Visual Studio vs Eclipse

by Gralio Mar 10, 2025

Visual Studio and Eclipse are popular IDEs catering to different needs. Visual Studio excels in .NET and Windows development, while Eclipse shines in its open-source, cross-platform nature and strong Java support. The choice depends on your project's specific requirements, budget, and platform preferences.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 5009 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 4 hours, 19 minutes of reading.

Visual Studio

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Eclipse

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About

Visual Studio, by Microsoft, is a popular software development tool. It helps developers build a wide variety of applications – from simple programs to complex websites and mobile apps. Visual Studio provides a single, comprehensive environment for coding, debugging, testing, and deploying software, making the development process smoother and more efficient.

Eclipse provides a suite of tools for software developers to write, test, and manage code. It offers a collaborative and customizable platform used by individuals and companies of all sizes. While known for Java development, it also supports other programming languages. Eclipse is free, open-source, and constantly evolving with new features and improvements.

Summary

Main difference

Visual Studio is a powerful IDE best suited for .NET development and Windows-centric environments, offering seamless integration with Microsoft technologies. Eclipse, being open-source and cross-platform, provides greater flexibility and extensibility, particularly beneficial for Java development and diverse operating systems.

Relative strengths of Visual Studio (compared to Eclipse)

Strong .NET ecosystem integration: Visual Studio offers unparalleled support for .NET development, including debugging, profiling, and deployment tools.
Advanced debugging and profiling capabilities: Visual Studio provides robust debugging and profiling tools that help developers identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.
Comprehensive tooling for Windows development: Visual Studio excels in building applications for Windows, with dedicated features for UI design, testing, and deployment.

Relative weaknesses of Visual Studio (compared to Eclipse)

Limited cross-platform support: Visual Studio primarily focuses on Windows, offering less comprehensive support for other operating systems.
Resource intensive: Visual Studio can be resource-intensive, requiring powerful hardware for optimal performance.
Cost: Visual Studio's professional and enterprise editions come with substantial licensing fees, potentially adding significant costs for larger teams.

Who should use Visual Studio VS. Eclipse

Visual Studio by Microsoft is a comprehensive software development environment ideal for developers in small, medium, and large organizations. Users praise Visual Studio's user-friendly interface, robust debugging tools, and seamless Git integration. However, some have noted performance issues with larger projects. It's particularly well-suited for Windows-based applications, web and mobile development, and game creation.

Eclipse is a free, open-source IDE known for its Java development capabilities, extensive plugin ecosystem, and robust debugging tools. Users praise its ease of use and customization options, while some find its performance and UI outdated. It's suitable for individuals and companies of all sizes.

Ideal for medium to large businesses (100-1000+ employees).
Best fit for software development and IT-related companies.

Ideal for small, medium, and large businesses.
Best fit for software, IT, and telecommunications companies; suitable for finance, banking, insurance, e-commerce, and education.

Visual Studio and Eclipse features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

o3-mini reasoning model access

Partially supported

Visual Studio will support o3-mini via Copilot integration, but not directly.

Partially supported

Eclipse does not directly support o3-mini, but integration is possible via Azure OpenAI Service API.
Surface Copilot+ PC access

Supported

Visual Studio can run on Surface Copilot+ PCs due to Windows compatibility.

Not supported

Eclipse IDE does not support Surface Copilot+ PC access.
Commit and push

Supported

Visual Studio allows committing and pushing code changes directly within the IDE.

Supported

Eclipse supports committing and pushing code changes directly within the IDE via the EGit plugin.
Code completion

Supported

Visual Studio supports code completion via IntelliSense and IntelliCode, potentially enhanced by ReSharper.

Supported

Eclipse supports code completion via its Code Assist feature.
Plugin support

Supported

Visual Studio supports a wide variety of plugins to extend its functionality.

Supported

Eclipse supports a wide variety of plugins via the Eclipse Marketplace.
Debugging support

Supported

Visual Studio offers debugging tools like breakpoints, stepping, and variable inspection.

Supported

Eclipse supports debugging with breakpoints, stepping, and variable inspection.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.14

Neutral sentiment

No data
Customer Service

+0.71

Strongly positive sentiment

No data
Ease of Use

+0.72

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.56

Rather positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

-0.51

Rather negative sentiment

-0.14

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.25

Neutral sentiment

+0.08

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

-0.25

Neutral sentiment

-0.6

Rather negative sentiment

Visual Studio and Eclipse Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

+0.14

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Strongly positive

See full Pricing page

Visual Studio and Eclipse review insights

5009 reviews analysed from

Users love

User-friendly interface and easy navigation.
Excellent IntelliSense and code completion.
Powerful debugging capabilities.
Extensive customization options and extensions.
Seamless Git integration.

