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Developer Tools · head to head

Prettier vs Visual Studio

Prettier logo

Prettier

Developer Tools

Opinionated code formatter

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Prettier inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Prettier and Visual Studio differ
AttributePrettierVisual Studio
Pricing modelfreefreemium
PlatformsCLI, Editor Plugins, Build ToolsWeb
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).

What people use each for

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

Prettier

  • Automatically formatting TypeScript files to project style standardsnot Visual Studio
  • Enforcing consistent HTML indentation across component filesnot Visual Studio
  • Removing style-related comments from pull request reviewsnot Visual Studio
  • Formatting GraphQL queries with consistent indentationnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

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

Where each one falls short

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

Prettier

  • Inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults
  • Developers must format entire files rather than selective line ranges in some contexts
  • Limited language support compared to some alternatives, though it covers major languages

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

Prettier

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Prettier review.

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Prettier if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on CLI, Editor Plugins, Build Tools.
Prettier review

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Prettier or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Prettier 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, Prettier or Visual Studio?
Prettier starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Prettier or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Prettier runs on CLI, Editor Plugins, Build Tools. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Prettier for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Prettier best used for?
Prettier is most often used for automatically formatting typescript files to project style standards, enforcing consistent html indentation across component files, removing style-related comments from pull request reviews, formatting graphql queries with consistent indentation. Of those, automatically formatting typescript files to project style standards and enforcing consistent html indentation across component files are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Prettier: Is Prettier free and open source?

Yes, Prettier is completely free and open source, available as an npm package with no licensing costs or subscriptions.

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
Prettier: Can Prettier be integrated with ESLint?

Yes, Prettier integrates with ESLint by disabling ESLint formatting rules via eslint-config-prettier, allowing both tools to work together with Prettier handling formatting and ESLint handling code quality.

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
Prettier: Does Prettier support configuration customization?

Prettier is intentionally opinionated with limited configuration options to enforce consistency. You can create a .prettierrc file for basic customization, but Prettier does not support extensive rule customization like ESLint.

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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