10 Best Software Development Tools for 2024

Choosing the right software development tools is crucial as it could either make or break your development journey. It’s an era of innovation where software advancements are going on rapidly.  

A few years back, we went through the pain of selecting the best tools for our developers and our clients that could help them take their projects to the next level.  

We did countless hours of research and constant experimentation with these software development tools and technologies, which made us create a list of the top 10 tools for you.  

This guide will give you a perfect list of popular development tools you should use now to make your job easier.  

10 Best Software Development Tools 

1. GitHub 

It is considered the best tool for programmers, which is used to store, manage, track, and control changes in code. This tool makes it easier for software developers to share code files on the go and collaborate with fellow developers. 

GitHub was launched in the year 2008 and is quite a popular software development tool because this tool got extensive community support and is closely integrated with Git’s version control functionality. Then in 2008, Microsoft acquired this platform for $7.5 billion. 

Moreover, this tool for software development has a user-friendly interface that even novice coders can use. In addition, you can sign up and create a free account on GitHub because it’s mostly popular with open-source projects. 

Key Features of GitHub 

• It facilitates easy code hosting as all the code and documentation is in one place.  
• GitHub provides unique code safety as it comes with various dedicated tools to help developers analyze vulnerabilities in the code.  
• With a version control system in GitHub, developers can collaborate with others to successfully complete projects.  
• With a private repository feature on GitHub, developers can work on their projects and safely store them in private repositories. 

Pricing 

The basic feature of GitHub is available for free. 

While if you want to access team features for advanced collaboration and teamwork, it costs around $3.67 per user/ month. 

And an enterprise version of GitHub costs around $19.25 per user/month. 

2. Jira Software 

When it comes to project management, Jira takes the front seat. This software development tool is exclusively designed for team members and product managers to streamline workflows, organize and track their projects and software releases. 

65000+ organizations are using Jira for handling software development projects. These organizations include Spotify, Cisco, Square, Airbnb, etc. 

Key Features of Jira 

• Jira software smoothens developers’ workflow by tracking each project operation on a 3-tier basis – team basis, team member basis, or task basis.  
• It provides detailed presentable reports for every project, which indicate potential bottlenecks, and estimates the timeline for each project task. Thus, developers can thoroughly analyze their team performance.   
• It offers bug tracking and issue management features allowing developers to locate, track and record bugs within their software development projects. 

Pricing  

Jira is available for free for up to 10 users. 

But, if you have a larger team of up to 35,000 users, this software development tool costs around $77.50 per user every month. While if you want to unlock more premium features, you could go for other paid versions – premium and enterprise packs. 

3. Azure 

It is one of the prominent Cloud Tool used in software development for building, deploying, and managing web Apps and hybrid cloud apps.  

Developers love to use Azure as it supports various programming languages, frameworks, and operating systems. In addition, it also provides public and private clouds. 

Moreover, Microsoft Azure offers 3 cloud computing platform services which include-  

• Software as a service (Saas)  
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)  
• Platform as a service (PaaS) 

Key Features of Microsoft Azure 

• It supports various programming languages such as .NET, Python, PHP, JavaScript, and operating systems, including Linux and Windows.  
• Azure allows developers to develop mobile apps seamlessly.  
• Businesses can easily leverage advanced automation and analytics capabilities to create scalable and secure apps because Microsoft Azure is integrated with AI and ML technologies. 

Pricing 

As a software development tool, Azure follows “pay as you go” pricing model, meaning developers can pay for the services they use. If you want to know this tool’s price, you need to request a pricing quote from the Microsoft team.  

4. Bootstrap 

It is a responsive framework for building responsive and mobile-first websites.  

This tool for software development provides developers with a handful of ready-made templates and themes they can use for projects. Working with Bootstrap is the perfect option for developers proficient in HTML, CSS, and JS. 

It is among the best tools for software developers as its framework allows them to manipulate the styling of any web page, such as text color, background color, font styling, grid system, etc. 

Web developers prefer to create responsive websites using this tool as it is free. So, it becomes easier for developers to create a web app without spending big bucks. 

More importantly, you no longer need to spend countless hours coding as it involves building websites using CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. Thus, it gives you more time to design websites. 

Key Features of Bootstrap 

• It offers various customization options to create a responsive website that suits your project requirements.  
• This software development tool has built-in components enabling novice developers to create responsive websites seamlessly using a simple drag-and-drop feature.  
• It brings consistency to your projects regardless of who is working on a project.  

Pricing 

You can download it for free and start your development project.  

5. Visual Studio Code 

It provides a powerful code editor and helps developers with coding tasks. Microsoft’s code editor provides powerful editing features, including code editing, debugging, and intelligent code completion. 

This software development tool is available on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. With built-in git integration, Visual Studio Code provides developers with vast extensions that enhance functionality. 

Key Features of Visual Studio Code 

• Its powerful command line interface offers flexibility to developers enabling them to take off control of how they want to launch the editor, such as opening different files or installing extensions.  
• You can access VS Code through the keyboard as well. By pressing ctrl + shift +p, you can access a command palette that lets you access the functionality of VS code. You can access all commands if you forget keyboard shortcuts through the command palette.  
• As visual studio code has an in-built Git integration, it allows developers to commit, push and pull code changes in a remote Git repository.  

