What is the best IDE of C++ on Window?


Big projects are difficult to manage on mere text editors. You're likely to be more productive and less frustrated if you use an IDE in such cases. There are various types of IDE's and you should select the right one which fits your needs. There is no single best IDE for C++ on Windows. You must choose your tool wisely. Here is a list of popular and IMO best IDEs for Windows.

  • Visual Studio − It is an IDE developed by Microsoft. This IDE has the best in class tooling for building, developing and profiling programs of C++ on Windows. Visual Studio also has a huge plugin store with a great amount of plugins. It also integrates very smoothly with other Microsoft technologies like Azure, PowerShell, SQL Server, etc. In my opinion, this is the best you can get on Windows. This has licensing issues though if you want to use it for commercial purposes. 
  • Netbeans for C/C++ Development − Netbeans is a free, open-source and popular cross-platform IDE for C/C++ and many other programming languages. Its fully extensible using community developed plugins.
  • Eclipse CDT(C/C++ Development Tooling) − Just like NetBeans, it is also a free, open-source and popular cross-platform IDE for C/C++ and many other programming languages. Its fully extensible using community developed plugins.
  • VS Code − VS Code is not an IDE but a text editor. But by installing a few plugins, you can turn it into a full-fledged IDE for C/C++. It is built by Microsoft and is a fully open source. It also has a huge community around it. 
  • CLion − CLion is an IDE from JetBrains, the minds behind intellisense. This is also a multiplatform IDE with commercial support available. 
  • Code::Blocks − It is a free, highly extensible and configurable, cross-platform C++ IDE built to offer users the most demanded and ideal features. You can extend its functionality by using plugins developed by users, some of the plugins are part of Code::Blocks. 
  • CodeLite IDE − CodeLite is also a free, open-source, cross-platform IDE designed and built specifically for C/C++, JavaScript (Node.js) and PHP programming.

Updated on: 10-Feb-2020

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