Link copied to clipboard # BlueJ vs IntelliJ IDEA Comparison - What are their main differences? Share [ Export ](/compare/bluej/intellij-idea/export.csv) BlueJIntelliJ IDEA[+ Add Product](#) Reviews **BlueJ** [ 4/5(203) ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews#reviews) **IntelliJ IDEA** [ 4.6/5(2,393) ](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews#reviews) Pricing **BlueJ** No pricing available **IntelliJ IDEA** Free Trial **$19.90** Per Month · For Individual Use **Pricing Insights** from reviews Time to Implement **BlueJ** 5 months Based on 5 responses **IntelliJ IDEA** 4 monthsFaster Based on 29 responses Return on Investment **BlueJ** 7 months8 months sooner Based on 11 responses **IntelliJ IDEA** 15 months Based on 24 responses Perceived Cost **BlueJ** $$$$$ **IntelliJ IDEA** $$$$$ Average Discount **BlueJ** 11% **IntelliJ IDEA** 20%9% more Pros & Cons **BlueJ** [ Ease of Use (10) ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1121495&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ User Interface (8) ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1121794&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Limited Features (6) ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1121720&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Limited Plugin Support (4) ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1121785&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) **IntelliJ IDEA** [ Ease of Use (61) ](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1886231&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ Features (58) ](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1886608&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ High Memory Usage (43) ](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1886991&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[ High System Requirements (25) ](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1886716&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Integrations **BlueJ** Not enough data **IntelliJ IDEA** [ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_92678e42a1cad1b80e7d257e3636e25e/android-studio.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Android Studio ](https://www.g2.com/products/android-studio/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_809aa88d3571ee805a47d8fb156ba412/apache-kafka.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Apache Kafka ](https://www.g2.com/products/apache-kafka/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_9d00048205a466c174da3c77093a1336/apache-maven.png "Product Avatar Image") Apache Maven ](https://www.g2.com/products/apache-maven/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/large_detail/large_detail_2ea5f7178028686921161d65d4be481a/bitbucket.png "Product Avatar Image") Bitbucket ](https://www.g2.com/products/bitbucket/reviews)[ View all ](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/integrations) Screenshots **BlueJ** ![BlueJ screenshot](https://images.g2crowd.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=600,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,/https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/attachment/file/36443/BlueJ_Screenshot-3.png) **IntelliJ IDEA** ![IntelliJ IDEA screenshot](https://images.g2crowd.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=600,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,/https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/attachment/file/72399/interface.png) Ratings Meets Requirements **BlueJ** 7.9 7.9163 **IntelliJ IDEA** 9.3 9.31,988 Ease of Use **BlueJ** 8.7 8.7166 **IntelliJ IDEA** 8.8 8.82,007 Ease of Setup **BlueJ** 8.6 8.645 **IntelliJ IDEA** 8.9 8.9410 Ease of Admin **BlueJ** 8.7 8.724 **IntelliJ IDEA** 8.5 8.5190 Quality of Support **BlueJ** 7.6 7.6137 **IntelliJ IDEA** 8.6 8.61,559 Has the product been a good partner in doing business? **BlueJ** 7.4 7.420 **IntelliJ IDEA** 8.8 8.8182 Product Direction (% positive) **BlueJ** 6.8 6.8153 **IntelliJ IDEA** 9.0 9.01,945 User Insights Reviewers' Company Size [![BlueJ](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_6f0fbce397c3547cdf5e279e53814411/bluej.png "BlueJ")](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews) BlueJ Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 52.9% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 20.9% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 26.2% [![IntelliJ IDEA](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/345cf3094b01131abf0d6608092205fa/intellij-idea.svg "IntelliJ IDEA")](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews) IntelliJ IDEA Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 30.7% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 29.0% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 40.3% Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 52.9% 30.7% Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 20.9% 29.0% Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 26.2% 40.3% Reviewers' Industry [![BlueJ](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_6f0fbce397c3547cdf5e279e53814411/bluej.png "BlueJ")](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews) BlueJ Computer Software 33.5% Information Technology and Services 16.2% Higher Education 11.0% Education Management 7.9% Primary/Secondary Education 6.8% Other 24.6% [![IntelliJ IDEA](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/345cf3094b01131abf0d6608092205fa/intellij-idea.svg "IntelliJ IDEA")](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews) IntelliJ IDEA Computer Software 37.7% Information Technology and Services 18.4% Internet 5.4% Financial Services 4.3% Higher Education 2.8% Other 31.5% FAQs ## BlueJ vs IntelliJ IDEA FAQs Generated using AI Last updated: August 14, 2026 ### What is the difference between BlueJ vs IntelliJ IDEA? IntelliJ IDEA is distinguished from BlueJ by its higher reviewer satisfaction, broader feature set, and stronger support scores, while BlueJ is favored for beginner learning and