Pricing 

VS Code is an open-source text editor. 

6. Linx 

It is a low-code development tool that’s best for backend software development. With this tool for software development, developers can reduce their development time and costs as it facilitates the automation of backend services. 

Linx is considered the pioneer in the low code development market because it offers flexibility and customization, which is not in a traditional coding environment. 

It provides you with 2 different applications – one is Linux Designer, which comes with drag-and-drop functionalities, and the other is Linux Server, which is a hosting platform.  

Key Features of Linx 

• It offers up to 100 prebuilt plugins to help you build scalable mobile and website apps.  
• Do the quick deployment of your app to any local or cloud server  
• It facilitates document management and sharing.  
• It has an extensive drag-and-drop interface, which facilitates speedier development of software. Thus, you don’t need to write lines and lines of code.  

Pricing 

Linux Designer is free.   

While the Linux server, which is a hosting platform, doesn’t come for free. It offers paid plans, such as a starter plan costs around $149/per month. In contrast, the enterprise plan costs around $599/month. 

7. Cloud 9 

It is an integrated development environment framework that makes coding easier. Cloud 9 is a product of AWS since July 2016 that lets you write, run and debug your code without having a need to install files or configure a development machine to start a project. 

You can start new projects quickly because it supports over 40 programming languages, including Python, Ruby, JavaScript, PHP, etc. Moreover, developers can create serverless applications as it has an integration with AWS services. 

Key Features of Cloud 9 

• Cloud 9 allows multiple developers to code together in real-time, meaning they can type and pair the programs on the same file with each other.  
• This cloud-based platform provides tools for developing serverless applications.  
• As one of the best tools for software development, it has a built-in terminal that allows developers to push and pull functions, compile code, run commands, etc.  

Pricing 

Cloud 9 follows pay as you approach, as you only need to pay for the services you need. There are no additional costs or terminal fees as you pay for the services you consume. To know more about their pricing, you can request a quote from AWS’s team. 

8. Stack Overflow 

It is one of the best tools for software developers in the world. Stack Overflow has huge support from developers and software engineers, giving you a chance to ask or answer questions in various domains such as software development, programming frameworks, programming languages, etc. 

This tool for software development provides great help to developers as you can consult other software developers, get your code reviewed, or help you write bug-free code. 

So, if you face any development-related problem, you can rely on Stack Overflow. 

Key Features of Stack Overflow 

• Team members can answer unlimited private questions and answers. They do expect answers from other team members  
• This platform allows users to showcase their skills and talk about topics in which they have expertise in that  
• It has an integration with tools such as Slack that smoothens the workflow of developers  

Pricing 

Stack overflow is a free public platform that allows developers to initiate conversations related to technical stuff. While Stack Overflow for teams is a private forum for all who code, and it costs around $10 per month for up to 10 users.  

9. HTML 5 builder 

It is a hypertext markup language, a software development tool for building mobile and online applications. Developers can create dynamic web, iOS, and Android content apps with an HTML builder. 

They can build applications with ease as this tool offers hundreds of drag-and-drop components to programmers. 

Key Features of HTML 5 builder 

• It allows developers to create cross-platform apps quickly  
• This software development tool facilitates collaborative workflow by bringing developers and designers to one place 
• Compatible for creating location-based browsers and mobile applications  

Pricing 

HTML 5 builder is available for free.  

10. Bitbucket 

It is a web-based platform that allows software development teams to facilitate code collaboration, version control, and project management. 

Bitbucket is a software development tool that developers widely use in their development projects as it is closely integrated with Jira. 

A subscription-based source code management system allows developers to manage their source code and track changes. 

This tool for software development enhances the efficiency and productivity of software development teams by providing a suite of development tools and features such as flexible deployment models, unlimited private repositories, etc.  

Key Features of Bitbucket  

• It facilitates powerful collaborations with unlimited repositories  
• Bitbucket provides developers with branch permission access so that the right people can make changes to the code  
• Streamlines the software development workflow by integrating it into existing systems  

Pricing 

Bitbucket is free for up to 5 users. In comparison, it does offer paid plans, such as the Standard plan costs around $15 every month, while the premium plan costs around $30 per user every month.  

Wrapping Up 

This guide will teach you about the best software development tools you should leverage in 2023.  

If you want to increase your coding efficiency and productivity, using these tools for software development is a goldmine for you. 

But if you would ask us – Which is #1 software development tool for your business?  

Then, there is no one size fit approach. Every tool has its features, and choosing the ones that align with your project requirements depends on various factors such as cost, value for money, a project timeline, end-user requirements, etc. 

Have any questions about how to start your next software development project? Then, we are here for you. 

Connect with our custom software development experts now to get customized solutions for your business.  

Having 14+ years of expertise in the custom software development domain, we are here to build future-ready products that give you a competitive advantage.