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Project Management · head to head

Hive vs Visual Studio

Hive logo

Hive

Project Management

Project management built for speed

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HiveFull review
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Visual StudioFull review

The short version

  • Hive is a productivity platform.
  • Visual Studio is free; Hive starts at $5/mo.
  • Where Hive falls short: the free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage.
  • Where Visual Studio falls short: A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Hive and Visual Studio differ
AttributeHiveVisual Studio
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Windows, macOSWeb
CategoryProject ManagementDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Freemium), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Visual Studio.

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 Hive

  • Tasks
  • Gantt view
  • Kanban
  • Time tracking
  • Forms
  • Slack
  • Zoom
  • Google Drive

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Hive does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Hive

  • Project and task management with multiple project viewsnot Visual Studio
  • Coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teamsnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Hive
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Hive
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Hive
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Hive
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot Hive

Where each one falls short

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

Hive

  • The free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage
  • The Starter plan at $5 per user per month is limited to 10 projects
  • Eight capabilities are sold as $5 per user add ons on the Teams plan, including CRM, timesheets, proofing, resourcing, advanced dashboards, external users and SSO
  • Buying SSO plus a few of those add ons therefore costs more than the $12 base seat itself
  • AI credits are metered monthly at 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 by plan

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

Hive

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 AI credits per month
    • 200MB storage
    • Up to 10 workspace members
  • Starter$5/mo
    • 3,000 AI credits per month
    • Unlimited storage
    • Up to 10 projects
  • Teams$12/mo
    • 5,000 AI credits per month
    • Unlimited workspace members
    • Custom fields

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Hive if

  • You need tasks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want gantt view.
Hive review

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Hive or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Hive 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, Hive or Visual Studio?
Hive starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Hive or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Hive runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Hive for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hive best used for?
Hive is most often used for project and task management with multiple project views, coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teams. Of those, project and task management with multiple project views and coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teams are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Hive do that Visual Studio cannot?
Hive covers Tasks, Gantt view, Kanban, Time tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hive: Is Hive free?

Hive offers a free plan with 1,000 AI credits per month, 200MB storage, and support for up to 10 workspace members. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month.

Source
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
Hive: Does Hive offer annual billing discounts?

Hive offers 33% savings when choosing annual billing instead of monthly. Annual commitment discounts are available across all plan tiers.

Source
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Hive: What are Hive's add-on pricing options?

Optional add-ons are available at $5 per month each, including CRM, Finance, Proofing & Approvals, Timesheets, and Team Resourcing features.

Source
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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