Microsoft Visual Studio: Editions, VS Code vs Visual Studio and Licence Costs (2026)

Reviewed 8 October 2026 by Jay, Technical Support Advisor at Nerdused. Microsoft and Nerdused prices checked on the same date.

Microsoft Visual Studio is Microsoft’s Windows IDE for building .NET, C++, web, cloud and mobile apps, and it comes in three editions: Community (free for individuals and small teams), Professional and Enterprise. The current release is Visual Studio 2026, which runs on 64-bit Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019 or later. Visual Studio Code is a separate product: a free, lighter code editor for Windows, macOS and Linux. You need a paid Professional or Enterprise licence when your organisation falls outside the Community licence terms, or when you want Enterprise-only tools or subscription benefits.

Microsoft Visual Studio at a glance

Fact	Detail
Current version	Visual Studio 2026 (version 18), released 11 November 2025; latest update 18.10.3 on 29 September 2026
Editions	Community, Professional, Enterprise
Runs on	64-bit Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019, 2022 or 2025. Windows 10 is not on Microsoft’s supported list for 2026
Hardware	4 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB recommended; a typical install needs 20–50 GB of disk space
Microsoft prices	Community free; Professional $45 per user a month or $499 standalone; Enterprise $250 per user a month
Support	Two years for each annual release; the 2026 long-term servicing release is supported until 9 November 2027
Mac	Visual Studio for Mac was retired on 31 August 2024

Microsoft Visual Studio editions: Community vs Professional vs Enterprise

The edition you are allowed to use depends mostly on who you are, not on what you build.

Edition	Who can use it	Microsoft price
Community	Any individual developer, for free or paid apps. Up to five users in a non-enterprise organisation. Unlimited users for classroom learning, academic research and open source work	Free
Professional	Teams and companies of any size	$45 per user a month, or $499 for a standalone licence
Enterprise	Larger teams that need the advanced testing and debugging tools	$250 per user a month

Microsoft calls Community “a fully-featured, extensible, free IDE”, so the limit is the licence rather than the editor. An enterprise, which Microsoft defines as more than 250 PCs or more than US$1 million in annual revenue, cannot use Community outside the classroom, research and open source cases. That is the point where Professional becomes the minimum.

Enterprise adds tools the other two do not have. Microsoft’s documentation says Live Unit Testing and IntelliTrace are available only in the Enterprise edition.

You can try before you pay: Microsoft offers a 30-day trial of Professional or Enterprise, extended once to 90 days if you sign in.

Visual Studio Code vs Visual Studio: which one do you need?

The names are close, but these are two different tools. In short, VS Code vs Visual Studio is editor vs IDE.

	Visual Studio	Visual Studio Code
What it is	A full IDE with project systems, debugger, profiler and test tools built in	A lightweight code editor that you extend with extensions
Runs on	Windows only	Windows, macOS and Linux
Price	Community free within its licence limits; Professional and Enterprise paid	Free for private or commercial use
Best for	Large .NET and C++ solutions, Windows desktop apps, .NET MAUI, Unity	Web development, scripts, Python, JavaScript and quick edits in any language

Microsoft’s own VS Code FAQ says the editor “leaves more complex workflows to fuller featured IDEs”. If your work is a big C# or C++ solution on Windows, use Visual Studio. If you edit web code, work across several languages or use a Mac or Linux machine, VS Code is usually enough, and many developers keep both installed.

On a Mac, there is no current Visual Studio. Microsoft recommends VS Code on the Mac, or Visual Studio on Windows inside a virtual machine such as Parallels. Our guide to running Windows on a Mac covers the setup, and the Windows 11 virtual machine needs its own licence.

Visual Studio subscription vs standalone licence: what each costs

There are three ways to pay for Professional, and two for Enterprise. Microsoft prices are from its Visual Studio pricing page on 8 October 2026, in US dollars; the last row is our key.

Option	Price	What you get
Professional monthly subscription	$45 per user a month	The IDE, billed monthly; renews until you cancel
Professional standard subscription	$99.99 per user a month, paid annually; $66.59 on renewal	The IDE plus $50 Azure credit a month, Azure DevOps Basic, dev/test software, training and two support incidents
Enterprise monthly subscription	$250 per user a month	The Enterprise IDE, billed monthly
Enterprise standard subscription	$499.92 per user a month, paid annually; $214.09 on renewal	The Enterprise IDE plus $150 Azure credit a month, Azure DevOps Basic and Test Plans, Power BI Pro and four support incidents
Professional standalone licence	$499 one-time	A perpetual licence for the current version “without the other benefits included in subscriptions”
Nerdused Visual Studio Professional 2026 key	$99.99 one-time	A product key by email; you download the installer from Microsoft

A Visual Studio subscription makes sense when you will use the Azure credits and dev/test software. A standalone Visual Studio licence suits a developer who only wants the Professional IDE without a recurring bill.

We also list a Visual Studio 2022 Professional key at $70 for projects pinned to that version; check its page for availability. Visual Studio 2022 is on a fixed lifecycle, with mainstream support ending in January 2027 and extended support ending 13 January 2032.

How to download Visual Studio and activate a licence key

1. Check the PC: 64-bit Windows 11 or Windows Server 2019 or later, and at least 4 GB of RAM. If the machine is still on Windows 10, see how to upgrade to Windows 11 first.
2. Download the installer from Microsoft’s Visual Studio downloads page. Do not use third-party download sites.
3. Run it with administrator rights and pick the workloads you need, such as .NET desktop or C++.
4. For Professional, open File > Account Settings, select License with a Product Key and enter the key.

Community needs no key. A key from Nerdused is for the PC it activates on, and reinstalling Visual Studio on that PC later is fine.

FAQs

Is Visual Studio Code the same as Visual Studio?

No. Visual Studio Code is a free, cross-platform code editor. Visual Studio is a full Windows IDE with three editions. They share a name and some features, but they install and license separately.

How much is a Visual Studio license?

From Microsoft, Professional costs $45 per user a month or $499 as a standalone licence, and Enterprise costs $250 per user a month. Nerdused sells a Visual Studio Professional 2026 key for $99.99, covered by our 30-day refund promise.

Can I use Visual Studio Community for commercial work?

Yes, as an individual developer or in a non-enterprise organisation with up to five users. An organisation with more than 250 PCs or more than US$1 million in annual revenue needs Professional or Enterprise.

Does Visual Studio 2026 run on Windows 10?

Microsoft’s system requirements for Visual Studio 2026 list Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025. Windows 10 is not listed, and its free support ended on 14 October 2025.

Does a Visual Studio subscription include a perpetual licence?

Microsoft says standard subscriptions “often also include a perpetual license”, so you can keep using the product after the subscription expires. Check the “Perpetual IDE license included” row on Microsoft’s pricing page for the plan you choose.

Sources checked 8 October 2026: Microsoft, Visual Studio pricing and Visual Studio Community; Microsoft Learn, Visual Studio 2026 system requirements, product lifecycle and servicing, Visual Studio 2022 lifecycle, unlock Visual Studio with a product key and Visual Studio for Mac retirement; Visual Studio Code FAQ.