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Visual Studio Code Logo

Source code editing for MacOS, Windows and Linux

Table of Contents

Visual Studio Code - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

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All user reviews are verified by in-house moderators and provider data by our software research team.  Learn more

Last updated: March 2026

Visual Studio Code overview

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Based on 1687 verified user reviews

What is Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code is a source code management tool with key features that include third-party integrations, search and filter capabilities, version control, code review, bug tracking, custom development, and more.

Who uses Visual Studio Code?

By industry, Visual Studio Code reviewers are most commonly professionals in computer software (34%). The most frequent use case cited is source code management (100% of reviewers).

What do users say about Visual Studio Code pricing?

Most users consider Visual Studio Code’s value for money exceptional, as they highlight its free, open-source model and lack of licensing fees. Most reviewers indicate its features rival paid alternatives, and they appreciate cross-platform availability. Most reviewers feel frequent updates and community support add further value, while a few reviewers report limited dedicated support due to its free status.

What are the most popular integrations for Visual Studio Code?

The Visual Studio Code integrations most frequently cited by reviewers are: GitHub (an application development product rated 4.8 out of 5 for its integration with Visual Studio Code), Git (a source code management product, 5.0), and Docker (an application development product, 4.6).

Starting price

Alternatives

with better value for money


Pros & Cons

Integrations

Code Development

Language Support

High resource usage concerns

Complex and confusing configuration

Performance drops with scale

Visual Studio Code’s user interface

Ease of use rating:

Visual Studio Code pros, cons and reviews insights

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To determine these pros and cons insights, we analyzed responses from 

Overall rating

Reviews sentiment

 
 
 
1-2(3)
3-4(370)
5(1,314)

What do users say about Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code is a source code management tool with key features that include third-party integrations, search and filter capabilities, version control, code review, bug tracking, custom development, and more.

Select to learn more


Who uses Visual Studio Code?

Based on 1,687 verified user reviews.

Company size

Small Businesses

Enterprises

Midsize Businesses

Top industries

Computer Software
Information Technology and Services
Education Management
Internet
Others

Use cases

Source Code Management

Visual Studio Code's key features

GetApp's analysis of 135 verified user reviews collected between May 2022 and January 2025 identifies Visual Studio Code's most critical features and summarizes user sentiment about those features.

Third-Party integrations

Reviewers appreciate Visual Studio Code's Third-Party Integrations for their ability to extend functionality beyond the core editor. They highlight seamless incorporation of additional tools, services, and extensions, including popular version control systems like Git, and tools like Docker, Azure, and AWS. Users report that the extensive extension marketplace offers a wide range of integrations for specific languages, platforms, and workflows. They find it valuable for customizing the coding environment and enhancing productivity with integrations like GitHub, SSH, and testing frameworks. Of the 87 Visual Studio Code users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Third-Party Integrations, 98% rated this feature as important or highly important.

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“In Visual Studio Code, I appreciate Third Party Integrations for their ability to extend functionality beyond the core editor. These integrations allow seamless incorporation of additional tools, services, and extensions.”
SE

Seif E.

Flutter instructor at MSB

“Visual Studio Code's extensive extension marketplace provides a wide range of third-party integrations that can help developers work more efficiently and effectively. These integrations can enhance the built-in features of Visual Studio Code and provide additional capabilities for specific languages, platforms, and workflows.examples: -> GIT integrations , cloud integrations”
MG

Mansi G.

software engineer


Search/Filter

Reviewers indicate that Visual Studio Code's Search/Filter capabilities are highly valued for navigating extensive codebases swiftly. They find the local and global search functions, along with search and replace capabilities, extremely useful. Users appreciate the ability to search through names and contents of files or directories, use regex, and automatically replace text. They highlight the ease of locating specific code snippets or files, which improves productivity and code quality. The command bar and various filters are also praised for enhancing the search experience. Of the 64 Visual Studio Code users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Search/Filter, 92% rated this feature as important or highly important.

