About
Visual Studio Code is a source-code editor from Microsoft that runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, and the web. The page describes it as an open source AI code editor with support for multi-agent development, extensions, documentation, an API, and web-based editing through vscode.dev.
The product is aimed at developers who need a general-purpose editor with built-in language support, extension marketplace access, source control integration, terminal access, debugging, and customization features. The license page states that the software may be used to develop and test applications, including internal corporate deployment, and that the source code is available under the MIT license.
- Cross-platform desktop and web editor
- Extension marketplace support
- Built-in source control integration
- Integrated terminal and debugging tools
- Language support for JavaScript, Python, C#, and more
- Settings Sync and profile customization
- Open source MIT-licensed source code
Free Tier Value
This free tier is a perpetual, uncapped offering with no paid upgrade path on the page, so there isn’t a defensible monthly dollar equivalent to compare against. It provides the full core experience for development and testing, demos, extensions, and updates, with the main caveats being support and telemetry/privacy controls rather than usage limits.
What's included in the free tier
- Develop and test applications with any number of copies.
- Use the software for demonstrating applications.
- Download Microsoft and third-party extensions from the marketplace.
- Receive automatic software updates from Microsoft.
- Opt out of many telemetry and data collection scenarios, but not all.
- Use the software as-is without included support services.
See Visual Studio Code pricing for current limits.
