My primary business is designing architecture, and I use Visual Studio to demonstrate how to use VS code in the browser. For example, if someone has a business idea for a banking application and is starting to think about how to develop it, they can use Visual Studio to make a very quick prototype. The pipelines then deliver this project to the new environment, and the end-user can see how quickly the application works.
Solution Architect at Red Hat
Powerful and convenient solution with cross-platform support and robust architecture
Pros and Cons
- "You can easily create, edit, and test any software and develop applications for all the major platforms, including cloud, desktop, and mobile."
- "Could be improved with the ability to personalize the interface and development style and to edit extension requirements."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Visual Studio improves communication between teams, which saves valuable time.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the lightweight cross-platform support and the robust architecture. You can easily create, edit, and test any software and develop applications for all the major platforms, including cloud, desktop, and mobile.
What needs improvement?
Visual Studio could be improved with the ability to personalize the interface and development style and to edit extension requirements.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Visual Studio
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Visual Studio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
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For how long have I used the solution?
What other advice do I have?
Visual Studio is a very good, very convenient, very powerful development solution. I would rate it as nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:

Software Developer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
Has good community support and interactive testing feature
Pros and Cons
- "The tool is good for interactive testing. It has good integrations and works well for remote services. The product also has features for collaborative work where it allows others to control my screen. It has a good community for every language."
- "I have faced configuration issues with Microsoft Visual Studio."
What is our primary use case?
I use the product to develop software.
What is most valuable?
The tool is good for interactive testing. It has good integrations and works well for remote services. The product also has features for collaborative work where it allows others to control my screen. It has a good community for every language.
What needs improvement?
I have faced configuration issues with Microsoft Visual Studio.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate Microsoft Visual Studio's scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't reached out to the tool's support.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Visual Studio's setup is straightforward. It is easy to download the solution and you need to allow permissions depending on whether you are a Mac or Windows user.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I use Microsoft Visual Studio's free version.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the tool a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Visual Studio
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Visual Studio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,672 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Software Development Quality Assurance Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
It is broad-spectrum so it can be used for a wide variety of technologies
Pros and Cons
- "The feature I find most valuable is the fact that it's broad-spectrum, so it can be used for a wide variety of technologies."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution is for performance testing.
What is most valuable?
The feature I find most valuable is the fact that it's broad-spectrum, so it can be used for a wide variety of technologies. We are predominately .NET based and we use mostly .NET Core or .NET Framework so I can call in any immediate packages.
What needs improvement?
I would only say the deployment outline can be improved. We have shifted away from using Team Foundation Server, because it didn't work for our company. We shifted over to the Git approach and I do know that the Team Foundation Server has Git support. But we decided to rather go with GitLab as our main platform.
In terms of more support I would like to have the ability to plug into other open source pools. I know that it's focused towards the whole Microsoft Suite so it's more geared towards the Team Foundation Server, but if they can add more support to pools, that would be great.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio for the part ten to thirteen years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of stability, it really works for us. There are drawbacks to every solution out there, it's built into it. Our company is stripped across using Visual Studio. Some of the architects use Visual Studio Code so they don't really need an extent of IDE. They have a nice cut of IDE using Visual Studio Code. In terms of stability, I don't think we have shifted away from Visual Studio at all. It will always remain our IDE tool of choice.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
With Microservice Architecture it has become very easy for us to scale out. I think it's more about the way that we handle scale. The tool allows it. I would say the hardships comes with the planning for scale, as opposed to the actual tool accommodating itself. We have about 1500 users on Visual Studio and then we have a small team dedicated to the maintenance of the deployment.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical team at Microsoft is known for their fast response time.
How was the initial setup?
We utilized a bunch of templates for the initial setup instead of going through the trials and tribulations of setting up everything at once.
What other advice do I have?
I would highly recommend this solution. They've really gone the 9-mile to accommodate not only corporate or big companies, but small, single users to utilize the community issue or business vehicle, and to develop and build on application. I would highly recommend it to anyone. In the next version, I would like to see systems like Juta as well as more testing tools. There's a massive automation drive, anything in terms of more out of the box automation features for Selenium, or ACRONYM, or automation tools like that. I rate this program ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Web Developer at doodleblue
Plenty of extensions, reliable, and useful dark and light modes
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Microsoft Visual Studio are the availability of many extensions, an interpreter, a code formator, and helpful dark and light modes."
- "The GUI of Microsoft Visual Studio could improve."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Visual Studio is used for developing and typing code.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Visual Studio are the availability of many extensions, an interpreter, a code formator, and helpful dark and light modes.
What needs improvement?
