IntelliJ IDEA makes my day-to-day development feel really smooth. Even the small UI details end up being genuinely helpful, like the different colors and icons for files, which make it easy to quickly tell interfaces, records, classes, and other types apart. Autocomplete is consistently strong, and the formatting shortcut is something I rely on all the time, especially when indentation gets messed up.
The Git experience is probably one of the biggest highlights for me. Switching branches is straightforward, the merge/conflict resolution window is easy to understand and work through, and the Git log is laid out clearly enough that it’s simple to follow a project’s history.
I’ve used VS Code too, but for Java development I find IntelliJ much less confusing. A lot of things that take extra extensions or setup in VS Code already feel well integrated here. Plugin support is also excellent, and overall the UI makes the entire development workflow feel easier and more cohesive.
It large projects really well and I generally don’t have issues with it keeping up while coding. Code completion, navigation, search, and other features feel responsive even when working with bigger Java projects. It can use a fair amount of memory, but the overall performance has been good for me.
For the amount of time it saves during development, I think IntelliJ provides good value. Features like code navigation, refactoring, debugging, Git integration, and the overall Java tooling are things I use almost every day, so the productivity improvement makes the cost feel justified.
It’s pretty easy to get started with if you already have some Java experience. Most of the common features are easy to discover, and there are plenty of plugins and documentation available when you need something specific. The IDE also gives useful suggestions and shortcuts while you work, so you gradually learn more features just by using it.
The intelligent code completion and suggestions are probably the features I use the most. IntelliJ understands the project context really well, so the suggestions are usually relevant instead of just being generic autocomplete. Features like inspections, quick fixes, refactoring suggestions, and navigation also make it easier to catch and fix issues while writing code. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The main downside I’ve noticed is the resource usage. One time I noticed, IntelliJ had a physical memory footprint of 3.3 GB, with a peak of 3.8 GB. That can be quite noticeable on machines with limited RAM, especially when running other development tools alongside IntelliJ. intellij_sample Other than that, some of the features and settings can feel a little overwhelming because there are so many options. It can take some time to figure out where everything is. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.