CLion vs Xdebug
CLion
jetbrains.com
Xdebug
xdebug.orgSide by side
| Figure | CLion | Xdebug |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $10.90/mo | £16.67/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Spec score · Debugging Software | 9.4 (#1) | 7.3 (#22) |
| Code coverage | Coverage runs use llvm-cov or gcov and work with CMake applications plus Boost.Test, Google Test and Catch configurations. | Xdebug provides code coverage analysis to show which parts of a codebase execute when running PHPUnit tests. |
| Support | The non-commercial plan provides public forums and a bug tracker; the commercial plan also offers private tickets. | Community support uses Stack Overflow with low issue priority, while paid Pro and Business tiers offer email technical support and medium or high issue priority. |
Plans
CLion
- CLion Non-CommercialFree
- CLion Commercial$10.90 a month
- CLion Commercial — Individual$10.90 a month
- All Products Pack$29.90 a month
In their own words
CLion
CLion is a cross-platform IDE for C and C++ development, available for Linux, macOS and Windows. Its editor provides context-aware completion, code analysis, navigation and automated refactoring. Projects can use CMake, Makefile, Bazel, Meson or compilation databases. Debugging includes GDB and LLDB, variable inspection, memory and disassembly views, and core dump debugging. Remote workflows include a thin IDE client, full remote mode, Docker containers, WSL toolchains and remote debugging. For embedded development, CLion supports GCC ARM, IAR and custom toolchains, on-chip debugging, PlatformIO, STM32CubeMX, Zephyr and FreeRTOS. Testing support covers Google Test, Boost.Test, Doctest and Catch with a built-in runner. The IDE also integrates version control systems and supports CMake, Python, JavaScript, XML, HTML and Markdown, with other languages available through plugins. The non-commercial plan costs nothing and is for non-commercial use. Commercial development requires a subscription; CLion Commercial — Individual costs $10.90 a month and includes a free 30-day trial.
Xdebug
Xdebug is a PHP extension that adds debugging and analysis features to PHP development. Its step debugger lets developers move through code interactively to examine control flow and data structures. It improves var_dump() output and adds stack traces for notices, warnings, errors, and exceptions. Function tracing can record calls, arguments, and invocation locations, with optional variable assignments and return values. The profiler reports execution and memory use in Cachegrind-compatible files, while code coverage can show what runs during PHPUnit tests. Xdebug communicates with IDEs through DBGp, a protocol supported by nearly every PHP IDE, including Visual Studio Code and PhpStorm. Installation instructions cover Linux, macOS, Windows, and Unix-like systems, with compatibility information organized by PHP version. Xdebug itself is free. Paid Pro costs £200 per year for one developer; Business costs £1,000 per year for 2–20 developers. Both paid tiers include email technical support. Xdebug Cloud is described as a relay for situations where a network or firewall blocks direct debugger connections.