Android Studio vs IntelliJ IDEA VS Code: Professional IDE Comparison (2025)

After extensively testing all three development environments, I've created this professional comparison to help developers choose the best IDE for their Android projects in 2025.


📋 Professional Feature Comparison

Feature Category Android Studio IntelliJ IDEA VS Code
Core Features
Official Android Support ✔ Full Support ⚠️ Via Plugin ✖ Limited
Built-in Emulator ✔ Included ✖ External Only ✖ Not Available
Performance
Startup Time 25–30 seconds 10–15 seconds 2–5 seconds
RAM Usage (Average) 2.5GB 1.8GB 600MB
Development Tools
Visual Layout Editor ✔ Advanced ⚠️ Basic ✖ None
Code Completion ✔ Excellent ✔ Excellent ⚠️ Good (with extensions)
Advanced Features
APK Analyser ✔ Built-in ⚠️ Via Plugin ✖ Not Available
Memory Profiler ✔ Advanced ⚠️ Basic ✖ Limited

🏆 Recommendation Summary

🏆

Best for Native Android

Android Studio

  • Complete Android tool set
  • Official Google support
  • Best debugging tools
⭐

Best for Multi-Language

IntelliJ IDEA

  • Superior Kotlin support
  • Better performance
  • Wider language support
⚡

Best for Lightweight

VS Code

  • Fastest performance
Great for Flutter
  • Extension ecosystem