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“With its help search menu, VS Code provides the user the possibility of a very quick and punctual search of a variable, method, or macro, showing all the possible files what the user is searching for”
CA

Claudio A.

Embedded Software Engineer

“It has good search capabilities. Local file search in any opened page and global search to search over whole project.it provides search & replace features too with exact case,regular expression etc.”
RS

Ramu S.

Embedded engineer


Code Review

Users report that Visual Studio Code's Code Review capabilities enhance collaboration and code quality. They appreciate integrated tools for seamless commenting, inline suggestions, and version comparisons. Reviewers find the ability to review, edit, and manage code changes within the interface helpful. They highlight capabilities like error highlighting, syntax checking, and integration with Git for streamlined code review processes. The customization options for the interface and the availability of extensions like Prettier for code formatting are also valued. Of the 71 Visual Studio Code users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Code Review, 89% rated this feature as important or highly important.

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“Code review has helped a lot in debugging programs and comparing codes with fellow peers. It is an highly significant feature that optimises your work flow and increases productivity especially while working in groups.”
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Moa C.

Student

“Code review tools and workflows are often integrated with version control. Team members can review and provide feedback on code changes, leading to improved code quality.”
Pk

Prabhjeet k.

Lead Software Engineer


Version control

Reviewers indicate that Visual Studio Code's Version Control capabilities, powered by Git, offer a seamless interface for managing changes, visualizing commit history, and resolving conflicts. They appreciate the built-in support for Git and the ease of performing daily Git operations via the UI. Users find the ability to track changes, create branches, and commit modifications valuable. They also highlight the integration with GitHub and the availability of extensions like GitLens for detailed commit information and enhanced version control functionality. Of the 88 Visual Studio Code users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Version Control, 89% rated this feature as important or highly important.

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“Git is part of the default install and makes different branches, commits, and merges very easy. It helps newer members and less technical members effectively use Git by having simple GUI operations.”
ES

Ed S.

Service Desk Manager

“Beside Visual Studio Code's built-in change tracking system, you can use Git with the GitLens extension to get detailed information about who committed what, when, where and why.”
QA

Quinten A.

Hobbyist


Bug tracking

Users report that Visual Studio Code's Bug Tracking capabilities are highly beneficial for maintaining code quality and project management. They appreciate the built-in debugging support for several programming languages, which allows for efficient tracking, logging, and resolution of bugs. Reviewers highlight the interactive debugger, breakpoint tools, and integration with platforms like GitHub for tracking issues. They find the ability to identify and fix bugs directly within the coding environment valuable for improving productivity and code reliability. Of the 72 Visual Studio Code users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Bug Tracking, 85% rated this feature as important or highly important.

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“Bug tracking feature of vs code is one of the best features I like, it helps me reorganization and fixing the bugs. It lists them in a tab called issues from there we can easily find and fix those”
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Charanjeet S.

Software Engineer

“Part of why I love VS Code is its bug detection and tracking feature. It has helped me many times identify and solve my problems”
MN

Maxwell N.

Student


Custom development

Reviewers appreciate the flexibility and extensibility of Visual Studio Code's Custom Development capabilities. They highlight the ability to tailor the editor to specific needs by integrating extensions, customizing themes, and configuring settings. Users report that the extensive marketplace offers plugins for various programming languages and tools, enabling a highly modular development environment. They find the customization options for themes, keybindings, and workflows valuable for creating a personalized and efficient coding experience. Of the 48 Visual Studio Code users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Custom Development, 83% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“Custom development on Visual Studio Code allows to custom the editor as the user wants it according to their preferences and needs. The editor has a lot third-party integrations, either launched by the editor or by the creators and users of their community. You can change the theme, add support to new languages and debuggers, connect the editor to different services, customize keybindings and shortcuts, code quality tools, etc.”
RG

Ruth G.

Cybersecurity Analyst

“Custom Development is a very useful power that is provided by this software as sometime we need some change in the workspace or want to integrate some more new helpful tools that can be easily achieved by a single click of downloading an extension from visual studio code library”
SS

Satwik S.

