--- title: "VS Code vs. JetBrains IntelliJ Statistics 2026: Usage Trends That May Surprise Developers" date: 2026-06-26 author: "Supriya Gharat" featured_image: "https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/vs-code-vs-jetbrains-intellij-statistics.jpg" categories: - name: "Internet" url: "/category/internet.md" tags: - name: "Statistics" url: "/tag/statistics.md" --- # VS Code vs. JetBrains IntelliJ Statistics 2026: Usage Trends That May Surprise Developers The competition between Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code and JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA shapes how millions of developers build software. From cloud-native applications and AI-powered coding environments to enterprise Java systems and startup web products, these tools influence productivity across nearly every software industry. Their adoption trends also help organizations decide which platforms to standardize for hiring, training, and software delivery. Explore the latest statistics to understand how VS Code and IntelliJ IDEA compare. ## Editor’s Choice - **Visual Studio Code remained the world’s most-used development environment in 2025, with 73.6% of developers reporting usage**. - IntelliJ IDEA ranked among the top three IDEs globally and surpassed several traditional editors in professional usage. - JetBrains estimated the global professional developer population at **20.8 million in 2025**, creating a larger addressable market for IDE vendors. - More than **24,500 developers** participated in the 2025 JetBrains Developer Ecosystem survey, making it one of the industry’s largest developer studies. - **72% of Java developers used IntelliJ IDEA in 2025**, maintaining its dominant position in Java development. - VS Code has held the title of the **most-used IDE for five consecutive years**, according to annual developer surveys. - Around **85% of developers globally now use AI tools for coding**, increasing demand for AI-enabled IDE capabilities in both VS Code and IntelliJ IDEA. ## Recent Developments - Microsoft continued expanding GitHub Copilot integration across VS Code throughout 2025, turning the editor into a full AI-assisted development environment. - JetBrains introduced deeper AI Assistant capabilities and expanded agent-based workflows across IntelliJ products during 2025 and early 2026. - **62% of developers now rely on at least one coding assistant or AI editor**, directly influencing IDE feature roadmaps. - JetBrains announced the discontinuation of its Fleet IDE in December 2025 to focus resources on IntelliJ-based products. - Fleet technologies have already been incorporated into JetBrains’ flagship IDEs, including IntelliJ IDEA. - Approximately **80% of companies permit third-party AI tools** for developers, accelerating AI integration inside modern IDEs. - AI-generated code now accounts for roughly **24% of production code in some organizations**, increasing demand for smarter code review and debugging features. - JetBrains reported that **18% of developers already integrate AI capabilities directly into their products**, creating new use cases for advanced IDE tooling. - The industry has shifted toward “agentic development,” where developers delegate tasks such as refactoring and testing to AI agents within IDEs. ## Overview of VS Code and IntelliJ IDEA - Visual Studio Code launched in 2015 and has become the dominant editor for web, cloud, and cross-platform development. - IntelliJ IDEA, introduced by JetBrains in 2001, remains one of the most widely used enterprise IDEs, particularly for Java development. - VS Code is free and open source, which has contributed significantly to its global adoption. - IntelliJ IDEA follows a dual licensing model with Community and Ultimate editions serving both individual developers and enterprises. - JetBrains employs between **1,000 and 5,000 people globally**, reflecting its substantial investment in development tools. - VS Code supports hundreds of programming languages through extensions, making it one of the most flexible development platforms available. - IntelliJ IDEA is the foundation for several JetBrains products, including Android Studio and many language-specific IDEs. - JetBrains created the Kotlin programming language in 2011, strengthening IntelliJ IDEA’s ecosystem among Android and JVM developers. - Both IDEs increasingly position themselves as AI development platforms rather than traditional code editors. ## Year-Over-Year Java IDE Usage Statistics (2024 vs. 2025) - **IntelliJ IDEA** strengthened its leadership, with usage increasing from **71% in 2024** to **84% in 2025**, a gain of **13 percentage points**. - **Eclipse** experienced a notable decline, dropping from **39%** in **2024** to **28%** in **2025**. - **VS Code** remained a widely used Java IDE, though its adoption slipped slightly from **34%** to **31%** year over year. - **NetBeans** saw one of the steepest declines, falling from **13%** in **2024** to just **4%** in **2025**. - **Browser-based IDEs** recorded the lowest adoption, decreasing from **4%** to **1%** over the same period. - The **“Other”** IDE category also declined, moving from **10%** in **2024** to **6%** in **2025**. - **IntelliJ IDEA** was the **only major IDE** to post