Best PyCharm Alternatives
The top-ranked PyCharm alternative is Visual Studio Code (Free). The best free option is Spyder (open source).
PyCharm is JetBrains' full-featured IDE for Python development. Developers look for alternatives that are lighter on resources, free, more customizable, or better suited to multi-language and notebook workflows.
1Lightweight, extensible code editor with strong Swift and mobile tooling support.
2Spyder
Open SourceScientific Python IDE geared toward data analysis and research.
3Jupyter Notebook
Open SourceInteractive notebook environment for Python and data science.
Fast, lightweight code editor with a rich plugin ecosystem.
Thonny
Open SourceBeginner-friendly Python IDE with a simple, clean interface.
Wing Python IDE
FreemiumPython-focused IDE with strong debugging and testing tools.
Powerful, keyboard-driven modal text editor for the terminal.
Hyperextensible modal text editor popular for Swift and general coding.
Eclipse with PyDev
Open SourceOpen-source IDE with the PyDev plugin for Python development.
Hackable text editor from GitHub (archived) built on web tech.
AI-first code editor with codebase-aware chat, completions, and agentic multi-file edits.
PyCharm alternatives: FAQ
What is the best alternative to PyCharm?
Visual Studio Code is ranked first on this list (Free). The ranking combines our base score with readers' votes, so it can change.
What is the best free alternative to PyCharm?
The highest-ranked free or open-source options here are Visual Studio Code, Spyder and Jupyter Notebook.
Which PyCharm alternatives work on Mac?
Visual Studio Code, Spyder, Jupyter Notebook and Sublime Text run on macOS.
Which PyCharm alternatives work on Linux?
Visual Studio Code, Spyder, Jupyter Notebook and Sublime Text run on Linux.
Know a PyCharm alternative we missed? Suggest it — we review submissions before they go live.