Student


All Visual Studio Code features

Features rating:

Application management
Change management
API

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Visual Studio Code pricing

Starting from

Free

Pricing details
Subscription
Free trial
Free plan
Pricing range

User opinions about Visual Studio Code price and value

Value for money rating:

Of 73 reviews that provide robust commentary on Visual Studio Code's price and value, 95% mention it in a positive light.

Most users consider Visual Studio Code to offer excellent value for money, primarily because it is free and open-source. They appreciate that it provides a wide range of features and capabilities without any cost, making it a popular choice among developers. Reviewers indicate that the availability of numerous free extensions and plugins enhances its functionality, which is highly beneficial for both beginners and experienced developers. Users think that the cost savings are significant, especially for businesses that can utilize the free version for non-production tasks. They find that Visual Studio Code competes well with other more expensive IDEs, offering similar features without the associated costs.

Some reviewers feel that the free nature of the software means it lacks certain advanced features and integrations available in paid alternatives. They report that some plugins are fragmented or of low quality, and others can be quite expensive. Some users say that the lack of dedicated service and support is a drawback, which they attribute to the software being free. Despite these issues, most users still find Visual Studio Code to be a cost-effective solution for their development needs.

, and

To see what individual users think of Visual Studio Code's cost and value, check out the review excerpts below.

“Ah I like the market extension, it contains a lot of helpful packages and tools that every developer needs to optimize effort and time, and above all of that they are open source and free access.”
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Hichem N.

mobile developer

“I mostly use Visual Studio Code when developing applications in .net 6 and Angular and I must say it's one of the best free tools available on the market with this great capability and this vast number of features.”
MD

Masoud D.

Software Developer

“Since VS code IDE free version is also available online so businesses can save some cost with using this for those developer who are not working on production things.”
SS

Shivraj S.

System & Network Leader

Visual Studio Code integrations (51)

Integrations rated by users

We looked at 1,687 user reviews to identify which products are mentioned as Visual Studio Code integrations and how users feel about them.

GitHub logo
GitHub

Integration rating: 4.9 (130)

Have you ever thought about the time used to switch back and fort of the application to make just a few change? This can be an hassle! Humor me, as I introduce the "GitHub CLI" with the integrated terminal in VS Code allowing you to beat these time by 50%. The GitHub app extension in VS Code provides more flexible options ranging from pulling, staging, and pushing code directly to your GitHub repo.

It's really interesting, we don't want to go through git, directly from our machine to the github and an automatic push parameter or to the source code modification component, if we have the internet connection.

Source control is important to us, this plugin works well but more generally don't expect any help from Microsoft, they don't seem to like their small Partners

It is extremely important for code version control and for sharing the code so that other team members can have the latest updated code and also for CI/CD.

It allow to use Visual Studio Code as the primary code editor while being able to use collaboration features of Github, directly on the editor.

We deploy our code changes to GitHub so it is very reliable. Code makes it easier to integrate with GitHub as well which is a huge plus.

saves my progress on the cloud. Helps save data in case of disaster, must have while working with groups or a team of more than one.

Version control is the most frequent thing that you do when you develop your code. You can handle it from the window that you code

It is very important to integrate with GitHub for any collaborative work or version control. VS Code does it very easily.

GitHub is one of the (if not "the") most used version control system. It's a must-have if you are working in a company !

we can connect between them in one click, and do updates on github using a package from market extension named gitlens

It allows for collaboration with team members and lets them view your code session without using a separate software.

As we know on big project you can not work by yourself integration is one of important part special for freelancer.

It is important that both applications are integrated for the work done in the coding and data analysis processes.

Easy commits and makes version control part of the workflow, and doesn't feel tacked on, or a chore to accomplish.

Any moment we can make us of repositories for creating & running projects and saving in github remote servers

I can make commits and pushes directly from within the editor - no need to switch context and lose my focus.

