--- description: Review of Microsoft Visual Studio Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/software_advice/og_logo-55146305bbe7b450bea05c18e9be9c9a.png title: Microsoft Visual Studio | Reviews, Pricing & Demos - SoftwareAdvice AU --- Breadcrumb: [Home](/) > [Game Development Software](/directory/4209/game-development/software) > [Microsoft Visual Studio](/software/410128/microsoft-visual-studio) # Microsoft Visual Studio Canonical: https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/410128/microsoft-visual-studio Page: 1 / 122\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/410128/microsoft-visual-studio?page=2) > Visual Studio is an application development solution that helps businesses create web, mobile, Mac and Windows-based applications and games. It allows developers to streamline processes related to debugging, testing, and deployment on a centralized platform. Visual Studio comes with built-in testing tools and project templates, which allows businesses to write, execute, and debug unit tests in multiple languages and test frameworks. It enables staff members to navigate codes, identify errors and apply code fixes. Administrators can utilize the live share module to set up collaborative code editing and debugging sessions with access rights and custom editor settings to enforce adherence to predefined coding guidelines. Additionally, it provides multiple keyboard shortcuts for operations, such as search, navigation, editing, refactoring and testing. Visual Studio facilitates integration with several third-party solutions, such as ReSharper, CodeMaid, and Github Extension. Pricing is available on request and support is extended via community forum, FAQs, documentation, live chat and other online measures. > > Verdict: Rated **4.6/5** by 3017 users. Top-rated for **Likelihood to recommend**. ----- ## Quick Stats & Ratings | Metric | Rating | Detail | | **Overall** | **4.6/5** | 3017 Reviews | | Ease of Use | 4.3/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Customer Support | 4.2/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Value for Money | 4.4/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Features | 4.6/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Recommendation percentage | 90% | (9/10 Likelihood to recommend) | ## About the vendor - **Company**: Microsoft - **Location**: Redmond, US - **Founded**: 1975 ## Commercial Context - **Starting Price**: USD 499.92 - **Pricing model**: Per User (Free version available) (Free Trial) - **Target Audience**: Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000, 5,001–10,000, 10,000+ - **Deployment & Platforms**: Cloud, SaaS, Web-based, Mac (Desktop), Windows (Desktop), Android (Mobile), iPhone (Mobile), iPad (Mobile) - **Supported Languages**: Arabic, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese - **Available Countries**: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, United States ## Features - 2D Drawing - 3D Games - API - Animation - Code Development - Code Editing - Collaboration Tools - Data Modeling - Debugging - Deployment Management - For Developers - Game Development - Graphical User Interface - In-App Purchase - In-Game Analytics - Integrated Development Environment - Mobile Development - Multi-player Gaming Network - Software Development - Source Control ## Integrations (5 total) - Git - GitHub - Microsoft Azure - Microsoft SQL Server - Unity ## Support Options - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Chat ## Category - [Game Development Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/directory/4209/game-development/software) ## Related Categories - [Game Development Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/directory/4209/game-development/software) - [Integrated Development Environment Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/directory/4413/ide/software) - [App Development Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/directory/4499/app-development/software) ## Alternatives 1. [Essential Studio](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/133264/essential-studio) — 4.6/5 (950 reviews) 2. [GitHub](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/397820/github) — 4.8/5 (6206 reviews) 3. [Jira](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/4315/jira) — 4.4/5 (15498 reviews) 4. [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/207805/intellij-idea) — 4.7/5 (1262 reviews) 5. [Sublime Text](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/285067/sublime-text) — 4.6/5 (1382 reviews) ## Reviews ### "Powerful IDE for professional development work" — 5.0/5 > **Junaid** | *22 January 2026* | Hospitality | Recommendation rating: 9.0/10 > > **Pros**: Microsoft Visual Studio is a powerful and complete development environment that brings everything you need into one place. User Interface looks great and easy to navigate around. > > **Cons**: Visual Studio can feel heavy and resource intensive, espacially on lower spec machines. Startup time and updates can be slow and the large number of features can be overwhelming for beginners. > > Overall, Microsoft Visual Studio is dependable IDE designed for serious development work. it excels in building, debugging, and maintaining complex applications. ----- ### "Primary IDE for years\!" — 5.0/5 > **Edwin** | *29 July 2026* | Information Technology & Services | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Microsoft Visual Studio has been my primary IDE for years because it brings almost everything I need into one place. We use in our team to building our POC's. The debugging tools are probably my favorite