IAR Embedded Workbench vs Infineon ModusToolbox
IAR Embedded Workbench
iar.comInfineon ModusToolbox
infineon.comSide by side
| Figure | IAR Embedded Workbench | Infineon ModusToolbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Embedded Systems Toolchains | 8.5 (#4) | 8.4 (#5) |
| Spec score · C++ IDEs | 8.3 (#6) | 8.2 (#8) |
| Founded | 1983 | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Uppsala, Sweden | Neubiberg, Germany |
| IDE integrations | IAR provides integrations for Eclipse and Visual Studio Code, including project building and debugging workflows. | ModusToolbox supports embedded application development in Eclipse IDE, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, IAR Embedded Workbench, and Arm MDK with µVision IDE. |
| Purpose | IAR Embedded Workbench is an embedded development toolchain with an optimized compiler, debugger, and analysis tools. | ModusToolbox is a development ecosystem for building embedded applications for Infineon microcontrollers and devices. |
| Support | IAR provides customer portal access to technical support, technical articles, and customer support, plus self-service online training through IAR Academy. | The product page directs users to Infineon’s Developer Community to find answers, ask questions, and connect with engineers. |
Plans
IAR Embedded Workbench
- IAR Embedded Workbench evaluationFree
- IAR Platform subscriptionPriced on request
In their own words
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.
Infineon ModusToolbox
Infineon ModusToolbox is a free development ecosystem for building embedded applications with Infineon microcontrollers. Its desktop applications support software component management, peripheral and middleware configuration, compilation, programming, and debugging. Supported device families listed include PSOC, TRAVEO T2G, XMC, AIROC Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and USB-C Power Delivery microcontrollers. The installation package supports Windows, Linux, and macOS. A GNU make build system supports workflows through desktop IDEs, a command-line terminal, or continuous integration, with named IDE options including Eclipse, Visual Studio Code, IAR Embedded Workbench, and Arm MDK with µVision. Embedded assets include board support packages, drivers, middleware, and code examples, with runtime software provided through GitHub-hosted repositories. Board targets can be customized or retargeted. ModusToolbox for Security lists Trusted Firmware-M, cryptographic libraries, secure boot, firmware updates, and secure communication protocols. Infineon also lists training videos, documentation, code examples, and libraries as development resources.