Visual Studio Code vs Raycast
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Visual Studio Code is the better app overall, scoring 9.2 to 8.8. Visual Studio Code wins on 2 of the 5 scores, Raycast on 3.
Developers of any level who want one free editor for every language
Mac power users and developers who live on the keyboard
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Visual Studio Code | Raycast |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Category rank | #1 of 8 | #4 of 8 |
| Developer | Microsoft | Raycast Technologies |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | ✓ | — |
Strengths and weaknesses
Visual Studio Code
- Free, with a massive extension ecosystem
- Strong debugging, Git and remote development tools
- Runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and in the browser
- Many extensions can slow startup and eat memory
- Telemetry is on by default
Visual Studio Code is the default editor for a reason. It is free, quick enough for big projects, and its extension marketplace covers almost every language, framework and tool. Git, debugging, remote development and dev containers are built in, and GitHub Copilot adds AI chat and agent mode. The trade-offs: heavy extension use slows it down, and telemetry is on by default. For most developers, start here.
Full Visual Studio Code review
Raycast
- Much faster and more capable than Spotlight
- Generous free tier covers most daily use
- Extension store connects many developer tools
- AI and cloud sync require a Pro plan
- Mac version is well ahead of other platforms
Raycast replaces Spotlight with a launcher that does far more: clipboard history, window management, snippets, quick calculations and a large store of community extensions for tools like GitHub, Linear and Jira. It is fast and keyboard-driven, and most of it is free. Raycast Pro adds AI chat with models from several labs, cloud sync and more. It is built for the Mac first, and other platforms are less mature.
Full Raycast review
