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Project Management · head to head

Paymo vs Visual Studio

Paymo logo

Paymo

Project Management

Work & project management for teams

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit PaymoFull 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

  • Paymo is a work management solution.
  • Visual Studio is free; Paymo starts at $5.9/mo.
  • Where Paymo falls short: every advertised price rises after 3 months, with Plus going from $10.90 to $15.90 per user and Pro from $16.90 to $23.90.
  • 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 Paymo and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Paymo and Visual Studio differ
AttributePaymoVisual 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 Paymo

  • Task management
  • Time tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Gantt charts
  • Resource scheduling
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace
  • Zapier

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Paymo does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Paymo

  • Time tracking for freelancersnot Visual Studio
  • Project management for small teamsnot Visual Studio
  • Invoice generation and client managementnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

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

Where each one falls short

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

Paymo

  • Every advertised price rises after 3 months, with Plus going from $10.90 to $15.90 per user and Pro from $16.90 to $23.90
  • The free plan allows 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects
  • The Solo plan is still capped at 3 clients and 5 projects
  • Gantt charts, task dependencies and scheduling require the Plus plan
  • Integrations are excluded from both the free and Solo plans

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

Paymo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user
    • unlimited time tracking
    • unlimited invoices
  • Solo$5.9/mo
    • 1 user
    • flat rate/retainer projects
    • 3 clients
  • Plus$10.9/mo
    • unlimited users
    • spreadsheet view
    • recurring tasks
  • Pro$16.9/mo
    • unlimited users
    • Gantt charts
    • task dependencies

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Paymo if

  • You need task management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want time tracking.
Paymo review

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Paymo or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Paymo 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, Paymo or Visual Studio?
Paymo starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Paymo or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Paymo runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Paymo for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Paymo best used for?
Paymo is most often used for time tracking for freelancers, project management for small teams, invoice generation and client management. Of those, time tracking for freelancers and project management for small teams are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Paymo do that Visual Studio cannot?
Paymo covers Task management, Time tracking, Invoicing, Gantt charts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Paymo: What is the storage limit by plan?

Free: 1GB, Solo: 5GB, Plus: 50GB, Pro: 500GB.

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
Paymo: Can I use Paymo with multiple users on the Free plan?

No, Free and Solo plans are limited to 1 user only. You need Plus or Pro for multiple users.

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
Paymo: What happens after the promotional pricing period ends?

Regular prices apply: Solo $9.90/month, Plus $15.90/user/month, Pro $23.90/user/month.

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
Paymo: Is there a discount for annual billing?

Yes, annual payment offers up to 40% discount compared to monthly billing.

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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