Android Studio vs. IntelliJ IDEA

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Android Studio
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Android Studio is an official Android development integrated development environment (IDE) for mobile application development in the Android operating system developed by Google. Android Studio is based on Jetbrains'N/A
IntelliJ IDEA
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
IntelliJ IDEA is an IDE that aims to give Java and Kotlin developers everything they need out of the box, including a smart code editor, built-in developer tools, framework support, database support, web development support, and much more.
$19.90
per month
Pricing
Android StudioIntelliJ IDEA
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
For Individual Use (Monthly billing)
$19.90
per month
For Organizations (Monthly billing)
$71.90
per month
For Individual Use (Yearly billing)
$199
per year
For Organizations (Yearly billing)
$719
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Android StudioIntelliJ IDEA
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll Products Pack (For Individual Use) – $299 /1st year, $ 239 /2nd year and $ 179 /3d year onwards All Products Pack (For Organizations) – $979 / year
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Android StudioIntelliJ IDEA
TrustRadius Insights
Android StudioIntelliJ IDEA
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Android Studio and IntelliJ IDEA are both development tools designed to help development teams create applications with ease. Android Studio is actually based on IntelliJ IDEA, but specializes in developing for the Android platform.  In contrast, IntelliJ IDEA is a more generalist IDE that helps developers create code for any platform.  Both are popular with businesses of all sizes, depending on the use case of the organization.

Features

Both Android Studio and IntelliJ IDEA can be used to develop new applications, but they have a few standout features that set them apart from each other.

Android Studio is a specialized mobile app development tool for the Android platform.  In addition to offering basic IDE features, Android Studio provides features that make it easier to interact with mobile functions such as push notifications, or integrations with cameras.  Businesses using Android Studio are able to easily create and publish Android applications.

IntelliJ IDEA is a generalist IDE with plugins for specific platforms.  For example, a user creating an Android application may use the Android plugin for IntelliJ IDEA.  The generalist approach of IntelliJ IDEA allows businesses to use it to develop for multiple platforms, using plugins to select what specialized features they need.

Limitations

Though Android Studio and IntelliJ IDEA have many surface level similarities, they also have some limitations that are important to consider.

Android Studio is built for Android application development, so it has great tools for that platform, but no special features for other platforms.  This makes Android Studio a poor choice for businesses that want to develop for other platforms.  Android Studio may still be a good complementary choice to another IDE for businesses that develop Android applications among other things.

IntelliJ IDEA supports development for multiple platforms, but is missing some of the specialized features included in Android Studio, such as APK support.  Android Studio may be a better choice for businesses that develop primarily Android Applications.  It is worth noting that Android Studio is based on IntelliJ IDEA, so for businesses that develop for multiple platforms, IntelliJ IDEA still offers some support for Android development in addition to other platforms.

Pricing

Android Studio is a free to use development tool.  In contrast, IntelliJ IDEA starts at $499.00 per year with a discount for each year beyond the first.  