The GUI of Microsoft Visual Studio could improve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The performance of Microsoft Visual Studio is fine if you are using a high-level laptop. The solutions require a lot of RAM and other resources.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Microsoft Visual Studio is good.
We have 300 to 400 users using this solution in my organization. We have plans to increase usage.
How are customer service and support?
I have not contacted the support from Microsoft Visual Studio because our IT department looks after our support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Visual Studio is easy. The process takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation of Microsoft Visual Studio in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am using the free version of Microsoft Visual Studio.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Visual Studio a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Head of .NET Department at Evozon
It covers everything you need for custom software development, including architecture for automation testing
Pros and Cons
- "Visual Studio is a tool used for custom software development. It covers everything under this umbrella, including architecture for automation testing."
- "There have been some issues but not very often."
What is our primary use case?
Visual Studio is a tool used for custom software development. It covers everything under this umbrella, including architecture for automation testing. We have between 60 and 70 users working with Visual Studio.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Microsoft Visual Studio for 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Visual Studio is stable enough. There have been some issues but not very often.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Visual Studio is a development environment. It only runs on one computer. Everyone has their own installation. If we talk about the cloud version, it's scalable. It has served our needs. We plan to increase usage by 5 to 10 percent as our departments grow.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio since .NET first came out. Prior to that, I used tools with other software development languages like Eclipse. Eclipse was an IDE-independent software vendor.
How was the initial setup?
Installing Visual Studio is easy on average. Sometimes you need to install various libraries, so it depends on your setup. I would say it's medium difficulty.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Visual Studio nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Data Scientist at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Easy to install, has a lot of extensions, and is extremely stable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are the extensions."
- "I would like the solution to have a designing default in addition to the current coding default."
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution for React JavaScript applications front-end and Python coding.
We made the React front-end, which connects over JasperSoft, and this front-end was provided to customers while Jaspersoft was in the back-end, because customers want to have a proprietary design for themselves. The React front end was in Visual Studio Code.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the extensions. Microsoft Visual Studio has a large community with different types of extensions.
What needs improvement?
I would like the solution to have a designing default in addition to the current coding default.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for a few months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I give the stability a ten out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Eclipse but it is not a very stable solution and it would crash sometimes. Microsoft Visual Studio has never crashed for me.
How was the initial setup?
I give the initial setup a nine out of ten. We only need to download the file and follow the onscreen instructions.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation is completed in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I use the open-source version of Microsoft Visual Studio.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution a nine out of ten.
I am always on the lookout for open-source applications, but they are not always the best choice for organizations. It is usually more cost-effective to use open-source software as it requires fewer personnel to maintain it. Purchasing expensive software may be a better solution than open-source applications if more people are needed. Ultimately, the manager will decide what they want, but some open-source software can be less stable than Oracle, which is very expensive but also very stable. Although the solutions are free, they do not provide as many options and can not do certain things that Oracle can do.
Microsoft Visual Studio is easy to install and has a lot of extensions that we can use for different programming languages. The solution is very good, it's simple and free to use. I recommend Microsoft Visual Studio to everyone.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Tech Lead at Abtran
Helps with setting up projects, works well with Azure, and is reliable
Pros and Cons
- "It is a straightforward solution to set up."
- "Technical support can be slow to respond at times."
What is most valuable?
The ability to set up projects has been great. We can set up different types of projects.
The integration with Azure is quite helpful.
The solution is stable.
The scalability is very good.
It is a straightforward solution to set up.
What needs improvement?
Technical support can be slow to respond at times.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for ten years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It is reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product can scale well.
We have at least ten people on the solution right now.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is okay. However, they are sometimes slow. We would like the product's support services to be quicker.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
We found the initial setup to be straightforward and simple. I'd rate it a five or 4.5 out of five in terms of ease of deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not aware of the exact cost of the product.
What other advice do I have?
Our organization has a partnership with Microsoft.
I'd recommend the solution. It's a straightforward tool people can use to help develop solutions.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Enterprise Solutions Department Manager at Smart Vision
A standalone source code editor that has a useful IDE
Pros and Cons
- "I like the IDE or the integrated development environment. It's the best IDE."
- "IntelliSense could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Visual Studio for application development and our customers.
What is most valuable?
I like the IDE or the integrated development environment. It's the best IDE.
What needs improvement?
IntelliSense could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is excellent.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is excellent. We have about 15 developers using this solution in our organization.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It took less than 30 minutes to implement this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed this solution in-house.
What was our ROI?
We have received a return on our investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing costs are reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to potential users.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Microsoft Visual Studio a ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: March 2025
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