Microsoft Visual Studio

4.6
Overall rating
Reviews

4.6
Overall rating
Reviews

About Microsoft Visual Studio

Visual Studio is an application development solution that helps businesses create web, mobile, Mac and Windows-based applications and games. It allows developers to streamline processes related to debugging, testing, and deployment on a centralized platform. Visual Studio comes with built-in testing tools and project templates, which allows businesses to write, execute, and debug unit tests in multiple languages and test frameworks. It enables staff members to navigate codes, identify errors and apply code fixes. Administrators can utilize the live share module to set up collaborative code editing and debugging sessions with access rights and custom editor settings to enforce adherence to predefined coding guidelines. Additionally, it provides multiple keyboard shortcuts for operations, such as search, navigation, editing, refactoring and testing. Visual Studio facilitates integration with several third-party solutions, such as ReSharper, CodeMaid, and Github Extension. Pricing is available on request and support is extended via community forum, FAQs, documentation, live chat and other online measures.
Microsoft Visual Studio Software - Visual Studio analysis
Microsoft Visual Studio Software - Visual Studio deployment management
Microsoft Visual Studio Software - Visual Studio integrated development environment
Microsoft Visual Studio Software - Visual Studio analysis - thumbnail
Microsoft Visual Studio Software - Visual Studio deployment management - thumbnail
Microsoft Visual Studio Software - Visual Studio integrated development environment - thumbnail

Microsoft Visual Studio pricing

Microsoft Visual Studio has a free version and offers a free trial. Microsoft Visual Studio paid version starts at US$45.00/month.

Starting Price:
US$45.00/month
Free Version:
Yes
Free trial:
Yes

Alternatives to Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio Reviews

Feature rating

Value for Money
4.4
Functionality
4.6
Ease of Use
4.3
Customer Support
4.2
5 reviews of 2,954 View all reviews
Quashawn
Quashawn
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 10/3/2024

Great Development Enviornment

The overall experience with Microsoft Visual Studio tends to be positive, especially for professional developers working on large or complex projects that can benefit from the depth of features and tools available. The IDE’s support for multiple languages and platforms, along with its powerful debugging tools, make it a popular choice despite its resource requirements and complexity. The community and professional support further enhance the user experience. However, individuals or teams working on smaller projects, or those with limited resources, might find the IDE to be more than they need, opting for lighter-weight alternatives.

Pros

Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Features: Users often appreciate the comprehensive set of features Visual Studio offers, such as intelligent code completion (IntelliSense), debugging tools, and built-in Git support, which streamline the development process.
2.Extensibility: The ability to add extensions and customize the IDE according to individual needs is highly valued. There are thousands of extensions available for various programming tasks and languages.
3.Support for Multiple Programming Languages and Platforms: Visual Studio supports a wide range of programming languages (e.g., C#, VB.NET, C++, JavaScript) and platforms (e.g., Windows, mobile, web), making it a versatile tool for developers working across different types of projects.
4.Powerful Debugging Tools: The advanced debugging features, including the ability to inspect variables, set breakpoints, and view the call stack, are often highlighted as some of the best in any IDE.
5.Community and Professional Support: The large community of Visual Studio users, along with extensive documentation and professional support from Microsoft, provides a helpful resource for troubleshooting and learning.

Cons

1.Resource Intensiveness: Visual Studio is often criticized for being heavy on system resources, which can lead to slower performance, especially on older or less powerful hardware.
2.Complexity and Learning Curve: The extensive features and capabilities of Visual Studio can be overwhelming for beginners, making the initial learning curve steep.
3.Cost: While there is a free Community edition, the Professional and Enterprise editions of Visual Studio come with a significant cost, which can be a barrier for freelancers, small teams, or companies with limited budgets.
4.Updates and Changes: Some users find the frequent updates and changes to the IDE disruptive, especially when features are moved or removed.
5.Bugginess and Instability: Certain versions or updates have been reported to introduce bugs or instability, which can hinder development work until patches are released.

Robert
Robert
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
0

4
Reviewed on 8/8/2019

Visual Studio Great for All Developers

It allows me to fix errors and rebuild so that I can complete projects. It is easy to use so that I can focus purely on projects. I have experienced the following benefits: 1. Increased UI enhancement through Razor Pages, and Web Applications, 2. Comes standard with Bootstrap 3 and can be increased to 4. 3. Several languages and frameworks are added when updates occur. Note: user must download update via tools within visual studio.

Pros

Visual studio allows me to create dynamic web applications and websites for my clients and projects. It allows for database creation, code development and UI development. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to develop websites and web applications.

Cons

Slow Boot up time, slow build times, memory hog, increased CPU use. Recommended: Core i7 CPU processor or greater with at least 8GB RAM or higher.

Alternatives Considered

IntelliJ IDEA

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft Visual Studio

Visual Studio is Microsoft based and is the easiest to use with C#, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, ASP.NET, MVC and other front-end and web application based projects.
Jamie
Jamie
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Features
4
Ease of Use
3
Customer Support
1

3
Reviewed on 3/6/2021

Visual Studio - a necessary evil in MS-land

I have had a love/hate relationship with Visual Studio for nearly 25 years. I've used it since it first came out as "Visual InterDev" back in the late 90s. Over the years I've learned that anything that Visual Studio automates for you will likely come back to haunt you. Couple that with the Visual Studio development team's inability to properly support legacy projects and it's a recipe for heartbreak, frustration, and thousands of lost work hours.

Now that I use JetBrains Rider for the majority of my .NET coding, I see that most of my suffering over the years was unnecessary.

Pros

For developing Microsoft-based software, Visual Studio is sometimes the only tool that really gets the job done. It can, on occasion and in very specific development scenarios, be very helpful and intuitive to use. In recent years, its performance and usability in those narrow scenarios has improved significantly.

Cons

Visual Studio is an outright pig when it comes to performance and memory handling. It is unreliable as an application, crashing often and typically freezing up several times during a development session. This can often be due to the fact that you aren't doing things in the "Microsoft way" but that way is usually not realistic when it comes to getting actual projects done.

Mitchell
  • Industry: E-Learning
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Monthly for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 20/6/2024

Visual Success!

Microsoft Visual Studio is a powerful and versatile coding tool. Its features greatly enhance productivity, making it a solid choice for developers at any level.

Pros

Visual Studio's biggest strengths are its helpful extensions and plugins that can be added to suit your needs. It also has excellent tools for finding and fixing bugs quickly, and its real-time collaboration features are great for teamwork.

Cons

The main downside is that Visual Studio can be slow on older computers because it uses a lot of resources. The installation can also take a long time because of all the components it needs.Compared to PyCharm, Visual Studio can feel more cluttered and overwhelming, especially for users who prefer a cleaner, more streamlined interface.

Abdul Wahab
Abdul Wahab
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 21/1/2021

The best Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

I enjoyed software development like a game throughout my experience of using Visual Studio for development of .Net applications for local and cloud environments.

Pros

It is the most featured Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with bulk of features. It is best choice for .Net developers for building powerful applications for local and cloud environments. Its functionality can also be further extended using plugins. It is also good for mobile application development. Its intellisense is the best among all.

Cons

It is heavy to operate. It occupies huge part of my disk space. It hangs sometime during operations. Lack of support to opensource languages.

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