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 8.5, while Zend is ranked #5. Microsoft holds a 11.8% mindshare in NDS, compared to Zend’s 4.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zend 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

Zend Studio

Read 1 Zend Studio review

148 Views
148 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Visual Studio

Zend Studio

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

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

Buyer's Guide

.NET Development Services

January 2026

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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

101

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zend Studio

Ranking in .NET Development Services

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the .NET Development Services category, the mindshare of Microsoft Visual Studio is 11.8%, down from 19.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend Studio is 4.5%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

.NET Development Services Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Visual Studio	11.8%
Zend Studio	4.5%
Other	83.7%

.NET Development Services

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

marketacumen

President at Market Acumen, Inc.

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

"Notably, the Enterprise version facilitates seamless integration with Microsoft products, leveraging the ease of connectivity within the Microsoft ecosystem."

"It is a stable solution."

"I like the product's connection with Azure analytics services and the ability to build the model on the cloud."

"The tool is good for interactive testing. It has good integrations and works well for remote services. The product also has features for collaborative work where it allows others to control my screen. It has a good community for every language."

"Microsoft Visual Studio is a robust Microsoft product, very secure, with numerous extensions and plugins available, and it's a cross-platform development tool supporting development for any devices."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Visual Studio is its integration with Azure DevOps."

"The feature I find most valuable is the fact that it's broad-spectrum, so it can be used for a wide variety of technologies."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Visual Studio are the availability of many extensions, an interpreter, a code formator, and helpful dark and light modes."

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."

"Technical support can be slow to respond at times."

"This solution could be integrated with other open-source languages, such as Python and not only C#, .NET or Microsoft development languages."

"There have been some issues but not very often."

"Additional components such as add-ons could be included in the installation packages."

"Microsoft Visual Studio could benefit from a more centralized education system."

"It would be better if it didn't get stuck. Sometimes when we are writing code, we open too many tabs and modules, and it gets stuck."

"There are some features that I have yet to explore and it would be helpful to have more information about what is available and how it works."

More Microsoft Visual Studio cons

"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."

"The debugger often has problems determining where to map files to local projects."

"Stability is sometimes lacking in updates."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We use the free version, and you don't need a license."

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

"I use the open-source version of Microsoft Visual Studio."

"You may have to purchase more hardware utilities like processors or RAM."

"Microsoft Visual Studio is a free product."

"I'm using the platform's open-source version."

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

"Licensing costs are reasonable."

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

Performing Arts

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

No data available

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...

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.NET Development Services

January 2026

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Also Known As

MS Visual Studio

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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 â 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

January 2026

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