CLion Is Now Free for Non-Commercial Use (blog.jetbrains.com)

Article summary

JetBrains has made its CLion IDE free for non-commercial use, allowing students, hobbyists, and open-source developers to use the tool without cost. The free version has the same features as the paid version, except for the Code With Me feature. However, users of the free version cannot opt out of sending anonymous usage statistics to JetBrains. The company aims to make its IDEs more accessible to a broader audience with this new licensing model.

Main themes

• CLion free for non-commercial use
• Telemetry and privacy concerns
• Licensing models and pricing
• IDE usage and development
• Data collection and anonymization
• Paid vs free versions and their implications

What commenters say

• The free version of CLion is a good alternative for personal use, especially since it includes open-source development.
• The mandatory telemetry in the free version is a significant drawback for some users.
• Paying for the paid version is seen as a way to opt out of telemetry and support the company's work.
• Some users believe that telemetry is a necessary trade-off for a free product, while others see it as a violation of privacy.
• The collection of anonymous usage statistics is viewed as a reasonable way to improve the product, but others are skeptical about the anonymization.
• The fact that only the paid version allows users to disable telemetry is seen as a form of exploitation, where privacy is only available to those who can afford it.
• Some users argue that the benefits of using CLion outweigh the concerns about telemetry, while others prefer to use alternative IDEs that do not collect user data.