simplicity. | [BlueJ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews) | [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews) | | --- | --- | | 4.0/5 (203 reviews) | 4.6/5 (2389 reviews) | | Small-Business | Enterprise | | 8.7 | 8.9 | | 7.6 | 8.6 | | Beginner-friendly interface and ease of use (10 all-time mentions) | Advanced code intelligence and debugging tools | ### How do the pricing models of BlueJ and IntelliJ IDEA compare? IntelliJ IDEA is rated higher for value, with a stronger Price/Cost satisfaction score than BlueJ. - **BlueJ:** In recent reviews, BlueJ is praised for being free and optimal for beginners, but reviewers note its limited features compared to professional IDEs. - **IntelliJ IDEA:** Reviewers highlight the value of IntelliJ IDEA’s advanced features and integrations, noting that the investment is justified by productivity gains, though some mention the paid Ultimate edition as a trade-off. ### What are the best alternatives to BlueJ and IntelliJ IDEA? Visual Studio, Eclipse, and NetBeans are the top three alternatives to BlueJ and IntelliJ IDEA. | Product | G2 Rating (reviews) | Largest Segment | Pricing Insight | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [BlueJ](https://www.g2.com/products/bluej/reviews) | 4.0/5 (203 reviews) | Small-Business | Free and optimal for beginners | Beginner-friendly interface and ease of use | | [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews) | 4.6/5 (2389 reviews) | Enterprise | Paid Ultimate edition, high value for advanced features | Advanced code intelligence and debugging tools | | [Visual Studio](https://www.g2.com/products/visual-studio/reviews) | 4.5/5 (4004 reviews) | Small-Business | — | Comprehensive development environment | | [Eclipse](https://www.g2.com/products/eclipse/reviews) | 4.3/5 (3221 reviews) | Enterprise | — | Extensive plugin ecosystem | | [NetBeans](https://www.g2.com/products/netbeans/reviews) | 4.2/5 (675 reviews) | Small-Business | — | Integrated tools for Java development | ### Which Java Integrated Development Environments (IDE) features should I prioritize when comparing BlueJ and IntelliJ IDEA? Buyers should prioritize code intelligence, debugging tools, integration capabilities, ease of setup, and support quality when comparing BlueJ and IntelliJ IDEA. - **Code Intelligence:** IntelliJ IDEA is frequently cited for advanced code completion and real-time error detection; BlueJ is noted for beginner-friendly syntax highlighting. - **Debugging Tools:** IntelliJ IDEA is praised for robust debugging and refactoring; BlueJ is valued for its interactive object bench and visual class diagrams (10 all-time mentions for ease of use). - **Integration Capabilities:** IntelliJ IDEA integrates with Git (433 all-time mentions), GitHub (67), and Android Studio (53); BlueJ has limited plugin support (4 all-time mentions). - **Ease of Setup:** Both products score highly, with BlueJ at 8.7 and IntelliJ IDEA at 8.9. - **Support Quality:** IntelliJ IDEA scores 8.6, BlueJ 7.6, indicating stronger support for IntelliJ IDEA. ### What are the pros and cons of BlueJ vs IntelliJ IDEA? BlueJ’s headline strength is its beginner-friendly interface, while IntelliJ IDEA excels in advanced code intelligence and integrations. - **BlueJ strengths:** Beginner-friendly interface (10 all-time mentions), simple UI (8), lightweight (4), effective for learning Java and OOP concepts. - **BlueJ trade-offs:** Limited features (6 all-time mentions), limited plugin support (4), not suitable for large or professional projects, outdated UI, slower performance on larger codebases. - **IntelliJ IDEA strengths:** Advanced code intelligence, robust debugging, strong integration with Git and other tools, high reviewer satisfaction (4.6/5 rating), praised for productivity improvements and support for large projects. - **IntelliJ IDEA trade-offs:** Resource-intensive, slower startup and indexing on large projects, some advanced features require paid Ultimate edition, learning curve for new users. ### Is BlueJ or IntelliJ IDEA better for small businesses? BlueJ is better suited for small businesses, as reflected by its largest reviewer segment and positive sentiment for beginner and educational use. - **BlueJ:** Largest segment is Small-Business; reviewers highlight its simplicity, ease of use, and suitability for small projects and educational environments. - **IntelliJ IDEA:** Largest segment is Enterprise; reviewers note its advanced features and integrations, but mention higher resource requirements and a steeper learning curve for small teams. ### Which Java Integrated Development Environments (IDE) platform has better integrations? IntelliJ IDEA is favored for integrations, with extensive reviewer-cited support for major development tools. - **BlueJ:** Reviewers mention limited plugin support and integrations, with 4 all-time mentions of plugin limitations. - **IntelliJ IDEA:** Integrates with Git (433 all-time mentions), GitHub (67), and Android Studio (53), making it a top choice for teams needing robust integration capabilities. ### How do BlueJ and IntelliJ IDEA compare on customer support? IntelliJ IDEA outperforms BlueJ on Quality of Support by a material margin, scoring 8.6 versus BlueJ’s 7.6. - **BlueJ:** Reviewers describe support as helpful for beginners, but note limitations in advanced troubleshooting and professional use. - **IntelliJ IDEA:** Reviewers consistently praise support quality, documentation, and onboarding resources, with high satisfaction for resolving issues and assisting with complex setups. ### Which is easier to implement, BlueJ or IntelliJ IDEA? IntelliJ IDEA and BlueJ are rated at parity for Ease of Setup, with scores of 8.9 and 8.7 respectively, indicating both are easy to implement. - **BlueJ:** Reviewers highlight straightforward installation, minimal setup complexity, and suitability for quick onboarding, especially in educational settings. - **IntelliJ IDEA:** Reviewers note an easy initial setup process, with installation wizards and built-in support for tools like Maven and Git, though some mention a learning curve for advanced features. 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