| IntelliJ IDEA | Visual Studio Code |
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| Category | IDE | IDE |
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| Developer | JetBrains | Microsoft |
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| Created by | — | Erich Gamma |
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| First release | 2001 | 2015 |
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| License | Apache-2.0 core, proprietary | MIT (Code - OSS) |
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| Open source | Yes | Yes |
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| Pricing | Free with paid plans | Free |
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| Website | https://www.jetbrains.com/idea | https://code.visualstudio.com |
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| Kind | Full IDE | Code editor |
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| Written in | Java, Kotlin | TypeScript (Electron) |
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| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux, web |
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| Extension ecosystem | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 |
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| AI assistance | Built in | Built in |
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| Language servers (LSP) | Yes | Yes |
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| Remote development | Yes | Yes |
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| Built-in debugger | Yes | Yes |
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| Best for | Java, Kotlin | Almost any language |
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| Resource use | Heavy | Medium |
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