The best Python IDE includes not only a standard source code editor for developing apps. It also provides a complete toolset for testing, debugging, refactoring, as well as local build automation in a single intuitive graphical user interface. Some integrated development environments come with built-in compilers, interpreters and a debugger for testing other programs.
Top 10 Best Python IDEs
- PyCharm - The best Python IDE
- Spyder - Best free open-source IDE for the majority of platforms/browsers
- IDLE - Cross-platform open-source IDE shipped with Python by default
- PyDev - Best cross-platform open-source plug-in for several frameworks
- Wing - Best cross-platform IDE for different skill levels
- Atom IDE - The most extensible open-source IDE with thousands of packages and plugins
- Thonny - Simple development environment for beginners
- Sublime Text - The best text editor for Python
- Visual Studio Code - Streamlined code editor with support for development operations
- Jupyter - Best notebook for native open-source and cross-platform IDE
Whichever IDE you choose, you will need a code editor that highlights syntax, collapses code, matches parentheses, and makes it easier to write AutoFill. The integrated compiler lets you run code from a single environment without switching from the editor to the terminal, saving the project and opening it later in its original state.
The debugger offers step-by-step execution and uses breakpoints for partial execution. The testing module will run your code in all scenarios.
1. PyCharm – Our Choice
- Intelligent code assistance
- Anaconda packages: NumPy, SciPy, MatPlotlib
- Customizable themes, color schemes, key bindings
- Open-source or full-featured pro versions
- Active support community
- Difficult to set up, resource-intensive
Verdict: The cross-platform IDE contains an API for writing your own plugins, particularly if you have multiple interacting scripts. PyCharm performs quick fixes, saving time and helping developers write neat, easy-to-maintain code. It has a robust debugger with a graphical interface, a ssh terminal, a version control system, integration with Git, Mercurial, IPython Notebook, the Python console and a stack of scientific libraries.
PyCharm offers all the features of the best IDE for Python: debugging, integrated module tester, profiling, deployment, remote development, access and tools for PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server. It works well with web development and Data Science tasks.
2. Spyder
- The function of viewing object documents
- Building histograms, time series
- Changing the date/array
- Horizontal/vertical division
- Support of the scientific community, comprehensive documentation
- Lacks an option to disable warnings
- Execution/optional dependencies
Verdict: This cross-platform lightweight open-source compiler (Scientific Python Development IDE) is used by data processing specialists who integrate with the packages and libraries of the scientific environment, such as SciPy, Matplotlib, NumPy, Pandas, Cython and SymPy.
Spyder works in a multilingual editor with syntax highlighting, automatic code completion, testing, static code analysis and variable research. Profiler recursively determines the execution time and number of calls for each function and method.
Spyder is also notable for the Help panel connected with libraries/modules, file manager, history log, introspection console, working with multiple projects, as in project management software. It scales with the help of plugins and APIs, using PYQT as an extension.
3. IDLE
- Search in any window, multiple files
- Replacement operator in the Windows
- Interactive interpreter with software animation (stepping)
- Integrated debugger with visible call stack
- Ability to create, modify, execute scripts
- No ability to manage large projects
- No Linux default in the distribution
- Basic, no line numbering
Verdict: IDLE (integrated development and learning environment) is a basic open-source and cross-platform environment that comes by default and helps you learn Python. It is developed exclusively in Python using the lightweight Tkinter GUI Toolkit. You can create simple projects: automation of the office or games via a web browser, applications for clearing web pages.
It consists of a multi-window text editor with syntax highlighting, call prompts, AutoFill, smart indents, as well as an integrated robust debugger with step-by-step code execution, continuous breakpoints, global view, local spaces. The debugger shows the call stack along with the state of local and global variables.
4. PyDev
- Decent outline view, marks occurrences, parser errors
- Interactive sensing in paused mode
- Interactive console shortcuts, tab settings
- Vast array of plug-ins
- Ensures the Eclipse integrity
- Plugins are unstable sometimes
- Performance decreases if the app is large
- Complex and non-rich UI
Verdict: PyDev is a robust Python interpreter and linear-sized external plugin for Eclipse. This IDE is rather popular with Java developers and supports a vast array of languages (C/C++ and PHP) through plugins. PyDev is the best Python IDE since it is mainly focused on code analysis, debugging the graphic template and code refactoring. It can be integrated with the Django, PyLint, Unittest web framework.
PyDev uses advanced output methods to provide such elements as a remote debugger, interactive console along with automatic import, auto-completion, collapse, syntax highlighting, content assistants, code analysis and coverage, token browser for code testing, Find and Go to definition functions. It even lets you create a project for the Google App Engine (GAE).
5. Wing
- Strong debugging, customization and extension capabilities
- Time to transfer the app after the trial expires
- The source browser shows all variables in the script
- Exception handling tab, retrieve function
- Decent Git version control system
- No dark theme
- The commercial version isn’t cheap
Verdict: This multi-functional lightweight cross-platform environment for three levels of programming comes with a powerful debugger. It speeds up development with an intelligent editor and code completion, error detection, line editing, quality analysis, as well as easy code navigation to the definition. This lets you find use cases and symbols, edit the symbol index and perform an efficient search across multiple files.