User Ratings
Android StudioIntelliJ IDEA
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Android StudioIntelliJ IDEA
Likelihood to Recommend
Android Studio is the only platform you should consider for Android development. I have found that nothing else comes close in terms of documentation or support. There is always the temptation to develop for Android using a cross platform toolkit, such as Xamarin, but unless your app is incredibly simple, you will find your self wrestling with the toolkit more than actually creating your product. If you have any Android projects still in Eclipse, you should upgrade these to Android Studio - the backwards compatibility for older versions of Android is very good, with issues only occurring with debugging on older (Lollipop or below) devices. The only scenario Android Studio is not suitable for is cross-platform development. There is no way to share code between iOS, macOS, or Windows projects with Android Studio, unless you are developing a game in C++. If you wish to develop cross platform mobile apps, I suggest Microsoft Visual Studio.
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IntelliJ IDEA is very well suited for developers working on Java, Javascript, and related technologies. It is the best IDE I've found so far for software development in Java. IntelliJ IDEA is specifically well suited for web software development using Java as it provides default configurations for web frameworks like Spring and Spring Boot. For other use cases, I feel it is more than good enough.
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Pros
  • It is very lightweight and resource management is done pretty well in this IDE.
  • It boots up very fast as compared to other development IDEs.
  • It is not a memory hungry IDE.
  • Even novices can work with this IDE very easily.
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  • Compared to Eclipse, basically it is a easier to learn which results in faster learning curve. Good for small or mid-sized projects. Generally speaking developers can be productive in a short training and use.
  • Very rich plug-in capability, such as out of the box support for version control systems.
  • User friendly interface. Responsive and interactive than other IDE tools.
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Cons
  • Debugging is not that great, it can show some specific details for a better understanding of the issue.
  • It is a RAM eater tool, its hard to do multitask along with the android studio.
  • Sometimes after updating the android studio, we have to face so many random issues with the SDK or codes.
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  • IntelliJ IDEA wins as long as the language is Java. Outside that , e.g., in other languages, it is not so advanced.
  • It is licensed, with a steep licensing cost. All features are not included in the free edition.
  • It is not as light as Eclipse, so in a weak system, it can be a pain.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
VS Code is maturing and has a Scala plugin now. The overall experience with VS Code - for web development at least - is very snappy/fast. IntelliJ feels a bit sluggish in comparison. If that Scala plugin for VS Code is deemed mature enough - we may not bother renewing and resort to the Community Edition if we need it.
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Usability
It has improved over the versions, and it continues to do so. I have no problems using Android Studio and I think that it's quite a user-friendly software.
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There is always room for improvement, but I haven't met any IDE that I liked more so far. Even if it did not fit a use case right out of the box, there is always a way to configure how it works to do just that.
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Support Rating
The support of the community is very good. You can find many solutions on sites like StackOverflow and Brazilian sites like GUJ, for example. Google documentation about Android Studio is very good too. I have some Android developer friends, so they have the knowledge to support me when I need it.
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Customer support is really good in the case of IntelliJ. If you are paying for this product then, the company makes sure that you will get all the services adequately. Regular update patches are provided to improve the IDE. An online bug report makes it easier for the developers to find the solution as fast as possible. The large online community also helps to find the various solutions to the issues.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
This installs just like any other application - its pretty straight forward. Perhaps licensing could be more challenging - but if you use the cloud licensing they offer its as simple as having engineers login to the application and it just works.
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Alternatives Considered
I am primarily a Java developer so many of the IDEs I have used are specifically made for Java development. I have used IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, and NetBeans for Java development but Android Studio is far better for Android development specifically and it also has support for things like Flutter development. VS Code is quickly becoming popular across languages but Android Studio is still at the top in my opinion.
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In summary, IntelliJ is more polished and feature-rich out of the box, especially for Java development. Eclipse is extensible but can be rougher around the edges. IntelliJ costs money for advanced features, while Eclipse is free. IntelliJ offers many developers a better experience, but Eclipse remains a viable open-source alternative.
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Return on Investment
  • Due to Android Studio's day by day improvement, our company is making Android applications in more and more effective and efficient ways.
  • 24x7 support from Google and JetBrains is making our work running 24x7 smoother, and making our clients happier and happier day by day.
  • Due to the awesome animation and transition tricks, we are providing our clients more than they expected.
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  • Boosts productivity: IntelliJ IDEA is efficient to operate, and with its shortcuts and customization, the possibilities to improve your productivity are endless.
  • Clean code: IntelliJ IDEA will catch or syntax errors, or even suggest a way something could be written better, or call our your duplicated code or unused imports.
  • An easy learning curve for new guys: It's much easier to use than some of the competition, so it helps the new guys hit the ground running by being easy to operate and understand.
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ScreenShots

IntelliJ IDEA Screenshots

Screenshot of IntelliJ IDEA interface overview: the Project tool window (left) outlines the code structure and the Editor (right) is used to read, write, and explore the source code.Screenshot of IntelliJ IDEA analyzing the context. It then suggests the most applicable and relevant code.Screenshot of the Search Everywhere window, where users can search for files, actions, classes, symbols, settings, UI elements, and anything in Git, all from a single entry point.Screenshot of inspections to help find probable bugs and dead code, detect performance issues, and improve the overall code structure by providing quick-fixes for any code that contains potential concerns.Screenshot of IntelliJ IDEA's support for frameworks with dedicated assistance for Jakarta EE, JPA, Reactor, Spring and Spring Boot, and other popular frameworks.Screenshot of the AI Assistant that provides features for software development. It can explain code, answer questions about code fragments, provide code suggestions, generate documentation, and commit messages.