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Compare GNU Emacs and Visual Studio Code

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At a Glance
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs
Star Rating
(83)4.5 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (45.8% of reviews)
Information
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about GNU Emacs
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
Star Rating
(2,457)4.7 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (42.5% of reviews)
Information
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about Visual Studio Code
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
  • Reviewers mention that GNU Emacs excels in extensibility with a score of 9.5, allowing users to customize their environment extensively through Emacs Lisp, while Visual Studio Code, with a score of 9.3, offers a robust marketplace for extensions but may not match the depth of customization available in Emacs.
  • Users report that Visual Studio Code shines in ease of use, scoring 9.2 compared to GNU Emacs's 6.1. Many find the intuitive interface and built-in features like IntelliSense and debugging tools make it more accessible for beginners.
  • G2 users highlight that GNU Emacs has strong syntax highlighting capabilities with a score of 9.0, but Visual Studio Code edges ahead with a score of 9.5, providing more dynamic and visually appealing syntax highlighting options that enhance readability.
  • Users on G2 mention that Visual Studio Code's collaborative editing features are superior, scoring 8.6, as it integrates seamlessly with tools like Live Share, whereas GNU Emacs lacks built-in collaborative features, making it less suitable for team environments.
  • Reviewers say that while both products support a wide range of programming languages, Visual Studio Code scores slightly higher at 9.2 compared to GNU Emacs's 9.0, with users appreciating the built-in support for modern languages and frameworks.
  • Users report that Visual Studio Code's ease of setup, scoring 9.2, is a significant advantage over GNU Emacs, which scores only 5.5. Many users find that getting started with VS Code is straightforward, while Emacs requires a steeper learning curve to configure effectively.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
GNU Emacs
No pricing available
Visual Studio Code
No pricing available
Free Trial
GNU Emacs
No trial information available
Visual Studio Code
No trial information available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
9.2
74
9.3
1,991
Ease of Use
6.1
75
9.2
2,004
Ease of Setup
5.5
17
9.3
402
Ease of Admin
6.8
16
9.0
218
Quality of Support
7.9
59
8.7
1,638
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
7.8
9
9.2
188
Product Direction (% positive)
7.9
72
9.6
1,925
Features by Category
8.9
7
9.1
1,611
Coding
9.0
7
9.5
1511
8.8
7
8.9
1504
9.0
7
9.2
1496
8.6
7
9.1
1446
Editing
Not enough data
8.6
1203
9.0
7
9.2
1424
8.8
7
9.0
1425
Functionality
9.5
7
9.3
1457
9.0
7
9.2
1404
8.9
6
9.3
1491
8.0
5
8.9
1175
Agentic AI - Landing Page Builders
Not enough data
8.9
87
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
GNU Emacs and Visual Studio Code are categorized as Text Editor
Unique Categories
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs has no unique categories
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code has no unique categories
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
45.8%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
31.3%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
22.9%
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
42.5%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
30.8%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
26.7%
Reviewers' Industry
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs
Computer Software
31.3%
Information Technology and Services
18.1%
Research
7.2%
Internet
6.0%
Higher Education
6.0%
Other
31.3%
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
Computer Software
33.9%
Information Technology and Services
25.4%
Program Development
3.0%
Financial Services
2.7%
Internet
2.3%
Other
32.7%
Alternatives
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs Alternatives
Notepad++
Notepad++
Add Notepad++
Sublime Text
Sublime Text
Add Sublime Text
gedit
gEdit
Add gedit
UltraEdit
UltraEdit
Add UltraEdit
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code Alternatives
Notepad++
Notepad++
Add Notepad++
Sublime Text
Sublime Text
Add Sublime Text
UltraEdit
UltraEdit
Add UltraEdit
Brackets
Brackets
Add Brackets
Discussions
GNU Emacs
GNU Emacs Discussions
Monty the Mongoose crying
GNU Emacs has no discussions with answers
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code Discussions
Is Visual Studio code an IDE?
10 Comments
Yogesh S.
YS
Visual Studio Code is a code editor, not a full-fledged integrated development environment (IDE). Free to Use Beginner Friendly.Read more
What is Visual Studio Code used for?
8 Comments
Vivek S.
VS
Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is a free, open-source code editor developed by Microsoft. You can do any type of programming and scripting tasks easily on VS...Read more
Why is Visual Studio code so popular?
6 Comments
Yogesh S.
YS
Easy To use. Beginner Friendly. Many Extension to ease our Work. The user-interface is Easy and has Many customization.Read more