significant growth between **2024** and **2025**. - **Eclipse, VS Code, NetBeans, Browser-based IDEs,** and **Other** all recorded **lower usage** in **2025** compared to the previous year. - The data indicates a **strong shift toward IntelliJ IDEA**, suggesting increased preference among **Java developers**. - Since respondents **could select more than one IDE**, the percentages represent **multi-select usage** rather than exclusive market share. ![Year Over Year Comparison For Ide Usage](https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/year-over-year-comparison-for-ide-usage.jpg)Reference: Perforce JRebel ## Adoption and Popularity Trends - **73.6% of developers used Visual Studio Code in 2025**, keeping it ahead of every competing IDE. - IntelliJ IDEA maintained one of the strongest satisfaction and loyalty rates among professional developers. - The global developer population increased to approximately **20.8 million professionals in 2025**, expanding the total IDE market. - More than **85% of developers use AI coding tools**, and IDE adoption increasingly depends on AI features. - TypeScript and Kotlin remained among the fastest-growing languages in the JetBrains ecosystem, benefiting both VS Code and IntelliJ IDEA. - JetBrains surveyed developers from **171 countries and regions** in its 2024 ecosystem report, demonstrating broad global adoption of modern IDEs. - Enterprise developers continue to prefer feature-rich IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA for large-scale projects, while startups often favor lightweight editors such as VS Code. - Demand for integrated AI assistants has become one of the leading factors affecting IDE switching decisions in 2025 and 2026. - Developer communities increasingly value extensibility and ecosystem support, areas where both products continue investing heavily. ## Market Share Among Professional Developers - Nearly **3 out of 4 professional developers** currently use **VS Code** across various workloads. - The **professional developer market** expanded from **19.6 million** in **2024** to **20.8 million** in **2025**. - An industry ecosystem report collected massive data samples from **24,534 developers** in **2025**. - **IntelliJ IDEA** holds a dominant **72% market share** among **JVM-based enterprise developers**. - Approximately **84% of developers** actively use **AI integration** for intelligent coding features. - Over **66% of developers** prioritize advanced **productivity features** over simple text editing. - About **51% of professionals** utilize their IDEs’ **intelligent AI tools** on a daily basis. - A staggering **95% of developers** report major **productivity boosts** from specialized development environments. ## Developer Usage Statistics by Language - **73.8%** of professional developers consistently use **Python** for various programming tasks. - **65.9%** of software developers rely on **JavaScript** as their primary web development language. - **42.5%** of enterprise developers actively utilize **Java** for large-scale backend applications. - **35.1%** of developers have adopted **TypeScript** to enhance their front-end type safety. - **20.7%** of programmers now use **Rust** to improve performance and memory security. - **16%** of mobile developers strongly prefer **Kotlin** for modern Android application development. - **15%** of developers continue to build applications using **PHP** for legacy web systems. - **12.3%** of backend engineers choose **Go** for building scalable and concurrent APIs. ![Top Programming Languages Used By Professional Developers](https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/top-programming-languages-used-by-professional-developers.jpg) ## Adoption in Enterprise vs Startups - Over **84%** of **large enterprises** standardize on **IntelliJ IDEA** for **Java-centric development**. - Nearly **76%** of **startups** globally adopt **VS Code** because its licensing costs are effectively **zero**. - **Organizations** with more than **5,000 employees** show an **80%** rate of providing paid **IDE subscriptions**. - Around **70%** of **organizations** support **remote environments**, driving demand for **cloud-connected editors**. - More than **80%** of **companies** allow **AI-assisted coding tools**, accelerating **enterprise IDE modernization**. - **IntelliJ IDEA** retains **84%** dominance in **enterprise Java** due to seamless integration with frameworks like **Spring**. - Over **75%** of **cloud-native startups** prefer **VS Code** due to its **Kubernetes** and **remote development** capabilities. - Exactly **42%** of **enterprise organizations** adopt **multiple IDE standards** to meet varied **project requirements**. - Around **68%** of **mature companies** simultaneously use **IntelliJ IDEA** for backend and **VS Code** for frontend workloads. ## IDE Preference by Experience Level - According to developer surveys, **73.6% of all developers use Visual Studio Code**, making it the preferred editor across nearly every experience bracket. - Senior developers with more than 10 years of experience are more likely to prefer feature-rich IDEs such as IntelliJ IDEA than newer developers. - More than **44% of professional developers worldwide have over 10 years of coding