Is Eclipse IDE or Firebolt better?

Neither clearly leads. Eclipse IDE starts at Free and Firebolt at $1.84/hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Eclipse IDE or Firebolt?

Eclipse IDE has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Eclipse IDE and $1.84/hour for Firebolt.

Does Eclipse IDE or Firebolt run on more platforms?

Eclipse IDE runs on windows, mac, linux. Firebolt runs on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.

Can I use Eclipse IDE for free?

Yes. Eclipse IDE has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour.

What is Eclipse IDE best used for?

Eclipse IDE is most often used for enterprise java application development, academic and educational programming courses, extending the ide for niche languages via plugins, multi-module builds with maven or gradle. Of those, enterprise java application development and academic and educational programming courses are not what Firebolt is typically brought in for.

What can Eclipse IDE do that Firebolt cannot?

Eclipse IDE covers Java Development Tools (JDT), Plugin Architecture, Git Integration, Refactoring Tools. Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, Sparse Indexes, Data Pruning, Decoupled Storage/Compute.

Software · head to head

Eclipse IDE vs Firebolt

Eclipse IDE

Software

Open-source, extensible IDE historically centered on Java development

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Firebolt

Software

Sub-second analytics at cloud data warehouse scale

From: $1.84/hour
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Eclipse IDE has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Eclipse IDE startup time and UI responsiveness lag behind newer editors like VS Code.; Firebolt compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
They diverge on capability: Eclipse IDE covers Java Development Tools (JDT), Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Eclipse IDE and Firebolt actually diverge.

Attributes where Eclipse IDE and Firebolt differ
Attribute	Eclipse IDE	Firebolt
Starting price	Free	$1.84/hour
Pricing model	open-source	usage-based
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	windows, mac, linux	Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes
Founded	2001	2019

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

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 Eclipse IDE

Java Development Tools (JDT)
Plugin Architecture
Git Integration
Refactoring Tools
Workspace and Project Management

Only in Firebolt

Sub-second Queries
Sparse Indexes
Data Pruning
Decoupled Storage/Compute
SQL Support
Semi-structured Data
Workload Isolation
Airflow

What people use each for

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

Eclipse IDE

Enterprise Java application developmentnot Firebolt
Academic and educational programming coursesnot Firebolt
Extending the IDE for niche languages via pluginsnot Firebolt
Multi-module builds with Maven or Gradlenot Firebolt

Firebolt

Data analytics teams running gigabyte-to-petabyte datasets with sub-second query requirementsnot Eclipse IDE
Real-time business intelligence platforms requiring ACID transactions and snapshot isolationnot Eclipse IDE
Applications needing vector search on analytical data for similarity queriesnot Eclipse IDE

Where each one falls short

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

Eclipse IDE

Startup time and UI responsiveness lag behind newer editors like VS Code.
Plugin quality and compatibility can be inconsistent across versions.
Modern language support (e.g. for web frameworks) is weaker than dedicated tools.
Configuration and workspace setup has a steeper learning curve for newcomers.

Firebolt

Compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
Storage pass-through charged at $0.0264/GB monthly on compressed data; uncompressed storage could exceed this
Azure deployment currently in Preview status; production recommendations unclear
Vector indexes limited to float arrays; other data types require alternative indexing strategies
Free tier credits ($200) limited; no perpetual free tier for production use

Pricing, plan by plan

Eclipse IDE

Free

FreeFree
- Full IDE and plugin ecosystem, no paid tiers

Firebolt

$1.84/hour

No published plan breakdown. See the Firebolt review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Eclipse IDE if

You need java development tools (jdt).
You want to start without paying.
You work on windows, mac, linux.
You also want plugin architecture.

Eclipse IDE review

Choose Firebolt if

You need sub-second queries.
You work on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
You also want sparse indexes.

Firebolt review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse IDE or Firebolt better?: Neither clearly leads. Eclipse IDE starts at Free and Firebolt at $1.84/hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse IDE or Firebolt?: Eclipse IDE has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Eclipse IDE and $1.84/hour for Firebolt.
Does Eclipse IDE or Firebolt run on more platforms?: Eclipse IDE runs on windows, mac, linux. Firebolt runs on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Eclipse IDE for free?: Yes. Eclipse IDE has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour.
What is Eclipse IDE best used for?: Eclipse IDE is most often used for enterprise java application development, academic and educational programming courses, extending the ide for niche languages via plugins, multi-module builds with maven or gradle. Of those, enterprise java application development and academic and educational programming courses are not what Firebolt is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse IDE do that Firebolt cannot?: Eclipse IDE covers Java Development Tools (JDT), Plugin Architecture, Git Integration, Refactoring Tools. Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, Sparse Indexes, Data Pruning, Decoupled Storage/Compute.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Eclipse IDE: Is Eclipse IDE free to use, including commercially?

Yes, Eclipse is released under the Eclipse Public License 2.0, a free and open-source license that permits commercial use with no purchase required.

Source

Eclipse IDE: How do I extend Eclipse with plugins?

Extensions are installed from the Eclipse Marketplace, which hosts over 1,300 solutions spanning tools, languages, IoT support, and RCP applications, using drag-and-drop installation via the Marketplace Client.

Source

Eclipse IDE: What license do Eclipse Marketplace plugins use?

Marketplace listings can be filtered by license type, including EPL, GPL, Apache 2.0, and MIT, since individual plugin authors choose their own licensing terms.

Source

Eclipse IDE: Where can I get help with Eclipse?

Support channels include community forums, project office hours, and a contact page maintained by the Eclipse Foundation, in addition to the official Eclipse Platform help documentation.

Source

Eclipse IDE: Is Eclipse limited to Java development?

No, while Eclipse's Java Development Tools are its best-known feature, the plugin architecture and marketplace extend it to C/C++, PHP, JavaScript, and many other languages.

Source

Eclipse IDE vs Firebolt

Eclipse IDE

Firebolt

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Eclipse IDE

Only in Firebolt

What people use each for

Eclipse IDE

Firebolt

Where each one falls short

Eclipse IDE

Firebolt

Pricing, plan by plan

Eclipse IDE

Firebolt

Which should you pick?

Choose Eclipse IDE if

Choose Firebolt if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Eclipse IDE

More on Firebolt

Keep looking

Other head to heads