I don't actually use VS Code to commit/push/pull but I use it to handle changes, merging, reverting changes

I can't imagine coding without Git and Github. The easy integration this service provides is perfect.

Because it makes development workflow faster and more collaborative all without leaving the editor

SH

Samuel H.

IT Administrator

1/20
Git logo
Git

Integration rating: 5.0 (13)

The GUI that VSCode provides for common Git commands makes it even easier to work with it as a version control system.

Visual studio code are uses the git are good responsed and good work code are share to help easy git

For a developer, code and version control are atomic unit.i.e. they can never separate.

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Christian K.

Programmer Analyst

1/3
Docker logo
Docker

Integration rating: 4.7 (12)

Haven't used it a lot, but it seems like I can go into a docker container and edit a file on the fly? Crazy!

It allowed me to test the code with Docker and have functionality tests quickly.

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Anonymous R.

Director, Internet Strategy

1/2
GitLab logo
GitLab

Integration rating: 4.9 (8)

Being able to run commands and push/pull code straight from Visual Studio Code saves me a lot of time each day.

Official plugins integrate and expose well the SCM for quick and easy use by developers.

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Matthew S.

Front end web designer & developer

1/2

Integration rating: 5.0 (6)

All out systems runs on Azure world wide on tons of deployments for clients.

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Tommy W.

CTO, System designer Sokoni

Visual Studio Code customer support

What do users say about Visual Studio Code customer support?

Customer support rating:

We analyzed 45 verified user reviews to identify positive and negative aspects of Visual Studio Code customer support.

Widespread user sentiment highlights the large and active community offering quick help and abundant resources.

A fair number of users appreciate the availability of tutorials, guides, and forums for troubleshooting and learning.

Multiple users mention that community support makes it easy to find solutions without needing official customer service.

A limited number of users feel community-based support can be less reliable and slower than dedicated enterprise support.

Support options

Knowledge base
Faqs/forum
Email/help desk

Training options

Documentation
Videos

To see what individual users say about Visual Studio Code's customer support, check out the review snippets below.

“Visual Studio Code is definitely the tool you may want to consider if you use products such as Atom, Sublime Text and so on. As a lot of people is using it, you will probably find someone supporting you in case you need help.”

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Julian X.

Senior Software Engineer

“This is my first time really using a text editor and the large community of users is beneficial when questions arise.”

MD

Miles D.

Outreach Assistant

“If you get issues with it, tracking the problem down and troubleshooting can be quite painful as support is community based.”

NR

Nick R.

Consultant

Visual Studio Code FAQs

Q. Who are the typical users of Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code has the following typical customers:
Freelancers, Large Enterprises, Mid Size Business, Non Profit, Public Administrations, Small Business

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Q. What is Visual Studio Code used for?

Visual Studio Code is a source code editor, which helps businesses build and debug web applications running on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Features include syntax highlighting, code refactoring and navigation, snippets, Emmet abbreviations, command-line interface (CLI), and text wrap. The software lets developers edit codes using multi-cursor, shrink/expand selection, autosave, hot exit, and find and replace capabilities. With IntelliSense, users can receive suggestions about list members, function definitions, parameter info, or variable types while writing codes. The built-in debugging tool allows programmers to edit, compile, and debug loops, enable breakpoints to suspend the running code and view variables or behavior of memory, and log a message to the console using logpoint. Visual Studio Code offers integration with GitHub, helping developers share source codes with team members, clone a repository, as well as view and manage pull requests. It provides refactoring operations, extract method and extract variable, which lets users improve code base through restructure, without modifying the runtime behavior.


Q. What languages does Visual Studio Code support?

Visual Studio Code supports the following languages:
English


Q. Does Visual Studio Code offer an API?

Yes, Visual Studio Code has an API available for use.


Q. What level of support does Visual Studio Code offer?

Visual Studio Code offers the following support options:
Knowledge Base, FAQs/Forum, Email/Help Desk

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