Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code: two coding tools born from the same Microsoft ancestry, yet each with its own identity.
While they share a name and some common DNA, Visual Studio is a fully featured IDE powerhouse, while Visual Studio Code is its more flexible and lightweight counterpart.
But of course there’s so much more to it than that!
Let’s unravel this identity crisis and untangle the strengths and weaknesses of these development doppelgangers.
What is Visual Studio?
Microsoft Visual Studio is the powerhouse of the IDE world, packed with features and tools to tackle the most complex projects.
Inside Visual Studio you’ll find a robust code editor with IntelliSense, an integrated debugger, built-in support for version control systems, an extensive library of project templates and pre-built components, and support for a wide range of programming languages.
Visual Studio is the Swiss Army knife of IDEs, equipped to handle virtually any development challenge you throw its way.
It consistently ranks as the most widely used IDE, with Google Trends data indicating it’s the most talked-about developer tool with a share-of-search of 28% — pretty impressive for a tool first released in ’97.
What is Visual Studio Code (aka VS Code)?
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is a lightweight source code editor that lacks the built-in features of its bigger sibling, but it makes up for this in terms of flexibility and extensibility.
With VS Code, you’ll find a clean, customizable interface; a vast library of extensions; robust built-in support for JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js; an integrated terminal; and speedy performance. It’s primarily optimized for building and debugging web and cloud applications.
What is the difference between Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code?
Visual Studio is the fully featured heavyweight champion of IDEs. It comes equipped with an arsenal of tools for coding, debugging, testing, and deploying applications.
Visual Studio Code, on the other hand, is nimble and lightweight. It’s built for speed, flexibility, and customization and has a vast library of extensions.
So which one should you choose? Well, plot twist: Many developers use both.
They’ll turn to Visual Studio for complex, large-scale projects that require the full power of an IDE, and then switch to VS Code for quick edits, remote coding sessions, and everything in between.
Now, let’s get granular and compare Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code head-to-head:
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Platforms
This one’s easy. VS Code runs seamlessly on Windows, Mac, and Linux, while Visual Studio is limited to Windows and Mac. However, you can still collaborate with Linux users via Live Share — more on that shortly.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Size
In this case, less can be more. VS Code has a much smaller footprint than Visual Studio, making it faster to install and load.
This is ideal for systems with limited resources or developers preferring a more minimalistic setup. The core tool is tiny, but a vast library of extensions allows you to add functionality as you see fit.
Visual Studio’s larger size is because it offers more out-of-the-box features and integrated tools. While this makes it a powerhouse for complex projects, it can also make it less suitable for scenarios such as remote development.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: User interface
Both Visual Studio and VS Code offer clean, intuitive interfaces, but with some key differences.
VS Code puts customization center stage, allowing developers to personalize with themes, icon packs, and layout adjustments. Its distraction-free mode and flexible editor splitting are great for focusing on code.
Visual Studio has a more traditional IDE look and feel. Its interface is geared towards managing large, complex projects, and it offers quick access to built-in features via menus and toolbars.
Your choice comes down to whether you value high customization and a minimalistic environment (VS Code) or a feature-rich, integrated one (Visual Studio).
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Programming language support
Visual Studio scores an advantage in this department for developers working with C++, C#, and .NET technologies. It also supports other popular languages such as Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript.
VS Code has excellent built-in support for web technologies like JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js, making it a great choice for web developers right out of the box.
For other languages — Python, Java, C++, Ruby, Go, and more — VS Code relies on its extensive library of extensions available in the VS Code Marketplace.
RELATED: Eclipse vs Visual Studio: Which IDE Suits You as a C++ Dev?
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Pricing
VS Code emerges victorious by default here as a free, open-source tool.
Visual Studio, on the other hand, has a free Community edition but requires paid licenses for its Professional and Enterprise versions.
Visual Studio’s paid versions offer advanced debugging and profiling tools, which are often essential for larger, more complex projects.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Extensions
Extensions are one of VS Code’s strongest selling points. Its vast extension library is constantly growing, from popular frameworks like Angular and React to productivity-enhancing tools like GitLens and Prettier.
Visual Studio also has a robust extension ecosystem. Like VS Code, these extensions can add new functionality, modify the IDE’s behavior, and provide support for additional languages and technologies. Visual Studio’s extensions tend to be more deeply integrated with the IDE.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Development speed
Visual Studio’s comprehensive feature set and powerful debugging tools are ideal for large, complex projects, especially those involving C++ or .NET.
You can accelerate complex builds by integrating Visual Studio with Incredibuild, dramatically speeding up the entire C/C++ development experience without dedicated hardware.
On the other hand, VS Code’s lightweight nature and speedy performance make it perfect for quick code edits and iterations.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Collaboration and team development processes
Visual Studio and VS Code offer collaboration through Live Share. For Visual Studio, this allows for real-time collaboration within the IDE.
VS Code also offers Live Share but as an extension. As we’ve touched on, someone using Visual Studio Code can collaborate with someone on Visual Studio (and vice versa), and it works across a range of operating systems.
VS Code vs Visual Studio: Which should you choose?
Yep, you guessed it — it all comes down to your specific needs and preferences.
Visual Studio is the way to go if you are working on large, complex projects — especially those involving C++, C#, or .NET — and require a fully featured IDE. It’s the more complete, out-of-the-box platform, meaning less hassle building your workflow through integrations.
On the other hand, if you value a flexible, customizable, and lightweight coding experience, Visual Studio Code wins plenty of merits — particularly among web developers.
Ultimately, both Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code are excellent tools in their own right.
Try them out and see which one feels more intuitive and productive for your development projects.
Visual Studio has another trick up its sleeve: Incredibuild
If you decide to go with Visual Studio, you might want to consider integrating it with Incredibuild.
As the only commercial tool that can be integrated directly within Visual Studio, Incredibuild opens the door to faster development. Top features include:
- Seamless integration: Incredibuild can be fully integrated with Visual Studio, requiring no changes to your source or project files.
- Parallel computing: Execute compilation tasks in parallel across multiple machines, dramatically reducing build times.
- Enhanced build monitoring: Track your build progress with our innovative Build Monitor.
- Efficient resource usage: Harness idle CPU cycles on your local network or scale out using the public cloud.
- Robust performance: Fault-tolerant execution ensures successful build completion without the need for dedicated hardware.
Interested? Get started by installing Incredibuild from within Visual Studio and grabbing a free license today.
FAQs about Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio
Is Visual Studio Code the same as Visual Studio?
No, despite their similar names, Visual Studio Code (often called VS Code) and Visual Studio are different tools. Visual Studio is a fully featured integrated development environment (IDE) while VS Code is a lightweight code editor.
Directly comparing VS Code and Visual Studio is tricky. Broadly speaking, Visual Studio is designed for large-scale software development.
VS Code, on the other hand, is more flexible and customizable. It’s lighter on system resources, making it popular for quick edits and smaller projects.
Is Visual Studio Code free?
Yes, MS Visual Studio Code is completely free and open source. Microsoft develops and maintains VS Code but has made it available under the MIT License. If you’re comparing the communities that surround Visual Studio Code vs Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code has the advantage: its open-source licensing has created a diverse extension ecosystem.
What is Visual Studio Code used for?
Visual Studio Code is used for writing, editing, and debugging code across various programming languages. It’s particularly popular for web development, with built-in support for JavaScript and TypeScript and extensions available for Python, Go, and other languages.