feature. Being able to set breakpoints, inspect variables, view the call stack, and use Hot Reload saves a huge amount of development time. I also like how easy it is to manage large C\# and .NET solutions without constantly switching between different tools. The built-in Git integration makes committing and reviewing changes simple, and the project templates help me start new applications quickly. I have also found the AI-assisted coding features useful for generating repetitive code, suggesting refactoring ideas, and explaining unfamiliar APIs. They are not perfect, but they speed up routine work while still letting me review everything before committing. The interface feels organized, and features like code navigation, IntelliSense, profiling, and package management make it a strong choice for desktop, web, and game development projects. > > **Cons**: The biggest downside of Microsoft Visual Studio is that it can be a very heavy application, especially when working with large enterprise solutions. Also only available on PC (no Mac or you run Parallels Desktop or other VM). Startup times are slower than lighter editors, and memory usage can become noticeable when several extensions are installed. Occasionally, after major updates, I have experienced extension compatibility issues or had to rebuild caches before everything worked normally again. Some configuration screens are also spread across different menus, which makes certain settings harder to find than they should be. While the AI coding features are helpful, they sometimes generate code that looks correct but does not fully match the project's architecture or coding style, so I always review the suggestions carefully. Licensing for the Professional and Enterprise editions may also be expensive for smaller teams or independent developers who only need a subset of the advanced features. > > Overall, Microsoft Visual Studio has been a dependable development environment that has helped me complete projects ranging from small utilities to larger business applications. I have used it for C\#, .NET, desktop development, API development, and even game-related projects with Unity. The combination of reliable debugging tools, strong IntelliSense, integrated testing, and Git support creates a smooth workflow from writing code to deployment. The recent AI-assisted features have been useful for speeding up repetitive coding tasks, generating boilerplate code, and suggesting improvements during development, although I still rely on manual review before accepting any generated code. The user interface is familiar once you spend time customizing it, and the extensive extension marketplace allows the IDE to adapt to different types of projects. Even though it requires a fairly powerful computer, I consider it one of the most complete development environments available for professional software development. ----- ### "Experience" — 4.0/5 > **Jatin** | *12 January 2026* | Retail | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Visual code now is much more better than the previous one always getting better better it's so satisfactory to see like this for me my personal experience Says it's Goin to be more fun in the future > > **Cons**: Sometimes with the the minimum specs it's lag alot and sometimes it's crashes also should work on that by visual studio > > In my own experience I'm very satisfied with the overall experience in the visual studio working very best ----- ### "Visual Studio is still the king" — 4.0/5 > **Paul** | *26 February 2026* | Computer Software | Recommendation rating: 9.0/10 > > **Pros**: With Visual Studio you can develop the most complex enterprise level applications, especially for Windows operating systems. It provides comprehensive features and third party plugins, great debugging, vast documentation and support, and of course, integration to the Microsoft ecosystem. > > **Cons**: Visual Studio is resource intensive and requires a decent machine. There is a steep learning curve, even for experienced users, for each new version, as the feature set is so vast. Works great for Windows (obviously) - support for other platforms is limited. Other than the free community edition, the paid versions can be expensive for individuals. > > Visual Studio gets more powerful with each new version. What it can do is almost endless. Working on enterprise level Windows OS solutions, it is still the tool to use. Sometimes it can take a while to implement a feature, but you never fear that with Visual Studio it cannot be done. It is still the most powerful development environment for our needs. ----- ### "Good IDE for C\#" — 4.0/5 > **Verified Reviewer** | *12 March 2026* | Health, Wellness & Fitness | Recommendation rating: 8.0/10 > > **Pros**: Microsoft Visual Studio has been a great IDE for implementing our web app in an ASP.NET MVC pattern framework. This IDE is very helpful with complete features for C\# programming. > > **Cons**: Microsoft Visual Studio features are complex which have a high learning curve that is not typical for beginners. It is also consumes higher system resources than other IDE's. > > Overall good a lot of features are available for advanced programmers and very useful for C\# programming. ----- Page: 1 / 122\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/410128/microsoft-visual-studio?page=2) ## Links - [View on SoftwareAdvice](https://www.softwareadvice.com.au/software/410128/microsoft-visual-studio) ## This page is available in the following languages | Locale | URL | | de | | | en | | | en-AU | | | en-GB | | | en-IE | | | en-NZ | | | fr | | ----- ## Structured Data