IAR Embedded Workbench vs Visual Micro
IAR Embedded Workbench
iar.comVisual Micro
visualmicro.comSide by side
| Figure | IAR Embedded Workbench | Visual Micro |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $1.58/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Spec score · Embedded Development IDEs | 8.4 (#3) | 7.4 (#16) |
| Debugging | The C-SPY debugger provides real-time trace, code coverage, function profiling, and RTOS awareness. | Its serial debugger supports boards with a serial interface and includes charting, performance statistics, and break and trace points. |
| Headquarters | Uppsala, Sweden | Birmingham, UK |
| Support | IAR provides customer portal access to technical support, technical articles, and customer support, plus self-service online training through IAR Academy. | Annual licenses include forum support and license assistance for their 12-month term; perpetual licenses include support according to license type and can purchase continued support. |
Plans
IAR Embedded Workbench
- IAR Embedded Workbench evaluationFree
- IAR Platform subscriptionPriced on request
Visual Micro
- Non-Profit/Hobby — 1 machine, 1 year$19 a year
- Non-Profit/Hobby — 1 machine, perpetual$64.99, paid once
- Commercial — 1 machine, 1 year$75 a year
- Commercial — 1 machine, perpetual$250, paid once
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.
Visual Micro
Visual Micro has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.