experience**, a demographic that strongly influences enterprise IDE adoption. - Developers with less than five years of experience show the highest adoption rates for VS Code due to its free licensing and lower hardware requirements. - Around **30% of developers globally are still learning or have less than five years of professional experience**, supporting continued growth in VS Code adoption. - Developers with extensive experience often prioritize advanced refactoring, navigation, and debugging features, which favor IntelliJ IDEA. - More than **60% of developers under age 35** regularly use AI coding tools, increasing demand for lightweight, AI-enabled editors such as VS Code. - Professional developers working in large organizations tend to adopt multiple IDEs depending on language specialization rather than relying on a single editor. - Developers with advanced JVM expertise overwhelmingly continue using IntelliJ IDEA because of its integrated tooling and mature ecosystem. ## Developer IDE Preferences - **VS Code** is the **most desired IDE**, with **48.9%** of developers wanting to use it. - **VS Code** also ranks as the **most admired IDE**, earning **62.6%** admiration among developers. - **Vim** holds the **second-highest admiration score** at **59.3%**, despite only **15.7%** desire. - **IntelliJ** records an **admiration rate of 58.2%**, while **17.5%** of developers list it as their desired IDE. - **Notepad++** achieves a strong **54.7%** admiration rating, with **15.5%** developer interest. - **Visual Studio** is **desired by 16.0%** of developers and **admired by 51.8%**. - **Cursor** has the **lowest admiration score** among the listed IDEs at **46.7%**. - **Cursor** is also the **least desired IDE**, with **14.6%** of developers expressing interest. - Every IDE shown has a **higher admiration percentage than desire percentage**, indicating broad respect even among non-users. - **VS Code** leads both metrics by a significant margin, reinforcing its position as the **top developer IDE in 2025**. ![Most Desired And Admired Ides Among Developers In 2025](https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/most-desired-and-admired-ides-among-developers-in-2025.jpg)Reference: Second Talent ## Usage Statistics for Web and JavaScript Development - **JavaScript** maintains its position as the **most popular language**, used by **62.3%** of developers globally. - Over **73%** of web developers choose **Visual Studio Code** as their **primary code editor**. - **TypeScript** adoption continues to accelerate, with **67%** of respondents writing it more than JavaScript. - **React** remains the **dominant frontend framework**, securing an **81.1% usage rate** among developers. - **Node.js** leads as the **top backend web technology**, actively utilized by **40.8%** of professionals. - A massive **98%** of professionals apply **JavaScript** specifically for **frontend web development**. - **Vite** has rapidly gained traction, reaching a **78.1% adoption rate** for web tooling. - **Single-Page Applications (SPAs)** remain the most common pattern, used by **90%** of developers. - Over **59%** of developers now incorporate **Server-Side Rendering (SSR)** into their web applications. ## Usage Statistics for Data Science and Python - **Python** dominates as the **\#1 most-used** programming language globally with an **18.96% market share**. - Approximately **51% of developers** regularly utilize **Python** for **data exploration** and processing tasks. - The **VS Code Python extension** has officially surpassed **191 million installations** worldwide. - Over **34% of software engineers** explicitly identify **Python** as their **primary programming language**. - **Jupyter Notebook repositories** experienced a massive **75% increase**, growing to **2.42 million projects**. - A staggering **80% of enterprises** are deploying **generative AI models** using Python infrastructure in **2026**. - The **global AI cloud market**, driving Python adoption, is projected to reach **$267 billion** by **2030**. - Exactly **582,196 new AI repositories** relying on Python were created, marking a **50.7% annual growth**. ## Developer Attitudes Toward AI in Society - **Hopeful** is the leading sentiment, with **29%** of developers expressing optimism about AI’s growing role in society. - **22%** of developers feel **excited**, highlighting strong enthusiasm for AI-driven innovation and opportunities. - Nearly **1 in 5 developers (18%)** remain **uncertain**, reflecting mixed expectations about AI’s long-term impact. - **17%** of respondents feel **anxious**, indicating ongoing concerns about AI-related risks and challenges. - Only **6%** of developers reported feeling **fearful**, making it one of the least common responses. - **5%** of developers are **indifferent**, suggesting that relatively few are unaffected by AI’s expansion. - Just **3%** selected **other** emotions, showing that most developers’ opinions fall into the primary sentiment categories. - Overall, **positive sentiment (51%)**, combining **hopeful** and **excited** responses, significantly outweighs negative or neutral attitudes. - The findings indicate that while **AI optimism dominates**, a substantial **35%** of developers remain **uncertain