Arduino IDE vs IAR Embedded Workbench
Arduino IDE
arduino.cc
IAR Embedded Workbench
iar.comSide by side
| Figure | Arduino IDE | IAR Embedded Workbench |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · IDE Software | 9.1 (#3) | 8.5 (#10) |
| Spec score · Embedded Development IDEs | 9.1 (#2) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Company founded | LinkedIn lists Arduino as founded in 2005. | LinkedIn lists IAR as founded in 1983. |
| Company size | LinkedIn lists Arduino at 51–200 employees. | LinkedIn classifies IAR in the 201–500 employee range, while IAR’s corporate page states more than 220 employees in 13 offices. |
| Debugger | IDE 2 provides an integrated live debugger; debugging became stable in release 2.3. | C-SPY provides real-time trace, code coverage, profiling and RTOS-aware debugging. |
| Documentation depth | Official IDE documentation includes getting started, installation, uploads, autocomplete, formatting, debugging, certificates, libraries, security, serial tools and shared sketches. | Published guides include IDE project management, C/C++ development, assembler, C-SPY debugging, C-STAT, migration, licensing and debugger probes. |
| Extensibility | Arduino IDE 2 debugging uses an open framework that lets core maintainers add debugger support for boards. | The IDE supports custom build tools, external tools, custom argument variables and adding IAR Visual State. |
| Headquarters | Arduino's privacy policy gives its registered office as Via Andrea Appiani 25, Monza, Italy. | Uppsala, Sweden |
| Purpose | Arduino provides software for creating projects with electronic devices that interact with the physical world. | IAR Embedded Workbench is an embedded development toolchain with an optimized compiler, debugger, and analysis tools. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 144 reviews | The G2 discussion listing shows 0 ratings for IAR Embedded Workbench. |
| Rating on Software Advice | 4.6 out of 5 from 51 reviews | 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review. |
| Support | Arduino links to documentation, a Help Center, and a support request channel. | IAR provides customer portal access to technical support, technical articles, and customer support, plus self-service online training through IAR Academy. |
| System requirements | IDE 2 requires 64-bit Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer, or a 64-bit Linux system. | The referenced Arm release requires a 64-bit Pentium-compatible Windows 7, 10 or 11 PC, at least 4 GB RAM and 10 GB free disk space. |
| What it does | Arduino IDE is a desktop environment for writing, compiling, debugging and uploading sketches to Arduino-compatible boards. | IAR Embedded Workbench combines an IDE, optimizing C/C++ compiler, assembler, linker, libraries, project manager and C-SPY debugger for embedded software development. |
Plans
IAR Embedded Workbench
- IAR Embedded Workbench evaluationFree
- IAR Platform subscriptionPriced on request
In their own words
Arduino IDE
Arduino IDE is a free desktop environment for building projects with electronic devices that interact with the physical world. The software page lists version 2.3.10, with downloads for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its editor provides autocompletion, code navigation, and a live debugger; documentation also covers debugging, the Serial Monitor, and the Serial Plotter. Arduino CLI offers a text-based environment to build, compile, and upload sketches, and manage libraries and boards. Documentation describes synchronizing sketches between IDE 2 and Arduino Cloud through a Remote Sketchbook. Arduino IDE 2.0 is open source, with source code hosted on GitHub. Listed targets include Arduino AVR, megaAVR, SAMD, SAM, Mbed OS Nano, and Mbed OS Portenta. Nightly builds preview incoming releases with updated features and bug fixes. Arduino describes its ecosystem as serving students, makers, and professional developers. The software page states that downloads are provided as is and disclaims express and implied warranties.
IAR Embedded Workbench
IAR Embedded Workbench is an embedded development toolchain with an IDE, optimizing compiler, linker, assembler, and debugger. It supports over 20 architectures, including Arm, RISC-V, 8051, MSP430, AVR, and several Renesas families. The C-SPY debugger provides real-time trace, code coverage, function profiling, and RTOS awareness. IAR C-STAT offers static analysis; IAR C-RUN detects runtime errors and is available for Arm and RX. The toolchain works with VS Code and Eclipse, supports CMake builds, and can integrate with CI/CD pipelines. Supported debug probes include I-jet, I-jet Trace, J-Link, PE Micro, and ST-LINK. Built-in plugins provide RTOS awareness for systems including PX5 RTOS and Zephyr RTOS. The IDE runs natively on Linux and Windows. A 14-day evaluation is available for non-commercial use, but excludes runtime library source code, C-STAT, and MISRA C support and includes limited technical support. Paid subscription pricing is available by request; the subscription combines named-user licenses and build capacity for automated builds and CI/CD.