Skip to main content
TrustRadius

Overview

What is CLion?

JetBrains offers CLion, a cross-platform IDE for C and C+.

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

CLion has gained popularity among C++ software developers for its comprehensive features and seamless integration with various tools. …
Continue reading
Read all reviews
Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing

CLion for Individuals

$99

Cloud
per year per user

CLion for Organizations

$229

Cloud
per year per user

All Products Pack for Individuals

$289

Cloud
per year per user

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Starting price (does not include set up fee)

  • $9.90 per month per user
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is CLion?

CLion is an IDE for developing in C or C++ on Windows, Linux, and macOS, in local, remote, and embedded configurations. It’s packed with an in-depth code analyzer and a wide range of code generation options, and provides the ability to navigate to anywhere in the code in just one click.

CLion handles modern C++ standards and heavily templated libraries and integrates with many tools essential for C++ development like debuggers, unit testing frameworks, profilers, package managers, and VCS and database tools.

CLion Features

  • Supported: Smart editor
  • Supported: Code analysis
  • Supported: Remote development
  • Supported: Embedded development
  • Supported: Integrated debugger
  • Supported: Unit test runner

CLion Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

JetBrains offers CLion, a cross-platform IDE for C and C+.

CLion starts at $9.9.

Microsoft Visual Studio, Eclipse, and NetBeans are common alternatives for CLion.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.1.

The most common users of CLion are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(10)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

CLion has gained popularity among C++ software developers for its comprehensive features and seamless integration with various tools. Users appreciate the convenience of having an all-in-one development environment that eliminates the need to switch between applications. They have found CLion's modern IDE features, such as code completion and code fixes, to be invaluable for writing efficient and error-free code. The ability to run applications in debug mode has been particularly useful in identifying potential problems and optimizing real-time code. Additionally, users praise CLion's integrations with Git and its debugger, describing them as instinctive, informative, and powerful. With its user-friendly UI, extensive keyboard shortcuts, and plugins, CLion enhances productivity by streamlining the development process. Moreover, it is highly regarded for handling projects with multiple dependencies without lag or slowdown. From teaching programming to students to managing large codebases for scientific computing and image processing, CLion has proven to be a versatile tool for a wide range of use cases. Its cross-platform capabilities make it an ideal choice for developers working on different operating systems, and its integration with Git and GitHub simplifies version control. As a result, CLion is recommended by programmers of all experience levels as a must-have tool for C++ development. Whether it's facilitating collaboration, improving code writing efficiency, or solving complex coding problems, CLion offers a streamlined and effective solution for software development needs.

Excellent integration with C++ language: Users have found that CLion has excellent integration with the C++ language, making programming in C++ much more effortless. This feature has been highlighted by many reviewers and is appreciated for its ability to provide all necessary functionality in the community edition for free, ensuring good support.

Effective code completion and fixes: CLion guides users with code completion and code fixes, making it easier to code in C and C++. Several reviewers have mentioned this feature as a major advantage of using CLion. They appreciate how it helps them create cleaner code with fewer bugs.

Downloadable extensions from plugin store: The ability to download extensions from the plugin store is particularly appreciated by users. Many reviewers have praised this aspect of CLion, which allows them to enhance their coding experience by adding additional features and functionalities to the IDE.

Challenging for beginners: Many users have found it challenging to use CLion without prior knowledge of C++, requiring a steep learning curve and a significant amount of time to get used to the IDE. Some reviewers mentioned that it can be difficult for new programmers to get started with CLion.

Lack of built-in compiler: Several users expressed disappointment with the absence of a built-in compiler in CLion, which requires manual installation of an external compiler. This drawback was mentioned by multiple reviewers who felt that having an integrated compiler would improve the overall user experience.

Compatibility issues on Linux: Users reported compatibility issues when using CLion on Linux operating systems, specifically mentioning that it does not work well on 32-bit operating systems and may crash at times. This concern was raised by several reviewers who noted that a 64-bit operating system is required for optimal performance with CLion.

