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IntelliJ IDEA: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

IntelliJ IDEA is still the IDE that understands a codebase rather than just editing its files. Its refactoring, inspections and debugger for Java, Kotlin and Spring are ahead of anything built on a language server. Since 2025.3 the Community and Ultimate editions are one product. The free tier is licensed for commercial use and now includes basic database tools, Kubernetes support and non-JVM languages. Ultimate unlocks Spring, enterprise frameworks, profilers and full web tooling. It costs $719 per user per year for organisations, or $199 for an individual's first year (falling to $159, then $119, with continuous renewal). The All Products Pack is $979.

Category

IDEs & Code Editors

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

IDEs & Code Editors — ide, jetbrains

IntelliJ IDEA Pricing Plans (2026)

PlanPrice
IntelliJ IDEA (free)$0, commercial use allowed
Ultimate for organizationsPopular$719 / user / year (about $59.92 / month)
Ultimate for individuals$199 / year first year (about $16.58 / month)

Pricing summary: Free · paid from $16.58/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

Key IntelliJ IDEA Features

  • Spring and enterprise framework support
  • Profiler and full web tooling
  • Commercial licence owned by the company

Pros

  • +Unmatched refactoring and code analysis on JVM languages
  • +Free tier is now genuinely usable for commercial work
  • +Database, HTTP client and profiler in the box with Ultimate

Cons

  • −Heavy on RAM and slow to index large projects
  • −$719 per seat is the priciest editor in the category
  • −AI features are a separate subscription

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IntelliJ IDEA Compared

IntelliJ IDEA FAQ

What is IntelliJ IDEA used for?⌄

IntelliJ IDEA is a ides & code editors tool. JetBrains’ flagship IDE, now one unified download. It is free for commercial use, and Ultimate costs $719 per user per year for companies.

Is IntelliJ IDEA free?⌄

Yes — IntelliJ IDEA has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does IntelliJ IDEA cost?⌄

IntelliJ IDEA offers a free tier, with paid plans starting at $16.58/month.

What are the best IntelliJ IDEA alternatives?⌄

Popular IntelliJ IDEA alternatives include Visual Studio Code, Neovim, Zed. Compare pricing and features on our IntelliJ IDEA alternatives page.

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