Python is a very high demanding programming language in 2022. It’s also been in trend in for years. If you want to make your career as a programmer, Python is the best to start with. You can use Python in various fields such as Game Development, Web Development, Data science, and more. With Python, learning these things becomes very easy. However, to work this Python you need an IDE first where you can write, compile and run your codes. In this article, we will tell you 9 best IDEs and code editors for Python.
Related: 10 Unique Features Of Python You Should Know
What is an IDE?
IDE or Integrated Development Environment is a piece of software or tool that lets you write, compile and run your codes in a safe environment. Now there are so many Python IDEs available for different purposes and each contains some similar and unique features. A fully functional IDE offers auto-completion, syntax highlighter, debugging tools, and many more useful features.
In this tutorial, we will be helping you to find out the most suitable Python IDE for your specific purpose. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
9 Best Python IDEs and Code Editors
1. PyCharm
PyCharm is one of the most popular IDEs for Python development made by JetBrains company. It has a very clean UI along with powerful built-in coding tools. PyCharm allows you to write, compile and run Python codes very efficiently. Moreover, it includes auto-suggestions when coding, PiP to install & import packages, plugins support and more. There are two different versions of PyCharm:
- Community Edition: Free for all users. and
- Professional Edition: Only for advanced programmers. It supports web development framework for web developers.
Both PyCharm editions can install popular Python libraries using PiP such as Django, Flask, Tkler, PyTorch, etc. On top of that, it can also work with CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and Typescript, etc. PyCharm is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.
Key Features:
- Intelligent Code Editor
- Large Community Support
- Faster Compiler
- Debugging Tools
- Smart Navigation
- Web Development
- Available for Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.
2. VS code
VS Code (Visual Studio) is all in one open-source integrated development environment (IDE) available there. It is developed by Microsoft developers. You can use it for Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, and other programming languages. Similar to PyCharm, it has a simple UI, easy controls, and quick operations navigation. There are thousands of extensions available for this IDE to improve the coding experience, prettier is one of the best extensions for VS code I know. You can easily install any Python library using PIP manager. You can use the VS Code for Python web development too. That’s the reason many programmers prefer to use this IDE instead of any other. Read more documents from here.
Key Features:
- It’s lightweight, fast, and free open source
- Built-in Git commands
- Highly customizable IDE
- So many plug-ins available
- Many themes available including a dark theme
- Support Java, C++, Html, CSS, and many more including Python
- Available for cross Platform devices such as Windows OS, macOS, and Linux.
3. IDLE
IDLE stands for Integrated Development and Learning Environment, based on the Unix command line coding. It is the default IDE we get with a Python interpreter which is self-coded using Python language. You can use it to perform some basic operations through IDLE. Basically, this IDE is meant for beginners to understand the basics of Python. It is more likely a command prompt. Along with that, it has multi-text colors, searches within a window, easy debugging, and many more features. You can read more documents from here.
Key Features:
- Cross-Platform Support
- Free open source for GPL
- Integrated with Python
- Unix Support
4. Sublime Text 3
Sublime Text 3 is another Python code editor and the best Python IDE. It’s a highly customizable IDE along with a simple user interface, which can be used for other programming languages as well. It is available for OS X, Windows, Linux, and other platforms. You can install Python’s libraries such as Django and Flasks for web development. Packages and plugins make it more powerful. Syntax highlighting, debugging, auto-completion, etc are such great powerful features of this IDE.
Key Features:
- 44 other programming languages support including Python
- Free open-source available on cross-platform devices
- Available on Git Repo
- Free Trial, although you can buy the license to remove interpret pop-ups
- More focus on code instead of menus because of its UI
5. Spyder
Spyder IDE is the best open-source IDE for Python for scientific research developments. It includes every library that is used for research purposes such as NumPy, Pandas, SciPy, and other libraries for machine learning. This is the same IDE you get inside Anaconda software (which is the world’s most popular science coding platform). It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. Auto-completion, fast compiler, syntax highlighter, and other features are available in this IDE.
Key Features:
- Written in Python itself
- Too many plugins available that can increase the number of customization and features
- Available for cross platforms
- Mainly used for scientific research developments
- Every library related to data science are already installed
6. Thonny
Thonny is one of the best Python IDE for beginners loaded with tons of advanced features. It is freely available on the internet. It comes with a simple layout UI like a notepad with syntax highlighting, debugging options, auto-completion, error highlighting, and other necessary options.
Here, you can install almost every Python library such as Django, Flask, NumPy, etc. you can read more documentation from here.
Key Features:
- Free open-source available on Bitbucket Repo
- Available for cross-platforms.
- Integrated Pip
- Many Plug-ins Available
- Bigger Community
- Beginner-friendly layout
- System SHELL support
7. Jupyter Notebook
Jupyter Notebook is a web-based open-source Python IDE. The environment of this IDE is specially designed for data science programmers. It contains every library such as Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib, etc that data science requires. Data science is all about machine learning and numerical calculation. Here, you write codes in cells and you can run a specific cell at a time. Read documents from here.
Key Features:
- Best IDE for the data science
- Code in cells and each cell run separately
- 40 programming languages support including Python
- Big data integrated
8. GNU Emacs
GNU/Emacs is one of the best Python code editors created by Richard Stallman. It’s free open-source software for Windows, macOS, and Linux OS. You can use this code editor for many programming languages including Python. It has syntax highlighting, some editing nodes, and other stuff like that. You can increase the number of customization using extensions.
Key Features:
- Support many programming languages including Python
- Free open source
- Many extension support
- Highly customizable code editor for Python
9. Atom
Atom is another simple IDE available for Windows OS, macOS, and Linux. Along with simplicity, you get the best code editor with auto-completion, multiple panels, find & replace, and extendible extensions. You can install extensions to archive more customization options.
Key Features:
- You can install unlimited open-source packages
- Themes customization option available
- Suitable for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript too.
- Beta version available publically. Download it from here.
CONCLUSION on 9 Best Python IDEs and Code Editors
In my sense, VS code is one the most popular IDE you can use for any programming language including Python. There are lots of positive reviews on VS code.
At last, tell me Which is your favorite IDE for Python or Which IDE you are using right now? The comment box is open for you.