--- title: "CLion Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about CLion Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Integrated Development Environment (IDE) products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/246695/CLion/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # CLion Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on September 24, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) CLion ## What is CLion? CLion is a unified IDE for writing C and C++ languages. It handles routine tasks to streamline code development. The platform includes reusable boilerplates and automatically generates blocks. Breadcrumbs and automatic task-based context switching supports project navigation. It helps users refactor by propagating changes throughout the codebase. It features an integrated debugger with breakpoints, expression evaluation, and inline value views. Common build tools are supported, including CMake, Makefile, and Gradle. The system also supports SVN, Git, and Mercurial for source control, plus Google Test, Catch, and Boost.Test for unit testing. ## What is CLion used for? [Integrated Development Environment (IDE)](https://www.capterra.com/ide-software/)[Application Development](https://www.capterra.com/application-development-software/) Overall rating Based on 15 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Starting price $19.99 Per User, Per Month Free trial not available Includes Free Version Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for CLion?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/clion/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## CLion Overview Updated September 2026 AI summary CLion is an integrated development environment designed for application development teams in small businesses, midsize, and enterprise organizations. It offers core features such as code development, debugging, graphical user interface, and version control, with source control as an additional capability. CLion is available for deployment on both Mac and Windows platforms, supporting diverse development workflows. ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### CLion 4.7 (15) VS. [### Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/) [4.6 (3,016)](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/reviews/) Starting Price $19.99 Per User, Per Month Starting Price $499.92 Per User, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.7 (15) Ease Of Use 4.3 (2,978) Value For Money 4.4 (13) Value For Money 4.4 (2,237) Customer Service 4.2 (10) Customer Service 4.2 (2,077) ## CLion alternatives Highest Rated [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.capterra.com/p/136010/IntelliJ-IDEA/) [4.7 (1,261)](https://www.capterra.com/p/136010/IntelliJ-IDEA/reviews/) Starting price $19.90 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/136010/IntelliJ-IDEA/) [Eclipse IDE](https://www.capterra.com/p/205298/Eclipse-IDE/) [4.3 (205)](https://www.capterra.com/p/205298/Eclipse-IDE/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 85% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/205298/Eclipse-IDE/) [Apache NetBeans](https://www.capterra.com/p/178681/Apache-NetBeans/) [4.3 (231)](https://www.capterra.com/p/178681/Apache-NetBeans/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 87% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/178681/Apache-NetBeans/) [PyCharm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/) [4.7 (370)](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/reviews/) Starting price $249.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/186625/PyCharm/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/246695/CLion/alternatives/) ## FAQs about CLion Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from CLion? CLion is most used by software developers, engineers, and technical leads building and debugging C and C++ applications. IT developers, web and mechanical engineers, and CTOs benefit from its code analysis, navigation, and testing tools, while students and interns use it to learn professional development workflows faster. Answer based on 15 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is CLion built for? CLion is built for enterprise and small business teams equally, with 47% of reviewers from each, and primarily serves Computer Software at 53%. It targets software development companies, consultants, and freelance developers working in low-level C and C++, with additional use in IT services at 20%, mainly as an IDE. Answer based on 15 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of CLion? CLion offers code development, debugging, and a graphical user interface within an integrated development environment. It also includes source control and version control features for managing code changes, making it a development tool for programmers working on software projects. Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does CLion integrate with? CLion integrates with Git for version control and also connects to its built-in debugger and core development tools. The available catalog data and reviewer mentions highlight Git as the main third-party integration, giving CLion a focused integration set for software development workflows. Answer based on 1 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does CLion offer? CLion provides documentation to support team onboarding and product reference. Documentation gives users written guidance for setup, feature review, and checking steps as needed during early use and later work. Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does CLion offer? CLion provides Email/Help Desk and Chat support. The catalog lists these as the available contact channels for users seeking help with the product. ## Features AI summary Based on 7,285 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) reviews Capterra reviewers highlight these as the features buyers care about most when choosing application development software: - **Code Development** (**67%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Workflow Management** (**45%**) - **Code Editing** (**56%**) CLion supports **Code Development**, which covers the most-cited priority for application development buyers. However, it does not include **Workflow Management** or **Code Editing** among these top-rated features. Instead, it offers **Version Control** (**51%**) and **Source Control** (**49%**), which can still give development teams better visibility into code changes, support collaboration across contributors, and help businesses maintain code quality and track project progress more effectively. Code Development 4.5 (4) 100.00% of 4 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Create code from scratch Debugging 4.8 (11) 72.73% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Detect and remove errors Graphical User Interface 4.6 (11) 63.64% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important A visual way of interacting with an application or operating system using items such as windows, icons, and menus For Developers 4.9 (10) 70.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important For the intention to be used by developers Integrated Development Environment 4.7 (7) 85.71% of 7 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important An application for source code editing, compiling, and debugging Source Control Tracks every modification made to source code CLion 7 features ### All Features - Code Development: Create code from scratch - Debugging: Detect and remove errors - For Developers: For the intention to be used by developers - Graphical User Interface: A visual way of interacting with an application or operating system using items such as windows, icons, and menus - Integrated Development Environment: An application for source code editing, compiling, and debugging - Source Control: Tracks every modification made to source code - Version Control: Track revisions and updates made to files and navigate between different versions --- Features 4.7 (15) 4.7 Based on 15 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.4 (13) Free Version Basic $19.99 Per User,Per Month Value for money 4.4 (13) 4.4 Based on 13 reviews ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.2 (10) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.2 (10) 4.2 Based on 10 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.7 Based on 15 reviews Filter by rating 5(11) 4(4) 3(0) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent VL Victor L. Owner Entertainment ### "CLion: Great Development Experience" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 May 8, 2025 All of the debugger, CMake integration, fast build speed, advanced customisation, themes, plugins and code analysis, have been the greatest development experience. Pros Compatibility with Game Development, Unreal Engine plugins for live code are just incredible, their tools integrate seamlessly. Cons I love CLion, for a reason they are the top product, since its beginning I have been a user of their development tools, very skeptical at the beginning, but when it comes to the real platform development, CLion in my opinion is the best. Switched from [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/) [Visual Studio Code](https://www.capterra.com/p/186634/Visual-Studio-Code/) Because CLion offers more and more reliable tools. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. FV Filippo V. CTO Information Technology and Services ### "Good tool, but too heavy on CPU" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 May 2, 2025 I was very satisfied and it helped me a lot in developing C++ workflows. Pros It is indeed a very powerful tool and it make it faster the development of C++ applications. Cons It is very heavy on the CPU on the machine it is running on. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. BH Barnabe H. Developer Computer Software ### "An, overall, pretty good IDE to work with" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 December 1, 2024 This is, overall, a pleasure to work with CLion, except the fact that CLion is sometimes unable to detect basic errors Pros CLion is probably the best IDE for C projects. it allows to easily compile, execute & test C code. Cons Sometimes, CLion won't be helpful for detecting basic errors that other JetBrains IDE would detect. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Parker M. AI Chatbot Trainer Computer Software ### "Is CLion Worth It Over Other IDEs?" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 August 21, 2024 Overall experience was pretty good! Minding the resource usage, it still got the job done when I needed to complete C++ projects and homework assignments for school. It's definitely easier to use for its niche capabilities, though, and I need to mention the debugger again because it's definitely one of the best debuggers I've experienced in my years of programming wth different IDEs! I will say this: I'm using CLion with a Student license through my university, so I didn't have to pay the triple-figure cost, which would definitely be a deterrent for me if I wasn't able to use it through my school. Pros I enjoyed the simplicity of the IED! It was very easy to navigate the UI and run my code. CLion offers great CMake and debugger support as well, and it's easy to switch between configurations! Great for small C/C++ projects. I had no issues setting it up and using it to complete my university assignments. Cons It's very bulky and slow sometimes, especially as the projects get bigger. It doesn't have as wide of a utility range as, for example, Eclipse or VSCode (meaning you can get a wider variety of stuff done with these compared to CLion), and it is quite heavy on the CPU. Switched from [Eclipse IDE](https://www.capterra.com/p/205298/Eclipse-IDE/) I needed a C/C++ compiler for a couple of my classes, and I had trouble setting up Eclipse. Without much time to break down the issues and fix them one at a time, I decided to use C/C++ so I could finish my assignments and projects effortlessly. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AJ Arnaud J. Software developer Information Technology and Services ### "Very good IDE for embedded programming" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 25, 2023 Pros The design of the software is very intuitive and flows very well. Cons The license management can be confusing at certain points. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. FG Filip G. IT developer and analyst Information Technology and Services ### "Best IDE for developing in C++" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 April 25, 2023 I have started to use Clion at the university with the student license and now we use it in my job. Pros Clion provides all necessary functionality in community edition for free. It is widely used so it has very good suppport. Cons Clion should have supportance also for open source compilers. Switched from [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/) Because I need to develop SW on Linux based OS. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MP Martin P. Web App Developer Computer Software ### "C++ and C simple and fast with clean code " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 February 26, 2023 Modern IDE which provides code completion and code fixes for developers. Also allows to run the app in the debug mode to see potential problems. A bit slower to run and start the project. Pros It is easier to code the C and C++ languages in this IDE application because it guides you with code completion and code fixes. This allows to create more clean code with less bugs. I especially appreciate function to download extension of the IDE from plugin store. The application can be run in special debug mode which opens the possibility to define and catch break points in the developed application. Cons The IDE like other Jetbrain products is a bit slower to start and run. It provides lots of functions but it can be really hard to learn how to use most of them. The successor editor from this brand called Fleet is in development but will provide more simpler solution. Switched from [Notepad++](https://www.capterra.com/p/185965/Notepad/) [Visual Studio Code](https://www.capterra.com/p/186634/Visual-Studio-Code/) Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Mechanical Engineer Higher Education ### "Exceptional, fully professional IDE" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 December 16, 2022 Pros Amazing GUI that offers extended capabilities and helps you out both in troubleshooting in overall apearance of your code. Very powerful debugging tools. Organized structure of your files in project folders. Cons Despite the overall quality of the IDE and its impeccable features, there are plenty of IDEs that are free to use and offer similar -not all of them- features, so the choice of this IDE should be made from professionals that will really make use of the advanced features offered. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. EG Emilija G. Software Developer Computer Software ### "JetBrains never fails with these IDEs!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 29, 2022 Pros I used it for a course on university and it was really easier to learn to code in C and C++ with it. Cons I did not face any particular problems with it. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. HF HansOlivier F. Student - Intern Computer Software ### "IntelliJ's C IDE" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 17, 2022 As long as I used CLion for what it was meant, I never encountered any issue. It is when I tried alternatives that I understood how easy to use and powerful it truly is. Afterwards, I truly enjoyed its integrations with git and its debugger, which are the best(instinctive, informative and powerful) in the business for quite a low price. Pros As CLion is a part of the IntelliJ suite, it offers the best implementation for code development in the business. The debugger, git implementation and other main tools are instinctive and powerful. Cons The worst part of CLion would probably be it's size. It isn't the heaviest, but it did trouble my work when I had to run code on low memory. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/246695/CLion/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Microsoft Visual Studio vs CLion](https://www.capterra.com/compare/80230-246695/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-CLion)[Eclipse IDE vs CLion](https://www.capterra.com/compare/205298-246695/Eclipse-IDE-vs-CLion) [Rider vs CLion](https://www.capterra.com/compare/246695-10004294/CLion-vs-Rider)