Developer Tools
IDEs & Code Editors
Integrated Development Environments and code editors for software development
Overview
IDEs and code editors are the primary tools developers use to write, debug, test, and manage code. Modern editors increasingly integrate AI-powered code completion, debugging assistance, and collaboration features.
Top Players
Visual Studio Code
- Company: Microsoft (USA), open-source
- Market Position: Dominant code editor with 70%+ developer market share
- Key Strengths: Lightweight yet powerful, massive extension marketplace (50K+ extensions), built-in Git, integrated terminal, free
- Key Features: IntelliSense, debugging, Live Share, Remote Development, GitHub Copilot integration
- Typical Users: All developers — web, cloud, data science, mobile
JetBrains IDEs
- Company: JetBrains (Czech Republic)
- Market Position: Leader in language-specific professional IDEs
- Key Strengths: Deep language intelligence, powerful refactoring, built-in tools, consistent UX across languages
- Products: IntelliJ IDEA (Java/Kotlin), PyCharm (Python), WebStorm (JS/TS), GoLand, Rider (.NET), Fleet (lightweight)
- Typical Users: Professional developers, enterprise teams
Cursor
- Company: Anysphere (USA)
- Market Position: Leading AI-first code editor (VS Code fork)
- Key Strengths: Deep AI integration (multi-model), codebase-aware AI completions, AI chat with code context, Composer (multi-file edits)
- Key Features: Tab completion, Cmd+K editing, Agent mode, multi-model support (GPT-4, Claude, etc.)
- Typical Users: Developers embracing AI-assisted coding
Neovim
- Maintained by: Open-source community
- Market Position: Modern terminal-based editor with devoted following
- Key Strengths: Extremely fast, Lua plugin ecosystem, LSP support, modal editing, highly customizable, runs anywhere
- Typical Users: Power users, DevOps engineers, terminal-focused developers
Zed
- Company: Zed Industries (USA)
- Market Position: Emerging high-performance collaborative editor
- Key Strengths: Built in Rust (extremely fast), real-time collaboration, AI assistant built-in, GPU-accelerated rendering
- Key Features: Multi-buffer editing, Channels (async collaboration), AI integration
- Typical Users: Performance-conscious developers, pair programmers
Key Trends
- AI copilots: AI code completion and generation becoming standard (GitHub Copilot, Codeium, Tabnine)
- AI-native editors: Editors built around AI workflows (Cursor, Windsurf, Void)
- Cloud-based development: GitHub Codespaces, Gitpod, and cloud dev environments
- Language Server Protocol (LSP): Standardized language intelligence across all editors