GNU EmacsvsVS Code

GNU Emacs

• Extremely steep learning curve(9/10)

VS Code

No signals

GNU Emacs

• Emacs Lisp required for serious customization(7/10)
• Configuration eventually breaks(6/10)
• Doom/Spacemacs distro confusion(5/10)

VS Code

No signals

GNU Emacs

• Slow startup and memory issues(6/10)
• Hangs and freezes in large codebases(7/10)

VS Code

• High memory usage and lag with extensions(7/10)
• Struggles with large monorepo projects(7/10)
• Slow search on large projects(5/10)

GNU Emacs

• Emacs Pinky - RSI from Control key usage(7/10)
• Non-standard keybindings(6/10)
• It's an operating system, not just an editor(5/10)

VS Code

• Limited refactoring compared to JetBrains IDEs(6/10)
• No local change history built-in(5/10)
• Git integration inferior to JetBrains(5/10)
• Requires extension hunting for basic features(5/10)

GNU Emacs

• Overwhelming for beginners(6/10)

VS Code

• Closed-source extensions hard to debug(5/10)

GNU Emacs

• Limited workplace collaboration(5/10)

VS Code

• Electron-based means inherent overhead(4/10)

GNU Emacs

• Old codebase and technical debt(5/10)

VS Code

• Extension conflicts and breakage(6/10)

GNU Emacs

No signals

VS Code

• Telemetry sends data to Microsoft by default(6/10)
• Not truly open source in distributed form(4/10)