Arduino IDE vs STM32CubeIDE
Arduino IDE
arduino.ccSTM32CubeIDE
st.comSide by side
| Figure | Arduino IDE | STM32CubeIDE |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · IDE Software | 9.1 (#3) | 7.4 (#37) |
| Spec score · Embedded Development IDEs | 9.1 (#2) | 7.3 (#19) |
| Spec score · IoT Development Tools | 9.1 (#2) | 7.4 (#9) |
| License | Arduino IDE 2 source code and executable distributions are licensed under GNU AGPLv3; bundled third-party components use compatible GPLv2, MIT and BSD-3 licenses. | ST says STM32CubeIDE is free to download and use, while the application itself is proprietary software from ST. |
| Purpose | Arduino provides software for creating projects with electronic devices that interact with the physical world. | STM32CubeIDE is a C/C++ development environment for editing, compiling, and debugging STM32 code. |
Plans
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.
STM32CubeIDE
STM32CubeIDE is a C/C++ environment for editing, compiling, and debugging code for STM32 devices. ST offers an Eclipse-based IDE and a Visual Studio Code variant, and identifies the VS Code version as its primary IDE focus. The Eclipse version supports all STM32 microcontrollers and microprocessors; the VS Code version supports all STM32 microcontrollers. Both are listed for 64-bit Windows, Linux, and macOS.
The IDE includes a C/C++ editor and supports GCC and Clang toolchains. Debugging features include breakpoints, CPU core registers, memory and live-data views, SFR registers, RTOS debugging, and fault analysis. Supported probes include ST-LINK and SEGGER J-Link. ST says the IDE is commonly used with STM32CubeMX and is compatible with TouchGFX Designer, STM32Cube AI Studio, and motor control workbench. The VS Code variant uses CMake and Ninja. Telemetry is optional and can be disabled in Visual Studio Code settings. It is free to download and use, though the ST application is proprietary.