You can check the debug data and try to repair errors in interactive mode without restarting the app. Wing supports development through unit testing using the Unittest, Pytest, Nose, Doctest frameworks, as well as Django and Flask testing environments.
6. Atom IDE
- Smart AutoFill functions, Palette
- Multi-language support, syntax highlighting
- Customizable clean UI, panels and themes
- Comprehensive package manager for plugins
- Not very suitable for large files
- Makes some changes before use
Verdict: This open-source cross-platform multilingual (Rust, Go) IDE is based on the standard Electron framework using HTML, JavaScript, CSS and Node.js web technologies. It is supported by GitHub, a leader in social source hosting. Atom has a comprehensive package manager, so it is a good idea for programmers to find the atom-python-run, Python Black, python-indent, atom-python-test, autocomplete-python, Python Tools, linter-flake8, python-debugger script package.
Atom is often called the best Python IDE due to a fully customizable interface and basic functions, syntax highlighting and AutoFill. Project view is useful when you start working on larger projects. You can freely split the interface panels as you like for multi-panel file access.
7. Thonny
- Intuitive GUI adapted for novices
- Takes care of PATH, problems with other interpreters
- Changes the link explanation mode
- Explains the scopes by highlighting the spots
- Doesn’t require a large amount of money
- UI is limited to editing, doesn’t support templates
- Installation is inconvenient with pip packages
- Not for experts, only basic functions
Verdict: It comes with the Pythonista scripting environment for novices. A well-designed pedagogical course is developed at the University of Tartu – you can download it for free in the Bitbucket repository. Thonny is included as standard in new versions of Raspbian and is good for Raspberry Pi projects and the use of a virtual environment.
Thonny offers several full-fledged development features. It automatically detects syntax errors and completes code, as well as internally evaluates written expressions step-by-step. A robust debugger lets you see how code and shell commands entered directly from the keyboard affect the state of variables. This Python editor boasts support for expression evaluation and a good representation of function calls: a new window opens with a separate table of local variables, as well as a code pointer.
8. Sublime Text
- Full-screen, multi-screen, parallel editing
- UTF8 specifications in .gitignore files
- Displays folder/file icons for Git status
- Concise UI, text isn’t hidden by windows
- No strong GIT plugin, difficult to modify via JSON
- License purchase pop-up window
- Many shortcuts, a complex package manager
Verdict: Written by a Google engineer as a Vim extension, Sublime Text has become a universal cross-platform text editor with support for many programming/markup languages (44). It is the best Python editor due to a robust API and a package manager for extending functions. Sublime Text offers basic integrated Python support with syntax highlighting and AutoFill. To create a full-fledged environment, you can install an ecosystem of debugging, code analysis and scientific development packages (Django, Flask).
There are strong multiple selections for simultaneous or separate code editing, as well as the ability to instantly switch between projects. The Palette (accepts text input), sorting, syntax changes and indentation commands are implemented. The GOTO anything function for opening even large files with just a few mouse clicks lets you navigate through words or symbols.
9. Visual Studio Code
- Multi-language support, multiple windows
- Editing code for environments/Jupyter notebooks
- “Zen mode” hides the interface
- Regularly updated
- Customizable themes
- Hard to search for plug-ins
- Long processing of large files, startup time
Verdict: VS Code is an extensible cross-platform open-source code editor developed as a Microsoft project under the MIT license on GitHub. It is designed on the Electron architecture, a platform for deploying Node JS applications on the Blink browser engine. You can add a new language to the environment by installing the appropriate plugin. In the settings panel, each section expands the corresponding highlighted section of the settings.json file.
VS Code has an integrated terminal for running server commands and its own debugging console within the editor. It supports linting (highlights problems) and unit testing in the Unittest, Pytest and Nose frameworks. VS Code is the best free Python IDE since it offers an analysis of potential errors and intelligent completion of IntelliSense code based on function definitions, imported modules and variable types.
10. Jupyter
- Combines code, text and images
- Scientific libraries MatPlotLib, NumPy, Pandas, plotly.js
- Easy sharing via email, Dropbox
- Interactive output, works with bulk data
- Runs from local/cloud-based computers
- Not the best Python IDE for beginners
Verdict: The simple interactive development environment of Project Jupyter works not only as an open-source cross-platform web application for projects in the field of AI, ML and DL technologies for multilingual data analysis. This server-client structure lets you create, analyze and manage documents in the form of Jupyter Notebook, a tool for analyzing, sharing and presenting information.
Jupyter encodes abbreviations in three languages (Julia, Python and R). It comes with an HTML markup editor and LaTeX. You can run Python and visualize the raw audio signal using the graph library in a single notebook. Jupyter offers conversion from .ipynb format to PDF and HTML files along with the ability to export as a .py file for creating powerful presentations on laptops for programming. It supports numerical modeling, data clearing, visualization of machine learning and statistical modeling data, starting and stopping servers, opening folders and files.