Easy-to-use interface for Java development.
Extensive plugin ecosystem for customization and integration.
Robust debugging features for efficient bug fixing.
Excellent support for Maven and other build tools.
Open-source and free, making it accessible to everyone.

Users dislike

Slow performance, especially with larger projects or multiple extensions.
Resource intensive, requiring high system specifications.
Occasional freezing or crashing.
Complex setup and configuration, especially for beginners.
Limited native support for non-Microsoft platforms or technologies.

Slow startup times and occasional performance lags, especially with larger projects.
UI looks outdated and could be more intuitive.
Limited customization options for themes and visuals.
Some plugins can be unreliable or poorly maintained.
Resource intensive, requiring significant memory and CPU.

Visual Studio and Eclipse Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(2518)

G2

4.3/5

(2506)
Glassdoor

3.7/5

(10)

Company health

Employee growth

3% increase in the last year

No change in the last year

Web traffic

3% decrease in the last quarter

1% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

No data

How important is native Git integration within the IDE?

Native Git integration is very important for developers, streamlining the development workflow. While both Visual Studio and Eclipse offer this integration, Visual Studio's is described as "seamless" while Eclipse relies on the EGit plugin. This might indicate a more tightly coupled and potentially smoother experience within Visual Studio. For developers who heavily utilize Git, this difference could be a significant factor.

Which IDE better supports plugin extensibility for your needs?

Both Visual Studio and Eclipse offer robust plugin extensibility through their respective marketplaces and APIs. However, Eclipse, being open-source, arguably has a slight edge. Its open nature fosters a larger community actively developing and maintaining a wider range of plugins, often addressing niche needs that commercial products might overlook. While Visual Studio also boasts a substantial plugin ecosystem, its focus on the Microsoft ecosystem may limit the availability of certain specialized tools.

What are the advantages of Visual Studio?

Visual Studio offers a more integrated development environment with features like IntelliSense and IntelliCode for enhanced code completion, potentially further improved by ReSharper extensions. Its seamless Git integration simplifies version control within the IDE. While resource-intensive, Visual Studio provides powerful debugging capabilities and extensive customization options through plugins, making it a strong choice for Windows-based development and larger projects.

What are the disadvantages of Visual Studio?

Visual Studio can be slow and resource-intensive, especially with larger projects, potentially requiring high system specifications. It can occasionally freeze or crash, disrupting workflow. The setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for beginners. Finally, Visual Studio has limited native support for non-Microsoft platforms and technologies.

Alternatives to Visual Studio and Eclipse

Jetbrains Fleet

JetBrains Fleet is a coding tool that can be used as a simple editor or a powerful development environment (IDE). It supports popular programming languages like Java, Python, and JavaScript, automatically detecting your project setup. Fleet excels at collaborative work, allowing real-time code sharing, debugging, and more. While currently in public preview and free to use, it will eventually be offered as a paid subscription similar to other JetBrains products, with a free version having limited features for non-commercial use.

Datalore

Datalore is a cloud-based platform designed for data science teams to collaborate on projects. It offers tools for writing code, connecting to databases, analyzing data, and creating visualizations. Teams can work together in real-time, making it easier to share insights and build data-driven solutions. While offering advanced features, Datalore also provides a user-friendly interface, making it accessible for team members with varying technical skills. Datalore can be hosted online or within your own IT environment.

Azure DevOps Server

Azure DevOps Server is a comprehensive, on-premises toolset designed to streamline software development. It enables your teams to manage code, track work progress, and automate software releases. With built-in features for version control, code reviews, continuous integration, and continuous delivery, it offers a centralized platform for managing your entire software development lifecycle. Geared towards enterprise-level needs, it seamlessly integrates with popular development tools.

Xcode

Xcode is Apple's own software development toolset. It provides everything needed to build apps for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple's other platforms. Xcode offers a visual design tool for user interfaces, as well as tools for coding, testing, and debugging. It stands out as the only official tool for creating Apple software and promises a streamlined development experience for this ecosystem.

AWS Cloud9

AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based platform for writing and testing software. It lets your developers work from anywhere with an internet connection, using only their web browser. It offers a variety of tools to streamline the software development process, including the ability to run and debug code. AWS Cloud9 is designed for businesses of all sizes that develop software using languages like Java, PHP, C/C++, and Python.

.NET

.NET is a software development platform created by Microsoft. It provides tools and libraries that make it easier to build various applications, from websites and web services to mobile apps and desktop software. .NET is known for its versatility, allowing developers to build for a wide range of devices and platforms using a single programming language like C#. It's a popular choice for businesses of all sizes looking to create robust and scalable software solutions.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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