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Microsoft Visual Studio vs Zend Studio comparison

Microsoft and Zend are both solutions in the .NET Development Services category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while Zend is ranked #7. Microsoft holds a 15.1% mindshare in NDS, compared to Zend’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zend users who would recommend it.
Microsoft Visual Studio
Read 92 Microsoft Visual Studio reviews
  • 654 Views
  • 654 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Zend Studio
Read 1 Zend Studio review
  • 125 Views
  • 125 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Microsoft Visual Studio and Zend Studio based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Adobe, FourJs and others in .NET Development Services.

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To learn more, read our detailed .NET Development Services Report (Updated: August 2025).
Buyer's Guide
.NET Development Services
August 2025
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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

Microsoft Visual Studio
Ranking in .NET Development Services
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zend Studio
Ranking in .NET Development Services
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the .NET Development Services category, the mindshare of Microsoft Visual Studio is 15.1%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend Studio is 3.6%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
.NET Development Services
 

Featured Reviews

Eitan Gold - PeerSpot reviewer
Test code efficiency improves with integrated debugger and automation
The test explorer is really important for us as it aids in testing, along with the regular debugger. Even though I forgot the term for it at the moment, there is an overall debugger tool within the IDE that is very effective. This comprehensive debugger tool does the job efficiently, making our work easier.
Read full review
marketacumen - PeerSpot reviewer
It has higher quality code, faster debugging, and higher quality projects
* Stability is sometimes lacking in updates. * Search/replace across multiple files is not ideal. * The debugger often has problems determining where to map files to local projects, as well as setting breakpoints, which often are ignored depending on your configuration. * The product requires a subscription to Zend Server Developer, which used to be free and now has an annual fee, but it is still worth the money.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Visual Studio helps my company improve efficiency in software development suites."
"Most valuable features include code navigation by symbols and document auto formatting."
"The most valuable feature is that it is a complete package, with an IDE and everything that you need for software development."
"You can easily create, edit, and test any software and develop applications for all the major platforms, including cloud, desktop, and mobile."
"What we like about Microsoft Visual Studio is that it's a comprehensive tool. It has features that work for different plans and it has a wide variety of use cases. It's also a powerful tool and it's quite efficient."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Visual Studio are the way we are able to design code, deploy, and test our application. It is easy to move an artifact from the start to the deployment stage. It has well-defined processes that you can integrate with any team. Additionally, the solution is always improving."
"The stability is fine."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Visual Studio are the UI functionality where you can do software development. Everything is available there that you need. You can create the UI, and code, develop and compile it."
More Microsoft Visual Studio pros
"It has the ability to jump to any file in your project with a few keystrokes, as well as the ability to command-click on any token in your code and have it jump to the token's definition."
"It has higher quality code, faster debugging, and higher quality projects."
 

Cons

"The UI could be better, and development could be easier on Microsoft Visual Studio if there were more features like drag and drop and more frameworks, etc."
"I would like to see more on-premise tips and tools along with development time so that I don't need to go to a third-party site."
"I would like to have more integration with other platforms and technologies."
"The product could be improved by including axle intelligence."
"Could be improved with the ability to personalize the interface and development style and to edit extension requirements."
"They could add new modules to the platform for enhanced functioning."
"Microsoft Visual Studio could improve by making it faster. Every time they add a new feature or plugin it slows it down. They should allow the user to turn off features they do not use."
"Microsoft Visual Studio needs to improve integration."
More Microsoft Visual Studio cons
"Stability is sometimes lacking in updates."
"The debugger often has problems determining where to map files to local projects."
"Most recent set of patches (2018) on Mac OS X caused the app to crash when you would cut more than 10 lines of code. Apparently, this was due to a bug in Eclipse, but regardless, it took several months for Zend to post a patch."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Microsoft Visual Studio is reasonable but could be better."
"The cost of using Microsoft Visual Studio is approximately $1,700 per user."
"The solution is expensive."
"Microsoft Visual Studio is free. It's freeware, so you don't have to pay for its license."
"I use the open-source version of Microsoft Visual Studio."
"I use Microsoft Visual Studio's free version."
"We use the free version, and you don't need a license."
"Visual Studio Team System is expensive, but it is worth the money."
More Microsoft Visual Studio pricing and cost advice
"The product requires a subscription to Zend Server Developer, which used to be free and now has an annual fee, but it is still worth the money."
"Licensing is reasonable for this type of tool. Although, you can cobble together a solution which is zero cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Performing Arts
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Visual Studio?
We can use different .NET features.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Visual Studio?
The pricing for Microsoft Visual Studio is favorable. While many open-source solutions are available, none offer the robustness of Visual Studio, which includes a Marketplace for creating different...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Visual Studio?
Based on my experience and my colleagues' feedback, I believe a potential area of improvement for Microsoft Visual Studio could be incorporating more AI, as it makes things easier for us, and havin...
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Comparisons

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Visual Studio
August 2025
Microsoft Visual Studio reportDownload Microsoft Visual Studio product report
Buyer's Guide
.NET Development Services
August 2025
Zend Studio reportDownload Zend Studio product report
 

Also Known As

MS Visual Studio
No data available
 

Overview

Visual Studio.NET is the umbrella that represents the key pieces of the .NET platform delivered from Microsoft, including the .NET Framework, the recently announced .NET Core, and a shared common layer of packages, compilers and runtime. Read this .NET blog post about the evolution of the platform and the different pieces that make .NET 2015.
Microsoft
Zend Studio – the PHP IDE for smarter development. It codes faster with up to 3X performance improvements in indexing, validation, searching of PHP code. It has superior PHP 7.1 support, PHP 7.1 express migration assistant, and seamless integration with Zend Server 9. It provides robust debugging capabilities with Xdebug, Zend Debugger, and Z-Ray integration. Zend Studio has an extensive plugin capabilities provided by the large Eclipse eco-system and supports for best-in-class dev tools including Docker and Git Flow Intelligent code editor. Deploy PHP applications on any server including cloud support for Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure and support for HiDPi displays - scale graphics (ala 4K resolution).
Zend
 

Sample Customers

Knab, Hamburg Port Authority, Kecioren Municipality, National Instruments, Hamburg Port Authority, Government of Odisha, Kongsberg Maritime AS
CDS Global, EnglishCentral, BNP Paribas, Carlo Gavazzi, Sunstate Equipment, Novadex GmbH, CONFTEC, Marilan, Mediaspike, Cisco WebEx, Corvette America, Value Drug Mart Associates Ltd., Allied Beverage Group
Buyer's Guide
.NET Development Services
August 2025
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