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AWS Cloud9 vs Codespaces comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Cloud9
Ranking in IDE
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Codespaces
Ranking in IDE
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.8
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud9 is 5.5%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Codespaces is 8.9%, down from 22.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IDE Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Codespaces8.9%
AWS Cloud95.5%
Other85.6%
IDE
 

Featured Reviews

KD
network engineer at sify technologies
Cloud workspace has streamlined collaborative development and has reduced setup time for projects
One area where AWS Cloud9 could improve is performance when working on larger projects or with limited internet connectivity, since it is heavily browser and cloud-dependent. The interface could also feel more modern and customizable compared to some desktop IDEs. In addition, better support for advanced extensions, smoother collaboration features, and clearer pricing or resource management tools would make the overall experience even better for developers and teams. AWS Cloud9 could also improve its documentation and third-party integrations. Some setup and troubleshooting guides could be more detailed, especially for new users working with advanced services. On the security side, stronger visibility into permissions and resource usage would be helpful for teams managing multiple environments. I would also appreciate tighter integration with modern DevOps and CI/CD tools, along with flexibility for plugins and extensions similar to developer IDEs like VS Code.
Zishan Sayyed Yunus - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant manager at Interactive avenues
Smooth workflow with deployment and validation efficiency
I think there should be a scheduler option if you want to run it, similar to Google Cloud, where you can specify how long you want to keep your scheduling active. If you want to use it as a server or for a temporary time duration, you should be able to schedule it so the server will be activated between specific durations and auto-deactivate to save costs. Sometimes, at the initial stages, there is a lack of instances. It takes more time to create the instance, but now it's much faster to activate your Codespaces and delete it. The earlier Git Codespaces billing setup on GitHub was much simpler. You could easily see how much credit you have, how much you have used, and your balance. Now they have changed it, and it's confusing to understand how much Codespaces time you have, how much you have used, and how much they are charging.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Some of the best features with AWS Cloud9 are that it is a cloud-based DE, so you do not have to have an IDE locally or set up the IDE every time when using different computers."
"Overall, AWS Cloud9 is a solid choice for working within the Amazon Web Services ecosystem, with its biggest strengths being zero setup, seamless AWS integration, scalability, and accessibility from anywhere, making development faster and more consistent."
"AWS Cloud9 saves me two to three days per week in my work at Probus Insurance."
"AWS Cloud9 has positively impacted our workflow by reducing development environment setup time and improving team collaboration."
"One thing I like the most about AWS Cloud9 is how easy it is to access different things and to look for what you are searching for."
"I prefer Codespaces because it gets activated in seconds and has all the pre-dependencies which any developer could need, such as Docker and Python."
"We see benefits from Codespaces in terms of onboarding new team members; it is very simple."
"Codespaces' most valuable feature is the repository, which helps the developers to work together. Its data commands are also useful."
"The review functionality of the pull requests is very handy, as not only can you give comments, but you can also suggest replacements for sentences with different words."
"The product allows us to implement feature-related changes or improvements on time. Whenever I write a section of the code or create a new code, it automatically integrates with the former code."
"The most valuable features of the solution are Copilot and Advanced Security."
"The integration with Visual Studio Code offers a good and fast user experience that feels like a local experience."
"The developer experience is consistent, and its pricing makes sense since it optimizes the resources."
 

Cons

"AWS Cloud9 is great for AWS native development but still lags behind modern IDEs in performance, flexibility, and the pace of innovation."
"One area where AWS Cloud9 could improve is performance when working on larger projects or with limited internet connectivity, since it is heavily browser and cloud-dependent."
"AWS Cloud9 is being discontinued, so preventing its discontinuation would address the main pain point."
"I would prefer to see changes in the pricing structure of AWS Cloud9 because it is too high."
"Regarding the learning curve of AWS Cloud9, I would say for an average person, it will take at least three weeks to a month of consistently using it to finally get out of that learning curve."
"The technical support could respond faster."
"When I close the laptop and open it in a different place, the state of the environment disappears, and I need to rerun several commands. This context switch affects productivity."
"The main issue is related to state preservation on a disconnection. When I close the laptop and open it in a different place, the state of the environment disappears, and I need to rerun several commands."
"The earlier Git Codespaces billing setup on GitHub was much simpler. You could easily see how much credit you have, how much you have used, and your balance. Now they have changed it, and it's confusing to understand how much Codespaces time you have, how much you have used, and how much they are charging."
"We get merge conflict errors and need to resolve them."
"Sometimes it is just two or three hours a day where they are totally unreachable, and it might happen like five times a month."
"The product indicates incorrect statistics."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"From what I've seen, the solution doesn't seem like it's overly expensive for what you get."
"I am using the product’s free version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Cloud9?
AWS Cloud9 is powerful, but it can be improved in terms of performance, modern IDE features, limited updates, and dependency on AWS infrastructure, which sometimes slows productivity. Since it runs...
What is your primary use case for AWS Cloud9?
My main use case for AWS Cloud9 is cloud-based development and testing, specifically for quickly setting up environments and working with AWS services. I primarily use AWS Cloud9 as an online IDE t...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Cloud9?
My advice would be to start with a small project, optimize costs, auto-stop features, and use it mainly for AWS native development to get the best value. I suggest not relying on very large project...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Codespaces?
We found the price of Codespaces is acceptable for us.
What needs improvement with Codespaces?
I am not the best person regarding the negative sides of Codespaces. As I mentioned, our team provides different tools for developers, so we are not so deep in every tool. From time to time, we got...
What advice do you have for others considering Codespaces?
It is hard for me to say about collaboration efforts in this case. I am in a team who is responsible for CI, so we try to touch everything we suggest to our developers, but I am not their direct us...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

AWS Cloud9 IDE, Cloud9 IDE
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Cloud9 vs. Codespaces and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
895,272 professionals have used our research since 2012.