or anxious**, underscoring the need for responsible AI development and governance. ![Developers Sentiment Toward The Increasing Role Of Ai In Society 2025](https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/developers-sentiment-toward-the-increasing-role-of-ai-in-society-2025.jpg)Reference: The JetBrains Blog ## Plugin and Extension Ecosystem Metrics - Visual Studio Marketplace currently hosts **over 6,500 extensions**, with overall downloads peaking at **50 million**. - The Python extension for VS Code has accumulated **more than 224 million installs** globally. - JetBrains Marketplace offers **over 11,500 plugins** created by an active community of **10,000+ authors**. - More than **80% of developers** actively customize their development environments with various **extensions or plugins**. - Third-party plugins on the JetBrains Marketplace receive **over 3 million monthly unique downloads**. - Community-contributed extensions on the Visual Studio Marketplace account for **more than 4,200 individual items**. - The top **10 productivity extensions** are downloaded a combined **10 million times** every single month. - AI-powered tools like IntelliCode are heavily adopted, showing up in **65% of all Visual Studio sessions**. - Visual Studio and its vast extension ecosystem are utilized by **over 70% of Fortune 100 companies**. ## Code Completion and Refactoring Productivity Metrics - GitHub reported that developers using GitHub Copilot completed coding tasks **up to 55% faster** than developers who did not use AI-assisted coding tools. - A survey found that **88% of developers felt more productive** while using AI coding assistants integrated into editors such as VS Code. - Around **74% of developers reported being able to focus on more satisfying work** after adopting AI-assisted coding tools. - More than **60% of developers use AI code completion tools weekly**, increasing reliance on intelligent IDE features. - IntelliJ IDEA’s advanced refactoring engine remains one of its most-cited productivity advantages among Java developers. - Developers using AI assistance primarily employ it for code generation, documentation, and refactoring tasks. - More than **80% of developers say code completion saves measurable development time**. - Enterprise teams increasingly use IntelliJ IDEA because automated refactoring reduces the risk of introducing bugs into large codebases. - VS Code’s integration with GitHub Copilot and third-party AI assistants has dramatically improved its productivity capabilities since 2023. ## Performance and Resource Usage Benchmarks - VS Code typically launches in **1-2 seconds** while IntelliJ IDEA requires **10-20 seconds** to start up. - Base memory usage for VS Code is **200-400MB** compared to the **750MB-1.5GB** required by IntelliJ. - Energy consumption tests indicate that VS Code is **15.03% more energy-efficient** than IntelliJ IDEA. - Developers experience an average input latency of **8-12ms** in VS Code versus **15-20ms** in IntelliJ. - IntelliJ users log an average of **85.7 hours** per user compared to **30.6 hours** for VS Code users. - Initial project indexing in IntelliJ can take an additional **10 seconds** before development can begin. - Real-world performance testing shows that JetBrains IDEs offer **20% faster** code refactoring speeds. - Mean energy consumption for VS Code is roughly **38.1 million joules** during benchmark testing tasks. - IntelliJ IDEA requires a minimum of **8GB RAM**, with **16GB+ RAM** recommended for larger projects. ![Ide Base Memory Consumption](https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ide-base-memory-consumption.jpg) ## Debugging and Testing Usage Statistics - Debugging and troubleshooting remain among the **top daily activities for more than 80% of developers**. - Developers spend nearly **50% of their time understanding and fixing existing code** rather than writing new code. - IntelliJ IDEA offers integrated debugging, profiling, and testing tools that continue to drive enterprise adoption. - More than **70% of professional developers perform automated testing regularly**, increasing demand for IDE-integrated testing frameworks. - VS Code has become increasingly popular for debugging JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js applications because of its built-in debugging capabilities. - JetBrains products provide native support for JUnit, TestNG, and numerous testing frameworks used in enterprise Java applications. - Around **62% of developers use AI to help identify and fix bugs**. - Developers increasingly rely on IDE-integrated testing tools because continuous integration pipelines require faster feedback cycles. - Modern IDEs increasingly include debugging tools for containers, cloud services, and remote environments, areas where VS Code has expanded rapidly. ## Integration and Tooling Adoption Rates - More than **90% of developers use Git or another version control system daily**, making source control integration a core IDE requirement. - VS Code includes built-in Git integration and remains one of the most widely used editors for Git workflows. - IntelliJ IDEA offers deep integrations with Maven, Gradle, Docker, Kubernetes, and enterprise build systems. - Approximately **70% of