I currently use VSCode, but I'll likely try out all the options. I haven't used any of these 4 IDEs before March 2026.
I extended the close date from March 18 to March 31 to give each IDE a fair shake.
Update 2026-03-14 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): The market resolves based on which of the 4 listed options the creator prefers most. It does not resolve based on whether any option replaces VSCode entirely.
Update 2026-03-14 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): The creator will evaluate the 4 vibe coding IDEs based on the following criteria:
Ease of use (ease of ramping up)
Model provider support (not gated to specific providers)
Local model inference support (without difficulty)
Cost of Pro plans
Free tier generosity
Prompt adherence (does it stick to prompts without deviating)
Wildcard (unspecified additional factor)
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I probably WILL keep using VSCode to some extent for legacy reasons (I've been writing code for >10 years). Also, I don't use any AI extensions within VSCode and I won't start this week.
The question will resolve based on which among the 4 options I will prefer most, not whether any of them will replace VSCode.
@Hakari Do you think your evaluation of them will hinge on which would be theoretically most acceptable as a replacement, or which might have the most use as a supplement, or some other criterion?
For example, Cursor is just VSC with one sidebar you can't customize. That could score very high for someone who just wants to keep using VSC, or very low for someone who plans to be using VSC anyway.
@marvingardens I will use both of them for separate projects. There's some proprietary stuff where I don't want to transmit the entire codebase out into the world via prompts - those I will keep to traditional VScode.
The vibe code IDEs I'll likely use for brand new projects and less sensitive stuff.
Criteria...hmm:
1) Ease of use (ease of ramping up basically)
2) Does it support all the model providers I want or is it more gated?
3) Does it support locally hosted model inference without me having to bully it?
4) Do the Pro plans cost a lot? Last I checked all the Pro plans were restricted by competition to <=$20/month, so if that's still true then this point is probably moot.
5) Do any of them support generous free tiers?
6) Does it stick to my prompting or does it...deviate from parameters regularly?
7) ? Wildcard.