Microsoft Visual Studio Code vs. PyCharm

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft offers Visual Studio Code, a text editor that supports code editing, debugging, IntelliSense syntax highlighting, and other features.N/A
PyCharm
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
PyCharm is an extensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Python developers. Its arsenal includes intelligent code completion, error detection, and rapid problem-solving features, all of which aim to bolster efficiency. The product supports programmers in composing orderly and maintainable code by offering PEP8 checks, testing assistance, intelligent refactorings, and inspections. Moreover, it caters to web development frameworks like Django and Flask by providing framework…
$99
per year per user
Pricing
Microsoft Visual Studio CodePyCharm
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
For Individuals
$99
per year per user
All Products Pack for Organizations
$249
per year per user
All Products Pack for Individuals
$289
per year per user
For Organizations
$779
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Visual Studio CodePyCharm
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Visual Studio CodePyCharm
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is a combined form of the above-mentioned products i.e. one product, many applications. Eclipse is suitable for java development, PyCharm is mainly for Python development whereas Android Studio is for Android applications development but in …
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Microsoft VS Code is extremely customizable with needs. So, features like syntax highlighting, bracket-matching, auto-indentation, well-integrated terminal, and side-by-side editing are powerful. Even these features are given free with Microsoft VS code. PyCharm and WebStorm
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
I have been using Vim as both editor and IDE for development projects for a long time until I met Visual Studio Code.
VS Code can provide the editing power of Vim through a plugin, plus many other benefits, thus it can easily replace Vim in most development use.
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
While Sublime Text, another free alternative, is faster and snappier than Code, the extensions that are available on it are sub-par (it doesn't even have an official extension store). This makes using it for any serious work unpleasant, at least to me.

IntelliJ's dedicated IDEs …
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Since moving away from VB6, Visual Studio has been my primary IDE of choice. I used PyCharm a little bit but found the platform too difficult to figure out (I'm a pretty simple person). Visual Studio Code crossed my radar only a few months ago, coincident to learning Python, …
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Far better than Eclipse IDE. Eclipse takes so much space, and it is slow. Whereas Vs Code IDE is so fast and having good UI as compared to Eclipse. I help to work efficiently and is also highlight the syntax in good way by recommending in editor. Microsoft Visual Studio Code …
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
I think VS Code is much better as compared to all the tools mentioned above. Just waiting for its support for iOS and Android development.
currently, it misses support for them. That's where you will require Xcode and Android Studio.
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Every IDE has almost the same features but being lightweight is a plus point for the IDE so that you can run on any hardware with good speed. VS Code has ultimate features.
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
I found it very easy and a far better way to run the code and test as it will reflect the changes just by saving the code. We can run the commands required directly here. And we can push the code to GitHub or any source version controllers or even clone from the server.
Chose Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Honestly we only vetted Visual Studio code against Visual Studio and it gives us everything we need and then some. There are options out there but for us, to be able to have a fully integrated environment that allows us to move from one team to the other with little to no …
PyCharm
Chose PyCharm
For dedicated python projects, I don't need any other IDE than Pycharm becaus of its perfect UI, suggestions and plugins for PYthon. For other code or small scripts I would go with vs code.
Chose PyCharm
I feel PyCharm is better fit for Python web development as it's a full platform that is designed by developers for developers. While vscode is free and does basically the same things, I always feel that it's less robust. Also, while I enjoy Vim as a simple text editor, I prefer …
Chose PyCharm
It is more complete and can handle more projects at the same time. On the other hand, Visual Studio Code has better integration with LMS to help you code. PyCharm allows you to integrate with many external tools and external servers that Visual Studio Code has difficulties with.
Chose PyCharm
PyCharm is the best IDE for python development. PyCharm offers various features: source code completion, support for unit testing, integration with Docker/GitLab/Git, ability to manage and configure virtual environments, auto-indentation, and re-factoring code with ease. …
Chose PyCharm
First of all, PyCharm is easy to install for beginners whose parent organization is JetBrains. It can be installed on any operating system with ease. It provides Python Django Framework for FrontEnd Developers which others do not provide. The UI is also simpler as compared to …
Chose PyCharm
PyCharm provided a more focused environment where it was much clearer how the different components of software development workflow came together. I have much more limited experience with Visual Studio Code and Atom, but found those environments to be more confusing, as they …
Chose PyCharm
I've used Sublime, VSCode, Wing IDE, Visual Studio, IntelliJ, WebStorm. For Java development, Intellij is best - being built by the same company as PyCharm it provides a helpful familiarity. The same can be said for WebStorm, although more lightweight IDEs are usually …
Chose PyCharm
Simply one of the best IDE's of our time. It has a lot of features, a big user base, and a professional developer team behind it. It simply surpasses most of its competitors, as there are not too many Python-specialized IDEs anyway.