Based on user reviews, users commonly recommend the following for CLion:

  • Configure the cmakelists.txt file each time a new file is created. Some users find this process tedious and consider it the worst aspect of using CLion.

  • Explore and experiment with CLion's features, including live templates. Many users suggest that taking the time to familiarize oneself with these features can greatly enhance productivity and streamline the development process.

  • Consider CLion for CMake and C++ development. Several users highly recommend using CLion for professional C++/C development, especially when working with CMake. They find it to be a feature-rich environment and appreciate its consistent experience across all JetBrains products.

Following these recommendations can help users make the most of their experience with CLion and maximize their productivity.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-4 of 4)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Muhammad Arifur Rahman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We teach computer programming in our E-learning platform. Many of our students start learning with C++ programming language. Most of the IDEs (integrated development environments) are either not user-friendly or too outdated. So we needed an IDE with a user-friendly UI, the latest libraries, an updated GNU compiler, and regular security updates. CLion fulfilled all of those requirements. We're using this software platform-wide and we use it to teach our students C++ programming.
  • User-friendly UI
  • Supports VIM for fast coding
  • Smart code completion
  • Cross-platform support
  • Split-windows feature
  • Supports both C and C++
  • Provides free student license
  • Doesn't feature built-in compiler
  • Compiler installation can be tricky for beginners
  • Makefiles support is poorly developed
It's a great fit if you’re looking for a user-friendly C++ IDE; comfortable with using Vim; looking for a fast, intuitive UI; or teaching your students C/C++. It wouldn’t be a good fit if you’re more comfortable with command-line based IDEs or planning to code in multiple languages, as it only supports C and C++.
  • Very intuitive UI for students to understand
  • Code completion helps students to write less and learn more.
  • Students can understand compiler errors easily.
  • Debugger helps us in identifying code errors and shows suggestions accordingly.
  • CLion has enabled us to save $36000+ in licensing with its free student licenses.
CLion offers the most user-friendly UI, the latest libraries, smaller-sized installation, smart code completion, an updated GNU compiler, and free student license.
The customer support is very fast and responsive. Our students faced many problems in installing the compiler and integrating it with CLion. The support team resolved those problems as soon as possible using remote desktop.
400
Teaching Learning Platform managing
10
IT team Command-line coding skill
  • Teaching
  • Plugin development
  • App development
  • Importing codes to IntelliJ IDE
  • Building hardware drivers
It has the features that I need for my coding
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
In a huge organization such as ours with business units such as sales, marketing, HR, CLion is naturally used in specific departments such as R&D and IT. We used it because we developed a C++ application for a production site where speed and responsiveness mattered. So we had to proceed with a compiled language rather than an easier to develop scripting language. I already had experienced in C++ and CLion thanks to my time in university where CLion had provided me with a free student's license, so it was time to pay back. We implemented and used it in our R&D department to program a sensor by developing embedded software that would be used in the production site.
  • Software development
  • IDE
  • Committing and pushing to git takes a lot of time.
  • Spell check sometimes give funny results, indicating wrong places for parentheses.
It is very fast, mobile and easy to use compared to other IDEs. It even runs on Lubuntu, which contributes to mobility and speed. Its debugging features are just good and sufficient for any kind of software development issues. I love how I am able to track every integer in my array and linked list. This helps the debugging a lot because where some people see memory management and software development a more abstract idea, CLion makes it a concrete, physical, real thing with its debugging features, which in the end results in faster debugging and development for the customer and developer. We're using CLion for C and C++ program developments and it's perfectly appropriate so far that I did not see any circumstance that CLion is not appropriate yet.
  • Better, faster debugging with quicker delivery of software.
  • Its mobility and speed resulted in better cross-platform development process and faster delivery.
