JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

The Leading Java and Kotlin IDE

As of 30 August 2026, JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA has a free plan and paid plans start at $19.9/month. IntelliJ IDEA is an integrated development environment written in Java for developing computer software. Softwr lists it under Technology. JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA is made by JetBrains s.r.o., launched in 2000, available on macOS, Windows, Linux.

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Overview

What JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA does

IntelliJ IDEA is an integrated development environment written in Java for developing computer software. It is developed by JetBrains and is available as a community edition and commercial edition.

What people use it for

Enterprise Java development
Spring applications
Android apps
Web applications
Microservices

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA.

High memory consumption and slower startup time compared to lightweight editors like Visual Studio Code
Refactoring can sometimes increase code line count and doesn't effectively support all modern programming languages
Occasionally misses dependencies between files requiring full rebuilds for consistency
Expensive subscription costs for Ultimate edition compared to open-source alternatives like Eclipse
Not all class name references are updated reliably when using search and replace functionality

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAvs
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code: Lightweight, multi-language code editor with extensive extension ecosystem and broad programming language support, offering alternative to IDE-heavy IntelliJ IDEA.
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAvs
Eclipse
Eclipse: Free, open-source IDE primarily for Java development with customizable interface and large plugin ecosystem, historically the dominant Java IDE.
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAvs
PyCharm
PyCharm: JetBrains IDE specifically optimized for Python development, built on same IntelliJ platform with Python-specific refactoring and debugging tools.
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAvs
Android Studio
Android Studio: Google-backed IDE specifically for Android app development with integrated testing, debugging, and emulation tools designed for mobile developers.
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAvs
Windsurf
Windsurf: AI-powered development environment providing AI-assisted coding and real-time collaboration features as an alternative to traditional IDE workflows.

Pricing

What JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Community Edition

Free

Java, Kotlin, Scala development
Python, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby support
Spring Boot integration
Git version control
Maven and Gradle support
Code inspections and refactoring

Ultimate (Individual)

$19.9 /mo

All Community Edition features
Advanced web development tools
JavaScript, TypeScript, React support
Database tools and SQL support
Profiler and debugger
JetBrains AI Assistant

All Products Pack (Individual)

$29.9 /mo

IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate
PyCharm Professional
WebStorm
PhpStorm
RubyMine
Rider

Capabilities

Features

Smart code completion
Framework support
Refactoring tools
Debugging & profiling
Version control
Database tools
Build tools
Testing frameworks
Git
Integration with Git
GitHub
Integration with GitHub
Docker
Integration with Docker
Kubernetes
Integration with Kubernetes

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is there a free version of IntelliJ IDEA?

Yes, IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition is completely free for personal, educational, and commercial use. As of IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3, the Community Edition has been unified with Ultimate, maintaining all core functionality free including Java, Kotlin, Scala, Python, Go, Rust, PHP, and Ruby support.

Source

What programming languages does IntelliJ IDEA support?

IntelliJ IDEA supports Java, Kotlin, Scala, Python, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, TypeScript, and more. The free Community Edition includes support for all major languages with new features in Spring, Jakarta EE, Thymeleaf, and other frameworks.

Source

Can I use IntelliJ IDEA with Spring Boot?

Yes, IntelliJ IDEA has built-in Spring Boot integration including the Spring Initializr project wizard, automatic dependency management with Maven and Gradle, code inspections for Spring frameworks, and direct project creation from Spring Initializr.

Source

Does IntelliJ IDEA support Git version control?

Yes, IntelliJ IDEA includes comprehensive Git integration allowing users to create Git repositories, commit changes, push to GitHub, create and merge branches, resolve conflicts, and investigate file history directly from the IDE.

Source

How much does IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate cost?

IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate subscription starts at $19.90 per month for Individual plans or $29.90 for the All Products Pack. Long-term discounts apply: 20% off year 2 and 40% off year 3 and beyond, reducing the annual cost significantly for loyal users.

Source

What are the main differences between IntelliJ IDEA and Eclipse?

IntelliJ IDEA offers a cleaner UI and more powerful code assistance capabilities compared to Eclipse's more complex interface. IntelliJ provides better refactoring tools, superior code completion, and optimized performance, while Eclipse remains free and open-source with a larger plugin ecosystem.

Source

Behind it

Who makes JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

Company: JetBrains s.r.o.
Based in: Prague, Czech Republic
Founders: Sergey Dmitriev, Valentin Kipyatkov, Eugene Belyaev

Timeline