Vis, like Vim, emphasizes the use of keyboard shortcuts to navigate and edit text, which can lead to faster and more efficient text editing once mastered.
  • Configurable
    Vis is highly configurable, allowing users to customize and extend its functionalities to suit their specific needs and preferences.
  • Scripting Support
    Vis supports Lua scripting, which enables users to automate tasks and extend the editor's functionality with custom scripts.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project hosted on GitHub, Vis allows users to contribute to its development and customize the code to fit their needs.

Possible disadvantages of Vis

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Like other modal editors, Vis can be difficult for new users to learn, especially if they are accustomed to graphical editors or those without modal interfaces.
  • Limited Documentation
    Compared to more established editors like Vim, Vis has less extensive documentation and fewer tutorials, which can pose challenges for users attempting to learn or troubleshoot.
  • Smaller Community
    Vis has a smaller user community compared to editors like Vim and Emacs, which may result in less community support and fewer resources available online.
  • Less Mature Ecosystem
    Being a relatively newer project, Vis lacks the extensive plugin ecosystem that other editors, such as Vim, offer, limiting the availability of ready-to-use extensions.
  • Limited Platform Support
    Currently, Vis might not be as well-supported on all operating systems or platforms, which can limit its usability for some users.

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.

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

Vis videos

Vis 35 Radom Review & Range Test

More videos:

  • Review - Ending Explained! Locked Up (Vis A Vis: El Oasis) | Review | Netflix
  • Review - Polish Vis 35 - the best pistol of WWII?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and Vis)
Text Editors
99 99%
1% 1
IDE
98 98%
2% 2
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Software Development
98 98%
2% 2

User comments

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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 Vis

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    · Working at SpeechKit ·

Choosing the Best SQL Server Tool in 2026
If you're a Windows DBA who mainly manages servers, SSMS is still hard to beat. SQL Server Data Tools makes the most sense for teams building database projects in Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code with the MSSQL extension is a good option for cross-platform development, and DBeaver works well if SQL Server is just one of several databases you manage.
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

Vis Reviews

We have no reviews of Vis yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be a lot more popular than Vis. While we know about 1216 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 38 mentions of Vis. 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 (1216)

  • Introducing MonoLisa for Visual Studio Code
    While Visual Studio Code supports OpenType features for its code editor well, configuring those features can be complex as it relies on understanding related CSS syntax. On top of this, additional configuration may be required. Because of this purpose, we have introduced an official MonoLisa extension for VS Code (Open VSX). Depending on the version you have installed, it guides you in configuration. On top of... - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • History of JavaScript: Browser wars, ECMAScript, Node.js, TypeScript, and React
    Visual Studio Code, a code editor created by Microsoft, was first introduced on April 29, 2015, at the Build conference. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • How to Get Your First Tool Online
    The step up from there is an editor with a built-in agent like Cursor, Google Antigravity, Windsurf, or VS Code with a coding extension. These are code editors with an AI agent living inside them, and the difference is the responsible party for getting things from place to place. Instead of the software creator shuttling code between windows, the AI agent edits the project files directly and runs the GitHub and... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Agentic Engineering: What Does AI Coding Really Cost?
    For IDE-heavy teams, BYOK (bring your own key) can be interesting, no matter whether you live in WebStorm or VS Code. On the JetBrains side, the JetBrains AI plans and Junie BYOK docs allow it, and most VS Code AI extensions offer the same idea: keep the IDE, connect provider keys, pay the provider. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Best Markdown Editors for Developers
    Option 1: Raw editing in IDE. You open the .md file in VS Code or whatever you use. Syntax highlighting shows you the structure. Maybe you toggle a preview pane. This works for quick edits but becomes painful for anything involving tables, diagrams, or complex formatting. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
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Vis mentions (38)

  • How do you use Vim in the era of AI?
    Moved on to vis a few years ago and never looked back to vim/neovim. Granted, it doesn't have all the sparkles of the former, but it's way leaner and snappier - and you can tell there's no ai in it. https://github.com/martanne/vis. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Show HN: An opinionated fork of micro, built for vibe coders who enjoy code
    > thicc — a fork of micro that's heavy on opinions, not bloat. > What is thicc? File browser. Editor. Terminal. AI tools. One vibe. I don't follow. That seems to be heavy on bloat. Or maybe I'm just happy with vis (https://github.com/martanne/vis). I don't know. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Ad: An Adaptable Text Editor
    People should be aware of two related editors: https://anvil-editor.net/ is an editor more directly inspired by and similar to Acme (but makes no attempt to borrow from Vim). https://github.com/martanne/vis is a minimalist editor that stays close to Vim but adds Sam-style regular extensions and multi-cursor editing. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • The Anvil Text Editor
    There's also vis[0] It is an editor that combines best parts from vim and plan9 sam[0] (multiple cursors, structural regular expressions). 0 - https://github.com/martanne/vis. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Ki Editor
    Another editor that people might be interested in (and I think more people should know about) is https://github.com/martanne/vis. It is, in some ways, the opposite of Ki; instead of straying further from vim, Vis is just Vim + good multiple cursor support + sam-styled structural regexes (I didn't know what those are before using Vis, I consider it a detail of how the... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and Vis, 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.

Micro - Modern terminal-based text editor

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

Kakoune - Vim inspired — Faster as in less keystrokes — Multiple selections — Orthogonal design

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

acme - Acme is a powerful text editor, development environment and textual-user-interface platform...