vs
Android Studio vs IntelliJ IDEA: which one to pick in 2026?
Android Studio if you do native Android. IntelliJ if you do Flutter.
What each does better
Android Studio
Competitor
Better at: Optimized for Android, built-in emulator, full profiler
Worse at: Even heavier, weaker for pure Dart development
Compared from my IntelliJ IDEA review
IntelliJ IDEA
In my stack
Better at: The best Flutter/Dart plugin on the market, smart refactoring, contextual completion
Worse at: RAM-hungry (~1-2 GB), slow startup on big projects
Based on my IntelliJ IDEA review
My verdict
Android Studio if you do native Android. IntelliJ if you do Flutter.
My rating
IntelliJ IDEA
I only rate the tools I really use. Android Studio is not in my stack, so it has no rating here.
Pricing
Android Studio
No pricing sheet on my side: I do not use it day to day, so I do not put a price on it here.
IntelliJ IDEA
€0 (Community Edition)
Entry price
Plan I pick: Ultimate at €69
Full-stack and enterprise developers
Compatibility
IntelliJ IDEA
Go further
Other comparisons
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