Best Integrated Development Environments in 2026
Updated
In short: Omnis Studio is ranked #1 of 62 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Qt Creator and KDevelop. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Qt Creator. The lowest first paid tier on this page is RustRover at $6.90/mo.
Integrated development environments gather tools for building and working on software projects. Compared on build tools, integrated debugger, and integrated testing tools, these entries can be assessed against the tasks in your development workflow. Dev container support and project management offer further points of comparison, while supported operating systems help clarify where an environment fits. Free plans and paid-from pricing provide access and cost details. Omnis Studio, Qt Creator, and KDevelop are among the environments shown. Consider the listed capabilities alongside your project needs and preferred operating systems.
62 integrated development environments ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
19 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omnis StudioWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone | Three bars | — | 6 of 6 | $62.50/mo | 6.8 | |
| 2 | Qt CreatorWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone | Three bars | — | 6 of 6 | Free | 6.7 | |
| 3 | KDevelopWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 4 | Apache NetBeansWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 5 | BlueJWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 6 | CLionWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $10.90/mo | 6.5 | |
| 7 | Code::BlocksWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 8 | CodeLiteWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 9 | Eclipse IDEWindows · Mac · Linux · Extension | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 10 | EricWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 11 | IntelliJ IDEAWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $8.33/mo | 6.5 | |
| 12 | PyCharmWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $16.67/mo | 6.5 | |
| 13 | RiderWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $14.08/mo | 6.5 | |
| 14 | RubyMineWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $10.90/mo | 6.5 | |
| 15 | RustRoverWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $6.90/mo | 6.5 | |
| 16 | WebStormWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 17 | GeneXusWeb · Android · iPhone · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 18 | TRAEWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 19 | Visual StudioWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 20 | XojoWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone | Two bars | — | — | 6 of 6 | — | 5.8 |
| 21 | GoLandWindows · Mac · Linux | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 22 | Posit Package ManagerWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 23 | ThonnyWindows · Mac · Linux | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 24 | Allegro CLWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 25 | LabVIEWWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which integrated development environment is ranked first on Freedom251?
Omnis Studio is ranked #1 of 62 with a score of 6.8. Qt Creator is second and KDevelop third.
How many of these have a free plan?
19 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, RustRover has the lowest first paid tier we found: $6.90/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.