alt: the word power is reflected in the water
title: AI-powered IDEs

Enhance your coding productivity with the best AI-powered IDEs of 2025. Discover features, pricing, and how these tools can transform your development workflow.

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence has revolutionized the software development landscape, particularly through AI-powered Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). These advanced editors act as intelligent assistants, streamlining coding processes, reducing errors, and accelerating project timelines. In this article, we explore the top 7 AI-powered IDEs of 2025 that are set to elevate your development workflow. Additionally, we introduce Shotgun, an innovative AI-driven tool designed to complement these IDEs by generating comprehensive technical specifications swiftly and accurately.

1. Cursor

Cursor stands out with its clean interface and robust AI integration, making it a favorite among developers who value efficiency. As a specialized fork of Visual Studio Code, Cursor optimizes AI-assisted development workflows, offering features like multi-file creation, automated bug identification, and terminal autocompletion.

Key Features:
– Three modes: Agent, Ask, Manual
– Chat interface with code understanding
– Automated bug detection

Pricing:
– Pro: $20/month
– Business: $40/user/month

Cursor is ideal for serious development work requiring polished AI assistance and comprehensive project-wide context understanding.

2. Windsurf (formerly Codeium): The Agentic IDE

Windsurf has evolved into an “agentic” IDE, significantly enhancing AI-assisted development. Built on Visual Studio Code’s architecture, Windsurf integrates an AI agent named “Cascade” that actively participates in coding tasks, running scripts, checking outputs, and automating workflows.

Key Features:
– Built-in MCP server support
– Live previews and deployment tools
– AI Flows for synchronized workflows

Pricing:
– Free: 2-week pro access
– Pro: $15/month

Windsurf is perfect for developers seeking AI that anticipates needs and automates testing and fixes.

3. Visual Studio Code + GitHub Copilot: The OG Combo

The combination of Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot remains a cornerstone in AI-enhanced development. This integration offers seamless AI assistance within a familiar environment, supporting most programming languages and providing powerful code generation capabilities.

Key Features:
– Autocompletes entire functions
– Code comments transform into code generation magic
– Chat integration for enhanced interaction

Pricing:
– Free for students and open-source contributors
– Copilot Individual: $10/month
– Copilot Business: $19/user/month

This duo is ideal for developers wanting AI pair programming integrated into popular IDEs with chat and CLI support.

4. Zed

Zed brings a minimalist design and exceptional performance to the table. Developed using Rust, Zed ensures memory safety and concurrency, providing a stable and fast development experience. Its multiplayer editing feature fosters real-time collaboration, while the built-in terminal and AI assistant enhance productivity.

Key Features:
– Blazing-fast performance
– Multiplayer editing
– Built-in terminal
– Offline-first with local LLM models via Ollama

Pricing:
– Currently free (paid APIs for premium models)

Zed is tailored for collaborative coding with real-time AI assistance and local model use.

5. PearAI

PearAI differentiates itself through a collaborative intelligence framework, acting as an intellectual partner in the development process. It supports deep project context awareness, enabling meaningful participation in problem-solving and architectural discussions.

Key Features:
– Clean, browser-based IDE
– AI copilot with deep project context
– Supports chat, write, and refactor modes
– Markdown and Jupyter support

Pricing:
– Free availability
– Pro: $15/month

PearAI is suitable for enterprises prioritizing data privacy and onboarding junior developers.

6. Trea

Trea excels with its research-oriented workflow, functioning as an analytical partner that processes complex development challenges. Its distraction-free interface and robust AI assistant make it a sophisticated tool for in-depth coding tasks.

Key Features:
– Beautiful, distraction-free interface
– AI assistant for explaining, refactoring, and reviewing PRs
– Markdown and code editing
– Multi-file support

Pricing:
– Free to try

Trea is perfect for developers seeking a powerful AI IDE with debugging and real-time web app preview capabilities.

7. ChatGPT

While not a traditional IDE, ChatGPT has evolved into a versatile programming assistant. Its Canvas feature offers an interactive environment for prototyping and testing solutions, making it a valuable tool for rapid development and learning.

Key Features:
– Web browsing for real-time documentation
– Vision capabilities for analyzing code screenshots
– Canvas for debugging and code transformation

Pricing:
– Free tier
– Plus: $20/month
– Pro: $200/month

ChatGPT is ideal for rapid prototyping, learning, and small-to-medium coding tasks.

Enhancing AI-Powered IDEs with Shotgun

While AI-powered IDEs significantly boost development efficiency, clear and comprehensive technical specifications are crucial for maximizing their potential. This is where Shotgun steps in. Shotgun is an AI-driven tool designed to transform the coding process by swiftly generating detailed technical specifications, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of AI-powered IDEs.

Shotgun’s Key Features:
– Immediate Generation of Technical Specifications: Quickly produce clear, actionable specs based on defined parameters.
– Local-First Operation: All AI processes occur on the user’s machine, ensuring maximum security and performance.
– Integration with Multiple AI Models: Compatible with tools like Claude Code and Cursor, enhancing overall workflow efficiency.

By integrating Shotgun into your development process, you can ensure that your AI-powered IDEs operate with precise and well-defined specifications, reducing the need for backtracking and clarifications. This synergy allows developers to focus more on innovation and less on administrative tasks.

Conclusion

AI-powered IDEs are transforming the software development landscape, offering unprecedented levels of efficiency and assistance. From Cursor’s robust integration to Windsurf’s agentic assistance, these tools cater to a variety of developer needs. However, to fully leverage the capabilities of these advanced editors, comprehensive technical specifications are essential. Shotgun bridges this gap by providing swift and accurate technical specification generation, ensuring that your development workflow remains streamlined and productive.

Ready to elevate your development workflow with cutting-edge AI tools? Discover Shotgun today!