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Cody vs Visual Studio

Cody logo

Cody

Software

AI coding assistant powered by code search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Software

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cody sourcegraph now publishes a single Enterprise plan starting at $16K, with no free or individual Pro tier listed on the pricing page; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cody and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Cody and Visual Studio differ
AttributeCodyVisual Studio
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What people use each for

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

Cody

  • AI code assistance with context drawn from a whole private codebasenot Visual Studio
  • Code search and navigation across many repositoriesnot Visual Studio
  • Large scale code migrations and modernisation with Batch Changesnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

No use cases recorded yet. See the Visual Studio review.

Where each one falls short

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

Cody

  • Sourcegraph now publishes a single Enterprise plan starting at $16K, with no free or individual Pro tier listed on the pricing page
  • sourcegraph.com/cody redirects to the documentation rather than a Cody product or pricing page
  • AI features are metered as credits included per user, and exceeding the allocation requires buying a higher volume bucket
  • Volume credit buckets are sold as an add-on rather than included
  • A customer success manager and premium support are optional paid extras on top of the Enterprise plan
  • Standard support is 24x5 rather than 24x7, with round-the-clock coverage sold as an upgrade
  • The published $16K figure is a starting price that scales with team size, so the actual cost is quoted rather than listed

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Cody

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cody review.

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cody if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cody review

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Cody or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Cody starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cody or Visual Studio?
Cody starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Cody or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Cody for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cody best used for?
Cody is most often used for ai code assistance with context drawn from a whole private codebase, code search and navigation across many repositories, large scale code migrations and modernisation with batch changes. Of those, ai code assistance with context drawn from a whole private codebase and code search and navigation across many repositories are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
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Related pages

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