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Developer Tools · head to head

CLion vs Very Good Security

CLion logo

CLion

Developer Tools

A cross-platform IDE for C and C++

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CLion has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CLion specific subscription pricing not listed on product page; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CLion and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where CLion and Very Good Security differ
AttributeCLionVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CLion

Nothing recorded that Very Good Security does not also cover.

Only in Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CLion

  • C and C++ development with real-time analysisnot Very Good Security
  • Embedded systems and ARM toolchain developmentnot Very Good Security
  • Remote development via Docker and WSLnot Very Good Security
  • Educational programming instructionnot Very Good Security
  • Cross-platform development for Linux and Windowsnot Very Good Security

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot CLion
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot CLion
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot CLion
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot CLion

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CLion

  • Specific subscription pricing not listed on product page
  • Requires reference to separate store page for tier details
  • AI credits needed for integrated AI features
  • No mention of free trial for commercial use

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

Pricing, plan by plan

CLion

Free
  • Free (Non-commercial)Free
    • Non-commercial use license
    • Full IDE features for hobby and open-source projects
  • Free (Educational)Free
    • Student licenses
    • Teacher licenses
    • Full IDE access for educational purposes
  • Subscription$null/month
    • Different subscription options for individuals and organizations
    • 25% discount for switching from competing products

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose CLion if

  • You want to start without paying.
CLion review

Choose Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is CLion or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. CLion starts at Free and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CLion or Very Good Security?
CLion has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CLion and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does CLion or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
CLion runs on Web. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
Can I use CLion for free?
Yes. CLion has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
What is CLion best used for?
CLion is most often used for c and c++ development with real-time analysis, embedded systems and arm toolchain development, remote development via docker and wsl, educational programming instruction. Of those, c and c++ development with real-time analysis and embedded systems and arm toolchain development are not what Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can CLion do that Very Good Security cannot?
Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CLion: Is CLion free?

CLion offers free licenses for students, teachers, and non-commercial use. Commercial users can purchase subscriptions with organization pricing available.

Source
Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

CLion: What free options does CLion provide?

CLion provides non-commercial use licenses for open-source and hobby projects, plus full licenses for students and teachers without cost.

Source
Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

CLion: Does CLion include AI assistance?

Yes, CLion natively integrates AI with support for Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Grok models. Users can apply JetBrains AI credits or bring their own API keys to avoid vendor lock-in.

Source
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

CLion: Are there discounts for switching to CLion?

CLion offers a competitive discount of 25% for users switching from other IDEs and similar products.

Source
Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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