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 102 Microsoft Visual Studio reviews

1,596 Views
1,596 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]

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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, Harman, Cognosys Inc Hardened Images and others in .NET Development Services.

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

Buyer's Guide

.NET Development Services

March 2026

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Helped 884,797 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

102

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…

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

"We can write programming code, write our test cases and automate tests in Visual Studio.NET."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Visual Studio are the database connections."

"The code analysis tool is particularly valuable as it eliminates the need for manual code reviews."

"We use the solution to develop applications."

"Code management is a new and convenient feature."

"The main benefits Microsoft Visual Studio provides include streamlining processes, and it's fairly intuitive, where most of what I need to do can be accessed from the dropdown menus."

"Microsoft Visual Studio's most valuable features are usability. It's an integrated development environment, they have a lot of built-in tools that will be helpful for a new developer to quickly develop their applications, such as mobile applications or web applications."

"The solution can scale."

More Microsoft Visual Studio pros

"It helps centralize and store files."

"The most valuable part of the solution is its ability to allow for a high degree of customization."

"The feature I find most valuable, is the workflow of the product."

"It's been stable for me. I haven't encountered any issues with the sites I've developed locally within the organization as long as the license remains valid."

"What I like most about this solution, is that we can use it as a secondary customization platform."

"The Power App is the most valuable feature."

"What I found most valuable in SharePoint Designer is that through it, you can perform a lot of SharePoint functionalities, such as creating SharePoint lists and libraries, as well as customizing pages."

"The product is very user-friendly."

More SharePoint Designer [EOL] pros

Cons

"The best advice I can give to others is to take training because it's so easy to use out of the box. However, you might tend to install it and maybe configure it improperly. You need to have some training."

"Microsoft should add more visualization for analytical studies or research."

"I would like the solution to have a designing default in addition to the current coding default."

"The reporting services are quite limited in terms of features and need to be improved."

"Microsoft Visual Studio can improve by bringing back designers. They used to have designers for architecture charts and diagrams. They were able to do things, such as database design. If they can bring them back, it would be great."

"For Visual Studio, the only challenge I've faced is referencing any package or new concept I'm trying to debug or run."

"You do need to do some training in order to really take advantage of the solution."

"File installations are heavy."

More Microsoft Visual Studio cons

"The solution does not need any additional features."

"SharePoint Designer could improve by making the searching feature better. It is not accurate in some cases, and there are some descriptions that are not clear."

"The solution is not scalable at all."

"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."

"SharePoint Designer's integration with Microsoft tools could be improved."

"The initial setup depends on company specifics. So, it's a bit complex."

"The record management and digital signature sides need improvement because we still need to rely on other third-party tools."

"SharePoint Designer needs filter options for lists and libraries."

More SharePoint Designer [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing costs are reasonable."

"There's a community edition that is absolutely free to use. It's pretty good."

"The solution is expensive."

"The introduction of the Community Version allows some people to use it free of charge."

"The price of Microsoft Visual Studio could be lowered. For a single developer, it is approximately $1,000."

"Its price could be better."

"I am using the free version of Microsoft Visual Studio."

"The solution is a free tool."

More Microsoft Visual Studio pricing and cost advice

"It is a free solution that does not require a license."

"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."

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

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

"The tool is free of cost."

"The cost of the solution is based on multiple factors such as the number of users, and any customization that may be required."

"The tool's pricing is cheap."

"The pricing is fair."

More SharePoint Designer [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Marketing Services Firm

18%

Performing Arts

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Marketing Services Firm

20%

Comms Service Provider

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	36
Midsize Enterprise	20
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?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that since we install it directly from downloads, the cost is minimal. If we have a Microsoft Visual Studio enterprise license, I'm not sure...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Visual Studio?

I think Microsoft Visual Studio is good at the moment. When I think of additional improvements, I would like to have the ability to use Claude in my Microsoft Visual Studio account since I believe ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Visual Studio?

My main use case for Microsoft Visual Studio is for writing code. Since I'm a data engineer, projects I work on using Microsoft Visual Studio are related to data engineering. We have GitHub or Bitb...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Visual Studio

March 2026

Download Microsoft Visual Studio product report

Buyer's Guide

SharePoint Designer [EOL]

February 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

March 2026

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