Stackblitz alternatives

Let’s be honest, setting up a local development environment can be a real drag. You’re constantly wrestling with package versions, tweaking configurations, and then you have to do it all over again on a new machine. It’s easy to see why cloud-based IDEs like Stackblitz took off, giving us instant, browser-based environments that just work.

But the world of dev tools moves fast. Coding is just one piece of the puzzle. We also need to work together smoothly, find answers without digging for hours, and actually stay in the zone. Is your current toolset helping or hurting? This guide looks at the top direct Stackblitz alternatives for coding and also introduces a different kind of tool made to solve that other big developer headache: getting unstuck.

What are cloud IDEs and the top Stackblitz alternatives?

A cloud IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is basically a tool that lets you write, run, and debug your code straight from a web browser. Imagine your entire dev setup living at a URL, with zero installation needed. Stackblitz was a pioneer here with its WebContainer technology, which cleverly runs a Node.js environment right inside your browser, making it incredibly fast and secure.

These platforms are all about getting rid of the classic "well, it works on my machine" problem. They offer a consistent, shareable space that’s perfect for whipping up prototypes, pair programming, and getting new team members up to speed without a week of setup. By hooking directly into repositories on GitHub, they make the whole code-to-commit process a lot smoother.

How we picked the best Stackblitz alternatives

To find the most useful Stackblitz alternatives, we thought about what modern development teams actually care about. We weren't just looking for clones; we wanted tools that are pushing things forward.

Here’s what we looked for:

• Ease of use: How fast can you get a project up and running, either from scratch or a Git repo?

• Collaboration features: Does it let you do real-time pair programming, leave comments, and share your work easily?

• Performance: Does the environment boot up quickly? Is it snappy or sluggish?

• Framework and language support: How well does it play with popular tools like React, Next.js, or Python?

• AI capabilities: Does it have any smart features like AI code completion or a chat function to speed things up?

• Pricing: Is there a decent free tier? Is the pricing clear and predictable?

A quick comparison of the top Stackblitz alternatives

Here’s a quick rundown of how our top picks compare.

Tool	Best For	AI Capabilities	Pricing Model
CodeSandbox	Collaborative frontend development & sandboxing	Built-in code completion	Freemium
Replit	Full-stack development & AI-powered learning	Integrated AI code completion & chat	Freemium
CodePen	Frontend snippets & social code sharing	None	Freemium
GitHub Codespaces	Deep integration with the GitHub ecosystem	GitHub Copilot integration	Pay-as-you-go
Gitpod	Automated, ephemeral development environments	AI Agents (as Ona)	Freemium
Cursor	AI-native coding & refactoring	Deeply integrated AI chat & editing	Freemium
eesel AI	Instant answers for internal developer questions	AI chat over internal knowledge bases	Subscription

The 7 best Stackblitz alternatives in 2025

Alright, let's get into the details of each alternative. We’ll cover what makes each one stand out, the good, the bad, and who it’s really for.

1. CodeSandbox

CodeSandbox is a major player in the online editor world, especially for teams that live and breathe React. It's well-known for its slick npm integration, live collaboration, and ability to handle private packages. CodeSandbox recently teamed up with Together AI to focus more on providing sandboxes for running code in AI agents, but it’s still a fantastic option for quickly prototyping and sharing frontend components.

• Why we included it: Its sharp focus on frontend sandboxing and component work makes it a very direct competitor for what most people use StackBlitz for.

• Pros:

  • Great support for frontend frameworks and sandboxing.

  • Solid real-time collaboration tools.

  • Imports directly from GitHub repositories.

• Cons:

  • Can feel a bit slower than Stackblitz on bigger projects.

  • The new pricing seems to be aimed more at programmatic SDK use than for individual developers using the editor.

• Pricing: CodeSandbox's pricing has shifted to focus on its SDK. The Build plan is free and gives you 5 members and 40 hours of VM credits a month. The Scale plan starts at $170/month per workspace for more members and credits.

2. Replit

Replit tries to be the one place you go for coding, collaborating, and deploying, and it does a surprisingly good job. It supports over 50 languages and packs in features like built-in databases, hosting, and a pretty capable AI coding assistant. It's a big hit in the education world but is definitely powerful enough for professional full-stack work.

• Why we included it: Replit’s huge language support and built-in AI make it one of the most flexible Stackblitz alternatives out there.

• Pros:

  • Supports a massive range of languages, including backend and data science tools.

  • The integrated AI is available even on the free plan.

  • The "Bounties" feature is a neat way to earn money for completing coding tasks.

• Cons:

  • The interface can feel a bit crowded with all the features it offers.

  • Performance can be a bit hit-or-miss depending on how complex your environment is.

• Pricing: Replit has a free Starter plan with some resource limits. The Replit Core plan is $20/month (billed annually) for full AI access and more power. The Teams plan runs $35/user/month (billed annually) and adds things like centralized billing.

3. CodePen

CodePen is more like a social playground for frontend developers and designers. It's the place to go for creating and sharing "Pens," which are little snippets of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. While it's not a full IDE for building large applications, nothing beats it for quickly testing an idea, creating a demo, or getting inspired by what others are building.

• Why we included it: For frontend devs who just need to work on UI snippets and demos, CodePen is often a simpler and better tool than a full-blown cloud IDE.

• Pros:

  • Super simple and fast for whipping up frontend code.

  • A large, active community means tons of inspiration and learning opportunities.

  • Perfect for embedding live code examples in blog posts or documentation.

• Cons:

  • Not built for multi-file projects or any backend work.

  • No built-in version control like Git.