Most IDEs are huge both in disk and memory which causes it to run slow, where CLion is much smaller and faster. That's what I loved about CLion, compared to its rivals. Not to mention its extensive abilities and functions in the debugging process, thanks to which, we were able to fasten our software development process.
I am giving it a 9 out of 10 because I did not even need official support from the CLion team but rather, every time I came across a problem, I have been able to solve it within the community itself. This is so precious that you don't even need the help of the program's development/support team. There's a huge community of users that backs you up.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
CLion provides an alternative to Visual Studio that is independent of the Windows ecosystem, something that is attractive to many people who want to develop in the same IDE across multiple platforms. With Unreal Engine 4 now supporting CLion, game and enterprise developers have an alternative that matches UE4's platform-agnostic approach.
  • Low cost.
  • Part of the JetBrains system of developer tools, a toolset that is widely respected in software development.
  • Supports multiple languages--not just C and C++.
  • Easy to learn and adapt to when coming for other IDE's.
  • JetBrains, the company that created and maintains CLion, is located primarily in Russia. While that doesn't concern me it does create worries for some people.
  • No real cons. The product is great and the support is equally excellent.
CLion is suitable for any software development purpose I can think of, and probably many more than I have no envisioned. It joins offerings from Intel, Microsoft and the like providing a quality IDE that produces quality code. It checks all of the boxes a developer wants it to check. The only place it's probably not your best tool is if you are heavily invested in another IDE. In that case, I'd always recommend sticking to organizational standards for production work and explore competitive alternatives in the lab.
  • CLion is so inexpensive compared with our "standard" IDE that it's hard not to see a better return on investment outside in our exploratory efforts.
  • The learning curve is very shallow. A veteran developer can be working in CLion in minutes. A student or fresh hire with little development experience can adapt and become productive quickly as well.
  • When combined with other JetBrains offerings, it's a great tool that is worth using, especially when budgets are tight and expectations high.
CLion does everything I ask it to do. For me, Unreal Engine 4 compatibility was essential and Epic Game and JetBrains delivered a solid alternative to spending a huge amount of money on the "standard" IDE for game development on Windows. The user interface is sharp and modern without all of the silly frills many software suites now employ. It integrates well with source control systems we use and also works well, as expected, with other JetBrains development tools and assistants.
I will give them a 10 for customer support because they are quick to respond to inquiries and never have given me the boilerplate answers or links to a wiki page like some gigantic companies do. JetBrains is relatively small and very competitive. They want your business and want to keep it. I find that very attractive especially when I run into trouble and need my IDE vendor to lend a hand.
Visual Studio is the "standard" IDE most people use. It's expensive but generally worth the cost. Where CLion comes into play, people are less concerned with using the Microsoft solution and are open to another party providing them the key IDE resource they need. It's taking a risk going with a smaller company's solution versus Microsoft who, in spite of some things written mostly anonymously, is actually quite good at supporting its paying customers. CLion's competitor on the other end of the spectrum also comes from Microsoft in the form of Visual Studio Community Edition (free) and Visual Studio Code (free, cross-platform). It's an odd situation to be in but CLion is, in my opinion, the only really good and low-cost choice for those who want to have paid-product level customer support but don't have a large budget. CLion doesn't cost much...give it a try and see what you think.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
CLion is the best IDE for developing C and C++ applications. Using this IDE we save most of the development time. Debugging in this IDE is super easy. Throughout our final year project we use CLion. It has CMake support so by using CLion we can target any platform without worrying about the compilation errors.
  • Built-in CMake support.
  • Unit testing.
  • Code documentation.
  • CLion only runs on 64bit systems
We developed a Stream processor compiler in C++. we first used other IDEs but using them were very hard. But after switching to CLion we were able to speed up our work. Version control support is very good in the CLion IDE.
  • CLion helped us to speed up our development.
  • Version control support reduced many problems like merge conflicts.
First thing it has better UI. When it comes to usability CLion is the best.
Return to navigation