GNU Emacs vs. PyCharm

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
GNU Emacs
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
GNU Emacs is described as a free extensible and customizable text editor for the Lisp programming language.N/A
PyCharm
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
PyCharm is an extensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Python developers. Its arsenal includes intelligent code completion, error detection, and rapid problem-solving features, all of which aim to bolster efficiency. The product supports programmers in composing orderly and maintainable code by offering PEP8 checks, testing assistance, intelligent refactorings, and inspections. Moreover, it caters to web development frameworks like Django and Flask by providing framework…
$9.90
per month per user
Pricing
GNU EmacsPyCharm
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
For Individuals
$99
per year per user
All Products Pack for Organizations
$249
per year per user
All Products Pack for Individuals
$289
per year per user
For Organizations
$779
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GNU EmacsPyCharm
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GNU EmacsPyCharm
Considered Both Products
GNU Emacs
Chose GNU Emacs
I have used several different IDEs and editors, but I keep coming back to Emacs. I guess my fingers are wired for Emacs and I find that I can do pretty much anything in the tool that I can with other tools. Some other tools are more polished, but are specific to certain …
PyCharm

No answer on this topic

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GNU EmacsPyCharm
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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GNU EmacsPyCharm
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(4 ratings)
8.9
(42 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(2 ratings)
8.3
(13 ratings)
User Testimonials
GNU EmacsPyCharm
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
Emacs is best utilized on a Unix system where it can be easily installed and accessed. It allows for quick editing of files on a system whether you are accessing it locally through the console or remotely via an ssh connection. Once users familiarize themselves with the Emacs shortcuts, it becomes a pretty efficient text manipulation program. On a standard Windows computer, it is less likely to use Emacs for code editing, especially if you have a local repository on your host machine.
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JetBrains
PyCharm is well suited to developing and deploying Python applications in the cloud using Kubernetes or serverless pipelines. The integration with GitLab is great; merges and rebates are easily done and help the developer move quickly. The search engine that allows you to search inside your code is also great. It is less appropriate for other languages.
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Pros
Open Source
  • GNU Emacs is a text editor that can do almost anything that you want to do with it. It is fairly easy to extend the functionality using Emacs Lisp with a large library available.
  • It can be easily customized using themes as well as custom code to change the look and feel as well as how everything works.
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JetBrains
  • Git integration is really essential as it allows anyone to visually see the local and remote changes, compare revisions without the need for complex commands.
  • Complex debugging tools are basked into the IDE. Controls like break on exception are sometimes very helpful to identify errors quickly.
  • Multiple runtimes - Python, Flask, Django, Docker are native the to IDE. This makes development and debugging and even more seamless.
  • Integrates with Jupyter and Markdown files as well. Side by side rendering and editing makes it simple to develop such files.
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Cons
Open Source
  • Emacs is old, so it's a little crufty and not too easy to pick up and start using. There is a community package called Spacemacs that simplifies a lot of things that you do with Emacs. It is probably better suited to beginners.
  • Sometimes, the choices that were made to integrate certain functionality change the basic models for that functionality. This is seen primarily in the version control system support, where multiple version control systems are supported and "unified" to a standard Emacs-y way of doing things. This can be confusing to the new user not familiar with the Emacs way.
  • Emacs has, as its foundation, a lisp interpreter. This means that the extension language for Emacs is emacs-lisp. Some people find lisp hard to understand and have difficulties writing Emacs extension code, or understanding existing code.
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JetBrains
  • The biggest complaint I have about PyCharm is that it can use a lot of RAM which slows down the computer / IDE. I use the paid version, and have otherwise found nothing to complain about the interface, utility, and capabilities.
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Likelihood to Renew
Open Source
No answers on this topic
JetBrains
It's perfect for our needs, cuts development time, is really helpful for newbies to understand projects structure
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Usability
Open Source
No answers on this topic
JetBrains
It's pretty easy to use, but if it's your first time using it, you need time to adapt. Nevertheless, it has a lot of options, and everything is pretty easy to find. The console has a lot of advantages and lets you accelerate your development from the first day.
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Support Rating
Open Source
Everything that you need to know about Emacs can be found on the internet. There are many Emacs "cheat sheets" that list out all of the shortcuts for Emacs. There are videos on how to use Emacs. Emacs is easily installed using the standard Linux package managers and can also be easily updated through them as well. There are tutorials on how to customize Emacs to your liking.
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JetBrains
I rate 10/10 because I have never needed a direct customer support from the JetBrains so far. Whenever and for whatever kind of problems I came across, I have been able to resolve it within the internet community, simply by Googling because turns out most of the time, it was me who lacked the proper information to use the IDE or simply make the proper configuration. I have never came across a bug in PyCharm either so it deserves 10/10 for overall support
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Alternatives Considered
Open Source
Of course, Vim is a good contender for comparison as well, so I'll include it. I find Emacs much easier to learn, which will help speed up productivity for newer users. It seems much faster than VIM and VSCode, especially under load. It's highly highly customizable, in ways other editors don't stack up against. Its lack of bloat also is a nice addition to a great product.
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JetBrains
When it comes to development and debugging PyCharm is better than Spyder as it provides good debugging support and top-quality code completion suggestions. Compared to Jupiter notebook it's easy to install required packages in PyCharm, also PyChram is a good option when we want to write production-grade code because it provides required suggestions.
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Return on Investment
Open Source
  • Emacs is free software, there is no cost at all.
  • It has helped tremendously in situations where many, or large, log files need to be searched.
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JetBrains
  • PyCharm has a very positive ROI for our BU. It has increased developer productivity exponentially.
  • Software quality has significantly improved. We are able to refactor/test/debug the code quicker/faster/better.
  • Our business unit is able to deliver faster. Customers are happier than ever.
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