• Pricing: CodePen is free for any public Pens. If you need private Pens and other features, Pro plans start with the Starter plan at $8/month (billed annually).

4. GitHub Codespaces

Coming straight from the center of the developer universe, GitHub Codespaces offers a complete dev environment right in the cloud. Because it's baked into GitHub, you can spin up a pre-configured environment for any repository with just one click. It uses VS Code as its editor, so it feels immediately familiar to millions of us.

• Why we included it: The native GitHub integration makes it an incredibly smooth and powerful option for any team already living in that ecosystem.

• Pros:

  • Flawless integration with GitHub repos, pull requests, and actions.

  • Uses the familiar VS Code interface you already know.

  • You can configure it with "devcontainer.json" files to create standard environments for your whole team.

• Cons:

  • The pay-as-you-go model can get more expensive than some competitors.

  • There's no forever-free tier for heavy users, but you do get a decent amount of free hours each month.

• Pricing: Codespaces has a pay-as-you-go model based on how much compute time and storage you use. Personal accounts get a nice free monthly quota (like 60 hours on a 2-core machine). After that, you pay for what you use.

5. Gitpod

Gitpod (which is evolving into a new product called Ona) is all about the idea of "developer environment as code." It automates the whole process of creating fresh, ready-to-code environments for any Git branch. The goal is to make environment setup a thing of the past, so you can start coding or reviewing a PR instantly. It works with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket and is shifting to have a bigger focus on AI agents.

• Why we included it: Gitpod’s focus on automation and disposable workspaces is a unique approach that can really boost productivity for bigger teams.

• Pros:

  • Completely automates the setup of new dev environments.

  • Pre-builds workspaces in the background so they load faster.

  • Integrates with more than just GitHub.

• Cons:

  • The idea of a new, temporary workspace for every task can take some getting used to.

  • The new Ona pricing is based on "Ona Compute Units," which is more complicated than a simple monthly fee.

• Pricing: The Ona pricing model has a Free plan with 40 Ona Compute Units (OCUs) to get you started. The Core plan begins at $20/month, which gives you a monthly pool of OCUs that are used for both environment runtime and AI conversations.

6. Cursor

Cursor is a fork of VS Code that has been rebuilt with AI at its core. It’s more than just an autocomplete tool; it gives you a chat that understands your entire codebase, AI-powered refactoring, and can even help generate documentation. If you think AI is the future of programming, Cursor offers a pretty compelling look at what that future might be.

• Why we included it: It represents the next wave of dev tools where AI isn't just a plugin but the main event, making it a forward-thinking Stackblitz alternative.

• Pros:

  • Deeply integrated AI features that are aware of your code's context.

  • Familiar VS Code feel, so the learning curve is low.

  • Includes tools to help you get up to speed on a new codebase quickly.

• Cons:

  • It's still a relatively new tool, and features are changing fast.

  • The free plan is pretty limited if you use the AI features a lot.

• Pricing: Cursor has a free Hobby plan with a cap on AI requests. The Pro plan is $20/month for more extensive AI use. The Teams plan costs $40/user/month and adds team management features.

7. eesel AI

The tools above are great for writing code. But how much of a developer's day is actually spent writing new code? So much time gets wasted digging through scattered docs, bugging colleagues on Slack, and just waiting to get unblocked. This is where eesel AI fits in, not as a code editor, but as a tool that helps with everything that happens between coding sessions.

• Why we included it: It tackles a huge, often ignored developer problem: getting fast answers from your team’s internal knowledge. It's the "alternative" that focuses on all the time you're not typing in the editor.

• Use Case: Think of eesel AI’s AI Internal Chat as an AI assistant for your team. You connect it to your knowledge sources like Confluence, Google Docs, old Slack messages, and technical documentation. Then, developers can ask questions right in Slack (e.g., "What are the environment variables for the staging API?") and get an instant, accurate answer pulled from your own trusted docs.

• Pros:

  • Goes live in minutes: Just connect your apps with a few clicks and you're good to go. No long sales calls needed.

  • Works where you work: It answers questions directly in Slack or MS Teams, so there’s less context switching.

  • Brings knowledge together: It creates a single source of truth from all your different documents and platforms.

• Cons:

  • It’s not a code editor or an IDE. It's meant to work alongside whatever development environment you choose.

• Pricing: The Team plan starts at $239/month (billed annually) and includes up to 1,000 AI interactions.

How to choose the right Stackblitz alternatives for your team

So with all these options, how do you pick one? The best tool for you really depends on what your team does day-to-day.

• For quick frontend prototypes: CodePen or CodeSandbox are hard to beat.

• For full-stack applications: Replit and GitHub Codespaces have the power you’ll need.

• For teams that want to automate everything: Gitpod’s disposable environments could be a huge win.

• For going all-in on AI: Cursor is leading the pack.

And remember to think beyond just the editor. If your team spends more time searching for information than actually coding, a tool that fixes your knowledge access problem might give you the biggest productivity bump of all.

This video compares some of the top AI coding agents and tools, giving a realistic hands-on view of what you can expect from Stackblitz alternatives.

Beyond coding: Improving your developer workflow

In 2025, the best development environment is more than just a text editor. It’s a smooth, intelligent workflow that helps you stay focused. While Stackblitz alternatives like Replit and GitHub Codespaces are changing how we code, the next big improvement is reducing all the friction that happens outside the editor.

By pairing a great cloud IDE with a smart knowledge tool like eesel AI, you can create an environment where developers have everything they need to build and solve problems without getting stuck.

Ready to give your developers the instant answers they need? Learn how eesel AI can improve your internal support and keep your team moving.