Chose PyCharm
I've used IntelliJ with Python extensions in past for working in Python but it's not best suited for that it doesn't give all the flexibility for Python projects like auto-indentation for Python code. Its paid version is a bit cheaper than IntelliJ. PyCharm offers integration …
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Visual Studio CodePyCharm
Small Businesses
BBEdit
BBEdit
Score 9.1 out of 10
IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Vim
Vim
Score 8.3 out of 10
IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Vim
Vim
Score 8.3 out of 10
IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Visual Studio CodePyCharm
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.7
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Visual Studio CodePyCharm
Likelihood to Recommend
If your Source Control Software is Team Foundation Server then skip Visual Studio Code. If you're using GitHub and are creating small projects Visual Studio Code is the way to go. If you need to create a large, enterprise-level application, Visual Studio Code makes it easier to set up interactions between related projects (client & server). If you're interested in getting back to the old way of using the command line to create projects and you know what to enter in the console window then Visual Studio Code is great. Visual Studio Code is a better choice if you don't know the console commands and prefer to make selections from a menu.
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It's easy to create virtual environments and install packages for different projects as we may need project-specific packages for doing our experiments, also it's easy to see what changes we have made and create pull requests faster. But sometimes we want some light python editor like Jupiter notebook as PyCharm is relatively heavier, also Jupiter notebooks are a good option when we need to run remote code on local machines.
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Pros
  • Robust plugin architecture replete with fantastic add-ons that make developer life delightful.
  • Integrated Terminal window allows you to stay in one application to perform most required tasks.
  • Customization options are robust. It is easy to modify VS Code to your own specifications.
  • It's free! Hard to believe such a well made, well maintained, robust software is a free download.
  • Command+P/Command+Shift+P key commands will improve your workflow dramatically.
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  • Git integration is really essential as it allows anyone to visually see the local and remote changes, compare revisions without the need for complex commands.
  • Complex debugging tools are basked into the IDE. Controls like break on exception are sometimes very helpful to identify errors quickly.
  • Multiple runtimes - Python, Flask, Django, Docker are native the to IDE. This makes development and debugging and even more seamless.
  • Integrates with Jupyter and Markdown files as well. Side by side rendering and editing makes it simple to develop such files.
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Cons
  • Unlike for most languages I have used, Ruby and Rails support available for Code users isn't great. The most popular Ruby extension is unofficial, and leaves much to desire. As an example, code navigation even with language server Solargraph installed isn't as good as IntelliJ's RubyMine.
  • Even there is quite good support for a language or a framework, it is almost never as good as a dedicated IDE for it. In terms of the sheer number of features available, IntelliJ IDEs handily beat Code.
  • Microsoft has close-sourced some of the extensions it develops for Code itself, e.g. Pylance for Python, and that has not been perceived as a good move for open-source.
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  • PyCharm text editor automatically inserts whitespace at the end of each line which can cause issues when doing text comparisons.
  • The package requirement checker and installer does not work well all the time and can be improved
  • Integration with GitLab pipelines can be made better.
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Likelihood to Renew
Solid tool that provides everything you need to develop most types of applications. The only reason not a 10 is that if you are doing large distributed teams on Enterprise level, Professional does provide more tools to support that and would be worth the cost.
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It's perfect for our needs, cuts development time, is really helpful for newbies to understand projects structure
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Usability
Looking at our current implementation, Microsoft Visual Studio Code is perfect for writing code and performing debug operations. Integration with SVN repository is easy and changes can be tracked effectively. Microsoft Visual Studio Code supports developers to write code productively using syntax check and easy customization. Microsoft Visual Studio Code also provides support for IntelliSense which prompts suggestions for code completion. It is easy to step through code using interactive debugger to inspect the root cause of error quickly.
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It's pretty easy to use, but if it's your first time using it, you need time to adapt. Nevertheless, it has a lot of options, and everything is pretty easy to find. The console has a lot of advantages and lets you accelerate your development from the first day.
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Support Rating
Active development means filing a bug on the GitHub repo typically gets you a response within 4 days. There are plugins for almost everything you need, whether it be linting, Vim emulation, even language servers (which I use to code in Scala). There is well-maintained official documentation. The only thing missing is forums. The closest thing is GitHub issues, which typically has the answers but is hard to sift through -- there are currently 78k issues.
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I rate 10/10 because I have never needed a direct customer support from the JetBrains so far. Whenever and for whatever kind of problems I came across, I have been able to resolve it within the internet community, simply by Googling because turns out most of the time, it was me who lacked the proper information to use the IDE or simply make the proper configuration. I have never came across a bug in PyCharm either so it deserves 10/10 for overall support
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Alternatives Considered
All the previously listed are incredible development environments that perfectly fulfill this function, but [Microsoft] Visual Studio Code goes one step ahead by providing flexibility, customization and adaptability to development environments with its own methodology, for all this productivity. of the work team is greatly increased helping to achieve the objectives set in the organization.
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It is more complete and can handle more projects at the same time. On the other hand, Visual Studio Code has better integration with LMS to help you code. PyCharm allows you to integrate with many external tools and external servers that Visual Studio Code has difficulties with.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Saves money by replacing suites of tools such as Visual Studio, IntelliJ, etc.
  • Speeds development time and developer environment setup time
  • Strengthens code quality with integrated autoformatting and linting
  • Strengths Git practices by keeping version control tightly connected with the code
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  • Improved efficiency with coding assistance (templates, code completion, documentation), which helps us avoid 'reinventing the wheel' with new projects.
  • Extensive support for other packages/integrations: Docker support to test code, Git repo creation (for version control), and integration with different database systems (Postgres, MySQL).
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ScreenShots