Top IDEs for python developers!

All set to play with Python? Python IDE is the first thing you need to get started with python programming. There are many IDEs available out there in the wild and selecting one can be a daunting task. You can get started with Python programming in a basic text editor like notepad or choose to go ahead with a complete and feature rich Python IDE like PyCharm, Pydev, Emacs or Eric.

1. Pydev with Eclipse
Pydev is the Python IDE for masses for the simple reason that it is free of cost and comes packed with powerful features for efficient Python programming. It is an open source plugin that runs on top of Eclipse and brings Python to the kingdom of Eclipse. If you are an existing Eclipse user then Pydev is just home for you, if not, then Eclipse might sound intimidating in the beginning but worth the efforts.

2. PyCharm
PyCharm is a professional Python IDE and comes in two flavors – Free community Edition and a much advanced professional edition that targets enterprise developers. The popularity of PyCharm can be gauged from the fact that big brands like Twitter, Groupon, Spotify, ebay and Telefonica etc. have also used PyCharm Python IDE.

3. VIM
VIM is one of the most advanced text editors and is very popular one among the community of Python developers. It is open source and available free of cost under GPL license.

4. Wing IDE

Wing IDE is another commercial Python IDE from the house of company named wingware and targets professional developers. Wing IDE was launched 15 years back and is very mature product and provides most of the modern set of tools and features required for Python programming.

Wing IDE is supported on windows, OS X and Linux and works with latest Python versions including stackless Python. Wing IDE has a basic version which is free of cost, a personal edition and a much powerful professional edition.

5. Spyder Python

Spyder Python is an open source IDE for Python, best suited for scientific python development. It is a lightweight software, written in Python itself and available as free to use under MIT license.

6. Komodo IDE

Komodo IDE is a cross platform IDE from company named Activestate and supports multiple languages including Python.  It is a commercial product but offers an open source free version by the name Komodo Edit and can be installed on Mac, Windows and Linux. Full featured Komodo is offered free of cost to qualified educational institutions where teachers and professors can use it in labs and for teaching purpose. Students also get the licenses at a much discounted rate.