AWS Cloud9 vs Codespaces comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GitHub are both solutions in the IDE category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.5, while GitHub is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 6.9% mindshare in IDE, compared to GitHub’s 10.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of GitHub users who would recommend it.

AWS Cloud9

Read 2 AWS Cloud9 reviews

1,115 Views
1,115 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Codespaces

Read 7 Codespaces reviews

2,209 Views
1,988 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AWS Cloud9

Codespaces

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

AWS Cloud9 and Codespaces are competing in the cloud-based development environment category. Codespaces seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced integration features.

Features: AWS Cloud9 includes an integrated terminal, collaborative coding capabilities, and seamless integration with AWS services. Codespaces features deep integration with GitHub repositories, easy project switching, and enhanced collaboration capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Cloud9 offers a straightforward setup suitable for users familiar with AWS infrastructure, complemented by robust customer support. Codespaces boasts quick startup times and an intuitive deployment model attractive for GitHub users, offering a cohesive deployment experience within the GitHub ecosystem.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Cloud9's competitive pricing and AWS service integration often lead to a favorable ROI for AWS-centric teams. Codespaces, despite its higher cost, enhances developer productivity and streamlined collaboration for teams focused on GitHub projects, offering substantial ROI in such environments.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Cloud9 vs. Codespaces Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Cloud9 vs. Codespaces

March 2026

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Helped 885,880 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Codespaces

Ranking in IDE

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Development Platforms (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud9 is 6.9%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Codespaces is 10.2%, down from 25.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IDE Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Codespaces	10.2%
AWS Cloud9	6.9%
Other	82.9%

IDE

Featured Reviews

reviewer2746791

Cloud Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Provides secure access for remote teams but could benefit from continued support and development

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. It is just there. It exists in the same VPC, or you can put it in the same VPC as your other resources. The integration with AWS services in AWS Cloud9 has made the development process more secure because you transition from having one jump box that everyone uses to everyone having their own individual jump boxes. It is advantageous to have something that is in the same VPC as your other resources that you can use as a jump box.

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Zishan Sayyed Yunus

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.

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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."

"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."

"The integration with Visual Studio Code offers a good and fast user experience that feels like a local experience."

"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."

"The developer experience is consistent, and its pricing makes sense since it optimizes the resources."

"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."

"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."

Cons

"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."

"AWS Cloud9 is being discontinued, so preventing its discontinuation would address the main pain point."

"We get merge conflict errors and need to resolve them."

"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 product indicates incorrect statistics."

"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 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."

"Sometimes it is just two or three hours a day where they are totally unreachable, and it might happen like five times a month."

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

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Educational Organization

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Cloud9?

One point of improvement for AWS Cloud9 would be to make the interface have a dark mode.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS Cloud9?

I would use AWS Cloud9 if I had a business that needed a lot of users with different types of access, since it is all in one place to manage easily.

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What advice do you have for others considering AWS Cloud9?

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. Maint...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Codespaces?

We found the price of Codespaces is acceptable for us.

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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...

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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...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IDE

March 2026

Download AWS Cloud9 product report

Buyer's Guide

Codespaces

April 2026

Download Codespaces product report

Also Known As

AWS Cloud9 IDE, Cloud9 IDE

No data available

Overview

AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you to write, run, and debug code from any machine with just a browser. The Cloud9 IDE provides the software and tooling needed for dynamic programming languages including JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, and C++. This means you no longer have to spend the time to install programs or configure your development machine. You get full sudo privileges and a pre-authenticated AWS CLI when you run your Cloud9 development environment on a managed EC2 instance. Cloud9 also integrates with AWS CodeStar, providing you the tools you need to successfully deploy applications to AWS.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Your instant dev environment
Get the full Visual Studio Code experience without leaving GitHub.

Code without compromise
Code, build, test, debug, and deploy with a complete development environment in your browser.

Simplify your workflow
Automatically set up dependencies and SSH keys. Go from code to commit faster on any project.

Extend and customize
Configure your editor with dotfiles and VS Code extensions to create a consistent environment in every codespace.

Develop from anywhere, anytime
With your development in the cloud, you can contribute code from any device, using VS Code or your browser.

Dependencies, decluttered
Contribute to projects without complicating your local setup. Spin up dev environments with a click—even for projects you haven't worked on before—and switch between them with ease.

GitHub

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

AWS Cloud9 vs. Codespaces

March 2026

Free Report: AWS Cloud9 vs. Codespaces

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