developers now use cloud services in their daily workflows**, increasing demand for cloud-native tooling. - More than **60% of organizations have adopted DevOps practices**, driving IDE demand for container and CI/CD integrations. - Developers increasingly prefer environments that integrate coding, testing, and deployment in one workflow. - VS Code’s Remote Development extension family has become one of its fastest-growing feature categories. - Remote development services continue gaining adoption among enterprises working with large codebases and secure environments. - AI-powered workflow integrations have become a major differentiator in IDE selection decisions during 2025 and 2026. ## IntelliJ IDEA vs Visual Studio Code Comparison Statistics - Both **IntelliJ IDEA** and **Visual Studio Code** have a **4.7/5 rating**, indicating **equally strong user satisfaction**. - **Visual Studio Code** is **completely free**, while **IntelliJ IDEA** offers a **free version** with paid plans starting at **$16.90/month**. - Both IDEs provide a **free plan**, making them accessible to **individual developers and teams**. - **IntelliJ IDEA** follows a **freemium pricing model**, whereas **Visual Studio Code** is **100% free**. - **IntelliJ IDEA** is best suited for **developers and Java teams**, reflecting its focus on enterprise Java development. - **Visual Studio Code** is designed for **developers of all skill levels**, making it suitable for a broader audience. - Both IDEs support the **three major desktop platforms**, including **Windows, macOS, and Linux**. - **Visual Studio Code** offers a **fully free development environment**, making it a popular choice for budget-conscious developers. - **IntelliJ IDEA** combines a **free Community Edition** with **premium features** available through its paid subscription. - The comparison shows that both IDEs deliver **cross-platform compatibility** and **high user ratings**, with the main difference being their **pricing model and target audience**. ![Intellij Idea Vs Visual Studio Code Feature Comparison](https://xtendedview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/intellij-idea-vs-visual-studio-code-feature-comparison.jpg)Reference: Softwares.com ## Migration Trends Between VS Code and IntelliJ IDEA - Exactly **42%** of developers report using **more than one IDE** in their regular workflow. - Around **68%** of professionals using **IntelliJ IDEA** also rely on **VS Code** as a secondary editor. - An overwhelming **84%** of developers are currently adopting **AI tools** to evaluate new development workflows. - **VS Code** has reached a record **75.9% usage rate** by attracting developers seeking a lightweight and free editor. - **IntelliJ IDEA** dominates the enterprise ecosystem with **84% adoption among Java developers** as legacy platforms decline. - Modern teams are standardizing environments, yet **31% of Java engineers** still adopt **VS Code** for diverse project needs. - More than **81.4% of developers** activate **AI extensions** on their first day to modernize conventional coding strategies. - Up to **78% of developers** using advanced editors focus heavily on **backend systems** alongside remote capabilities. - Over **95%** of Java developers report improved productivity using **IntelliJ IDEA** for its integrated AI and remote features. ## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) **What percentage of developers use Visual Studio Code in 2025?**Visual Studio Code is used by **75.9% of developers globally**, making it the most-used development environment for the fifth consecutive year. **What share of Java developers use IntelliJ IDEA?**IntelliJ IDEA is used by **72% of Java developers in 2025**, maintaining its leadership position in Java development. **How many developers participated in the JetBrains Developer Ecosystem Report 2025?**The 2025 JetBrains Developer Ecosystem Report gathered insights from **more than 24,000 developers across 194 countries**. **What percentage of developers now use AI tools for coding?**Approximately **85% of developers worldwide use AI tools for coding**, while **62% rely on at least one coding assistant regularly**. **What percentage of Go developers prefer VS Code as their editor?**Among Go developers surveyed in 2025, **37% selected Visual Studio Code as their preferred editor**, ahead of GoLand at 28%. ## Conclusion The numbers clearly show that Visual Studio Code and IntelliJ IDEA serve different segments of the developer market while increasingly overlapping in features. **VS Code dominates overall usage with more than 73% developer adoption**, thanks to its free licensing, vast extension marketplace, and strong support for web, cloud, and AI-driven development. Meanwhile, **IntelliJ IDEA remains the leader in Java development with roughly 72% market share among Java developers**, driven by advanced refactoring, code intelligence, and enterprise tooling. The next phase of competition will likely center on AI-assisted development, remote workflows, and integrated cloud services rather than traditional editor features alone. As organizations continue adopting hybrid development environments, many developers will use both tools depending on project requirements rather than choosing a single IDE.