PyCharm — The Complete Guide: A Python IDE, and What Stays Free Without Pro
PyCharm, from JetBrains, is an IDE dedicated to Python. Since 2025 it is a single product: the core features are free with no time limit, and advanced features unlock with a Pro subscription. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
PyCharm
JetBrains
Full Python IDE with debugger, testing, virtual environments and Jupyter — the core is free, including commercial use.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Completion and code checking — errors are flagged as you type.
- Refactoring — rename and extract functions safely across the whole project.
- Graphical debugger — breakpoints and inspection of variables and arrays.
- Tests and environments — run pytest and manage virtual environments and packages.
- Jupyter — notebook work as part of the free core.
What is free and what is not
According to JetBrains, the free version may also be used to develop commercial software. Remote notebooks, SQL cells and web framework support are reserved for the paid Pro subscription. Right after installation those features are unlocked for a limited period, after which the program keeps working with the core only. The separate Community edition has been discontinued.
Related tools
For a scientific environment with a variable explorer — Spyder. For Python beginners — Thonny. For a light editor with a Python extension — Visual Studio Code.
Spyder
Spyder project
A MATLAB-style scientific Python environment — editor, variable explorer, console and plots in one window.
Get it from the vendor
Thonny
Thonny (University of Tartu)
A simple Python IDE for beginners, with Python built in and a debugger that shows step by step what the code does.
Get it from the vendor
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft
Free code editor with a huge extension library, built-in terminal, Git and debugger — for Python, scripts, CSV, LaTeX and more.
Get it from the vendor
JupyterLab
Project Jupyter
Interactive computing notebooks — code, results, plots and explanations in one shareable document.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
When a script grows into a calculation tool with several modules and tests, PyCharm brings order. It is heavy on memory, and for a single script a light editor is enough.