Microsoft Visual Studio vs SharePoint Designer [EOL] comparison

Microsoft Visual Studio and SharePoint Designer [EOL] are both solutions in the .NET Development Services category. Additionally, 96% of Microsoft Visual Studio users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of SharePoint Designer [EOL] users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Visual Studio

Read 101 Microsoft Visual Studio reviews

1,132 Views
1,132 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

SharePoint Designer [EOL]

Read 49 SharePoint Designer [EOL] reviews

82% willing to recommend

Microsoft Visual Studio

SharePoint Designer [EOL]

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Visual Studio and SharePoint Designer [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cognosys Inc Hardened Images, Harman and others in .NET Development Services.

To learn more, read our detailed .NET Development Services Report (Updated: January 2026).

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.NET Development Services

January 2026

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Helped 881,082 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

Microsoft Visual Studio

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

.NET Development Services (1st)

SharePoint Designer [EOL]

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Eitan Gold

SQA Manager at Elmo Motion Control Ltd.

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

Vladimir Vasilev

Digital Lead at Baker Tilly

Helps to centralize and share files and has an easy setup

I'm using the solution for creating different sites in our organization. We also use it for a file repository mainly. It's provided us with a centralized document database that is available to all collaborators 24/7. There are good features in general. It helps centralize and store files. It's…

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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

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Visual Studio is the good intelligence and UI."

"The solution is stable, and it has no issues."

"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."

"I find Microsoft Visual Studio to be a good development environment; its integration with SQL and features like check-in, check-out, and integration with Visual SourceSafe and now the Azure counterpart are very effective for debugging applications."

"It is a stable solution."

"One of the most valuable features is its support. It's easy for me to get support even though I never use it. If there's a bug or a performance issue, Microsoft also provides quick updates, and this is another valuable feature of the program."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Visual Studio is how easy it is to access all the basic templates for development. There are so many features you get with Visual Studio that it's really helpful for the deployment, the development, and the intelligence behind it."

"It's a very easy-to-use product."

More Microsoft Visual Studio pros

"The initial setup is very straightforward."

"The most valuable feature is the capability to directly access the SharePoint data structure."

"The most valuable features of SharePoint Designer are integration and collaboration capabilities, such as allowing more than one person to edit a file."

"The document filing system is the solution's most valuable feature. We have used SharePoint as an option for a document managed system, like Documentum and IBM Filenet."

"It helps centralize and store files."

"The most valuable feature of SharePoint Designer is document management."

"We appreciate the fact that this solution can provide us with an on-premises version, as due to our geographical location, we are not able to use cloud-based tools."

"The technical support from Microsoft is very good."

More SharePoint Designer [EOL] pros

Cons

"I have faced configuration issues with Microsoft Visual Studio."

"File installations are heavy."

"It has a ton of options and that sometimes can become very, very overwhelming for a new person, a new developer."

"The solution is not really good at debugging JavaScript, jQuery, or SQL"

"I would like to see more tools in the next release."

"I would not recommend it for complex tasks."

"We'd like the solution to be more secure."

"Could be improved with the ability to personalize the interface and development style and to edit extension requirements."

More Microsoft Visual Studio cons

"The solution does not need any additional features."

"It has a lot of bugs. It's also not very convenient. The UX/UI is not very user-friendly and not designed to be similar to other applications from Microsoft."

"If they included some training modules, I would give them a ten, because that would make it even more user-friendly."

"SharePoint Designer could improve most in analytics and reporting."

"Adding guest users is a bit difficult on SharePoint."

"It needs to align with PowerApps and Power Automate."

"I would like to be able to use SharePoint Designer without having to buy other third party programs."

"SharePoint Designer is not releasing a new version. Version 2013 was the latest version. Now in 2019, we are still using the biggest version. It doesn't work properly anymore. Sometimes we experience issues, but there is no new version."

More SharePoint Designer [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Visual Studio Team System is expensive, but it is worth the money."

"I am working with the open-source community version, which is free."

"The solution is expensive."

"You have to be a subscriber with a Visual Studio subscription to use the solution and the organization has to purchase a license that's linked to the account."

"Its price could be better."

"Our purchasing department pays a fair price for it."

"Microsoft Visual Studio is not expensive. Its licensing costs are expensive."

"The development license for Microsoft Visual Studio is free. I don't know if there's a licensing cost to it."

More Microsoft Visual Studio pricing and cost advice

"I use Macintosh devices, and because this solution is not available in the Apple Ecosystem I use it because it is cost-effective."

"The cost of the license is based on the size of the user base."

"The price is reasonable."

"Priced per user per month with different plans to choose from."

"The tool's pricing is cheap."

"SharePoint Designer is a free product. It's SharePoint that needs a license, not SharePoint Designer."

"Most of the time, our customer's license from Microsoft includes the cost of SharePoint. However, if you have to buy it then SharePoint is quite expensive."

"There is no licensing cost for Designer—it's free."

More SharePoint Designer [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Performing Arts

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

11%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	36
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	50

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Visual Studio?

The setup cost rates about eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Visual Studio?

I wish Microsoft Visual Studio was available on the Mac for improvement. I just wish it worked on the Mac.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Visual Studio?

My main use case for Microsoft Visual Studio is writing file processing code and backend APIs. A specific example of the kind of file processing or API work I do with Microsoft Visual Studio is pro...

See all answers

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Comparisons

ASP.NET vs Microsoft Visual Studio

Compared 100% of the time

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ASP.NET vs SharePoint Designer [EOL]

Compared 38% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Visual Studio

January 2026

Download Microsoft Visual Studio product report

Buyer's Guide

SharePoint Designer [EOL]

January 2026

Download SharePoint Designer [EOL] 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

SharePoint Designer is the tool of choice for the rapid development of SharePoint applications. Using SharePoint Designer, advanced users and developers alike can rapidly create SharePoint solutions in response to business needs. Advanced users can compose no-code solutions that encompass a variety of common scenarios, from collaborative sites and web publishing to Line-Of-Business data integration, business intelligence solutions, and human workflows, leveraging the building blocks available in SharePoint in an easy to use environment.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Knab, Hamburg Port Authority, Kecioren Municipality, National Instruments, Hamburg Port Authority, Government of Odisha, Kongsberg Maritime AS

Pyrotek Inc., ICA, Deliver Australia, Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Aegon, ABB Switzerland, Ascent Yarns Private Limited, Bakewell Biscuits Pvt Ltd, Hitachi Consulting

Buyer's Guide

.NET Development Services

January 2026

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