--- title: "Best Spyder Alternatives 2026 | Capterra" description: "Looking for alternatives to Spyder? Find out how Spyder stacks up against its competitors with real user reviews, pricing information, and what features they offer." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/235569/Spyder/alternatives/" page_type: "alternatives" language: "en" --- # Spyder alternatives Last updated on August 20th, 2026 The best Spyder alternatives are PhpStorm (best overall), WebStorm (best free plan), IntelliJ IDEA (best budget option), and Microsoft Visual Studio (most reviewed). Together they hold 4,480 verified Capterra reviews, with overall ratings from 4.6 to 4.8 out of 5. Spyder itself holds 4.4 out of 5 across 42 reviews. ### Spyder - Rating: 4.4 out of 5 (42 reviews) - Ease of use: 4.3 out of 5 - Starting price: Not available - Key features: 1 of 4 top category features --- ## Top alternatives Spyder alternatives compared | Product | Rating difference | Ease of use | Starting price | Key features | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/) — 4.6 out of 5 (3,013 reviews) | Rated 0.2 higher than this product | 4.3 out of 5 | $45.00 /user/mo | 4 of 4 top category features | | [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.capterra.com/p/136010/IntelliJ-IDEA/) — 4.7 out of 5 (1,260 reviews) | Rated 0.3 higher than this product | 4.5 out of 5 | $19.90 /user/mo | 4 of 4 top category features | | [PyCharm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/) — 4.7 out of 5 (370 reviews) | Rated 0.3 higher than this product | 4.5 out of 5 | $99.00 /mo | 4 of 4 top category features | | [Eclipse IDE](https://www.capterra.com/p/205298/Eclipse-IDE/) — 4.3 out of 5 (205 reviews) | Rated 0.1 lower than this product | 4.1 out of 5 | Not available | 4 of 4 top category features | | [Apache NetBeans](https://www.capterra.com/p/178681/Apache-NetBeans/) — 4.3 out of 5 (231 reviews) | Rated 0.1 lower than this product | 4.2 out of 5 | Not available | 4 of 4 top category features | | [Essential Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/228226/Essential-Studio/) — 4.5 out of 5 (946 reviews) | Rated 0.1 higher than this product | 4.3 out of 5 | Not available | 3 of 4 top category features | | [PhpStorm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186624/PhpStorm/) — 4.8 out of 5 (160 reviews) | Rated 0.4 higher than this product | 4.5 out of 5 | $99.00 /yr | 3 of 4 top category features | | [WebStorm](https://www.capterra.com/p/231557/WebStorm/) — 4.8 out of 5 (47 reviews) | Rated 0.4 higher than this product | 4.5 out of 5 | $15.90 /user/mo | 3 of 4 top category features | | [The Jupyter Notebook](https://www.capterra.com/p/234967/The-Jupyter-Notebook/) — 4.7 out of 5 (78 reviews) | Rated 0.3 higher than this product | 4.5 out of 5 | Not available | 1 of 4 top category features | | [Arduino IDE](https://www.capterra.com/p/241593/Arduino-IDE/) — 4.6 out of 5 (51 reviews) | Rated 0.2 higher than this product | 4.5 out of 5 | Not available | 1 of 4 top category features | --- ## Top Free alternatives to Spyder The best free alternatives to Spyder are Microsoft Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and PyCharm — all three offer a free plan alongside paid tiers. ### [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/) — 4.6 out of 5 (3,013 reviews) - Free options: Free trial, Free version - Starting price: $45.00 /user/mo ### [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.capterra.com/p/136010/IntelliJ-IDEA/) — 4.7 out of 5 (1,260 reviews) - Free options: Free trial, Free version - Starting price: $19.90 /user/mo ### [PyCharm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/) — 4.7 out of 5 (370 reviews) - Free options: Free trial, Free version - Starting price: $99.00 /mo --- ## Top alternatives for SMBs Among reviewers from companies with 1-200 employees, the highest-rated Spyder alternatives are PhpStorm (4.8), PyCharm (4.7), and WebStorm (4.7). ### [PhpStorm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186624/PhpStorm/) - 101 SMB reviewers say - Overall rating: 4.8 out of 5 across 101 SMB reviews - Ease of use: 4.5 out of 5 across 101 SMB reviews > "The clean and effortless integration of search, debugging, git, docker and database queries is so effortless I only really notice how well it works when trying out one of the new "Ai IDES" missing all these features." — Marvin S., Lead Developer (June 4, 2026) ### [PyCharm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/) - 157 SMB reviewers say - Overall rating: 4.7 out of 5 across 157 SMB reviews - Ease of use: 4.4 out of 5 across 157 SMB reviews > "Easy to navigate UI, AI integrations, the whole Jet Brian’s suite works well together, offer student licenses" — Tyler S., Data Analyst (August 18, 2025) ### [WebStorm](https://www.capterra.com/p/231557/WebStorm/) - 27 SMB reviewers say - Overall rating: 4.7 out of 5 across 27 SMB reviews - Ease of use: 4.3 out of 5 across 27 SMB reviews > "Webstorm is very easy to use, it has brilliant features that make coding easier and faster, and the ability to work faster through seamless code debugging." — William A., Developer (January 24, 2023) --- ## Why do teams switch from Spyder? Of the 11 Capterra reviewers who reported switching away from Spyder, the most common destinations were The Jupyter Notebook, PyCharm, and Microsoft Visual Studio. ### What users preferred ### [The Jupyter Notebook](https://www.capterra.com/p/234967/The-Jupyter-Notebook/) - 4.7 out of 5 (78 reviews) — 5 reviewers switched here > "the ability to move code as a block makes scripting easier" — Terry M., Senior Analyst (May 13, 2025) ### [PyCharm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/) - 4.7 out of 5 (370 reviews) — 4 reviewers switched here > "I feel like Pycharm is more suited for development and Spyder is more suited for data science work." — Omar H., Machine learning engineer - Intern (September 20, 2021) ### [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/) - 4.6 out of 5 (3,013 reviews) — 2 reviewers switched here > "More functionnalities and mostly integrated useful plugins" — Christhian M., Data Scientist (October 22, 2024) ---