Introducing the unified IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA now has a single unified installer, replacing the separate Community Edition and Ultimate downloads.

This means there’s just one IntelliJ IDEA to install, with all core Java and Kotlin development features available for free. Advanced functionality can be unlocked through an Ultimate subscription, all within the same IDE.

An Ultimate subscription unlocks the full power of IntelliJ IDEA, including industry-leading Spring support, complete JVM ecosystem support, advanced productivity tools, powerful integrations, AI assistance, advanced database capabilities, and many more workflow optimization and enterprise-grade features. It’s designed to provide the ultimate comfort and reliability for professional development.

We are simplifying your experience by unifying IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition and the Ultimate subscription into a single distribution. This change will reduce confusion, ensure consistent product quality, make updates easier, and open access to more free features, providing a seamless path to explore and try our advanced functionality.

Your perpetual fallback license still works as before, giving you access to the last major version available at the time your most recent uninterrupted year of subscription began. With the unified distribution, this means you can activate older versions that match your fallback license.

Alternatively, you can use the latest version of IntelliJ IDEA with access to its current free feature set.

Your data privacy remains our top priority. The new unified distribution does not change how your data is handled or shared. Unlike many other developer tools, IntelliJ IDEA does not collect usage statistics, logs, or other data without your explicit consent. We’re especially grateful to those who opt in to anonymous statistics gathering, as this helps us improve IntelliJ IDEA.

You get access to more free features, a smoother way to explore powerful tools, a simplified trial experience, and additional productivity-enhancing capabilities – all available within the same IDE and without the need for a subscription.

The update process hasn’t changed. You can update to the latest version of IntelliJ IDEA directly within the IDE, through the Toolbox App, or by downloading the installer from our website.

Updating from either IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 2025.2 (or any of its minor version releases) or IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2025.2 (or any of its minor version releases) to the 2025.3 version will automatically switch your previous IDE edition to the new unified IntelliJ IDEA.

There is no need to uninstall IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition to install and use IntelliJ IDEA. If you update from IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2025.2 (and its minor version releases) to 2025.3, your installation will automatically transition to the unified IntelliJ IDEA.

If you prefer, you can also install IntelliJ IDEA separately – this way you’ll still have access to your existing Community Edition installation while you make the transition.

All features from IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition are available in IntelliJ IDEA at no cost. We’ve also added even more features to make core Java and Kotlin development even more productive!

Newly added free features:

• Basic syntax highlighting for Spring, Jakarta EE, and templating engines such as Thymeleaf.
• A Spring Boot project wizard.
• Database connections, schema viewing, and schema-aware SQL completion.
• Full SQL language support.
• Ktor framework support.
• An LSP API for extended language support.
• HELM (YAML) schema support.

A full list of features is available here.

You don’t have to pay to access any core Java and Kotlin development features. Without a subscription, IntelliJ IDEA remains fully functional, free to use for both commercial and non-commercial projects, and includes more features than were available in Community Edition.

Your subscription remains active, and you can continue to enjoy the complete set of advanced features with the highest level of productivity and comfort. Even if you’re between subscription renewals, all core Java and Kotlin features remain available without the need to downgrade or install a separate IDE, so your development work won't be interrupted.

The Ultimate subscription provides access to the following features (a complete list is available here):

• Industry-leading tools for Spring development
• Full support for the JVM ecosystem and technologies beyond Java and Kotlin
• Integrated data tools
• IntelliJ Profiler
• HTTP Client
• AI assistance for your daily tasks
• And more!

The Ultimate subscription remains free for students, teachers, and educational institutions, supporting productive learning and high-quality coding education. You can always apply for an educational license using this form.

After the Ultimate subscription ends, you can renew the subscription directly within IntelliJ IDEA to keep access to the latest features.

If you decided not to renew your subscription, you can also continue using the extended functionality for the last version of IntelliJ IDEA available during your active subscription period (perpetual fallback license).

However, please note that this version will no longer receive updates, new features, or support.

As an IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition user transitioning to IntelliJ IDEA, you'll keep full access to all of the essential features for seamless Java and Kotlin development from Community Edition – plus additional features to enhance your experience.

Updating from IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2025.2 to the 2025.3 version will automatically switch you to the new unified IntelliJ IDEA.

You'll also get a chance to explore advanced functionalities with a free 30-day Ultimate subscription trial.

IntelliJ IDEA requires a bit more disk space as more features are included – 3.5 GB (SSD recommended). Apart from that, there are no differences in system requirements.

IntelliJ IDEA is fully functional and free to use for both commercial and non-commercial projects regardless of subscription. In fact, you gain additional powerful features previously available only in the Ultimate Edition for free, providing you with even greater comfort and efficiency.

After migrating to IntelliJ IDEA, you’ll be able to continue using older versions of IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition and switch between them if needed. However, unified IntelliJ IDEA is the only edition receiving updates and new features in upcoming releases.

All settings, projects, and saved data will be seamlessly transferred to IntelliJ IDEA.

When you install IntelliJ IDEA for the first time, a free trial of the Ultimate subscription starts automatically. Trials can be retaken with each major release.

After your Ultimate subscription trial ends, you can either activate a subscription or continue using IntelliJ IDEA without one, ensuring uninterrupted development. Advanced features will be disabled, but all core functionality for Java and Kotlin development remains free.

Corporate trials remain available. Please fill out this form, and we'll help your team experience IntelliJ IDEA’s productivity and code quality benefits.

For your convenience, the Ultimate subscription trial can be retaken following every major update. You can also request an extended trial on behalf of your company.

The Ultimate subscription trial will automatically conclude after 30 days. If you wish to end it sooner, you can do that through the Help | Manage Subscription dialog.

While access to the extended tooling will end, you’ll still retain full access to all of the essential tools and features for core Java and Kotlin development.

The source code remains on GitHub, and we are fully committed to maintaining it. In addition, we will publish open-source builds to GitHub Releases and provide ready-to-use CI/CD pipelines powered by GitHub Actions, reinforcing our commitment to transparency and productive open-source collaboration.

More details are available here.

Installing and running paid plugins is fully supported in open-source builds.

Note, however, that paid plugins require licensing infrastructure that is not open-source. When a paid plugin is installed, the JetBrains Marketplace Licensing plugin will be added automatically to enable licensing support. You’ll be prompted to accept the Marketplace Agreement during this process.

The open-source build of IntelliJ IDEA contains the open-source components only, so it doesn’t include the following features from IntelliJ IDEA:

• Backup and Sync – synchronizes your IDE settings and plugins across different machines using your JetBrains account
• LSP support
• Package Checker – scans dependencies to reveal known security vulnerabilities
• AI ranking for code completion and search everywhere – improves output sorting for code completion and search everywhere
• AI Assistant – provides powerful AI support in JetBrains IDEs
• Qodana plugin – maintains high code quality and compliance through static code analysis
• Localization plugins (Japanese, Korean, Chinese) — translate IDE UI into multiple languages
• Kotlin Notebook – enables interactive notebooks for Kotlin, targeting exploratory coding and data science tasks
• Code With Me – provides collaborative capabilities for real-time development

However, most of these features are available as plugins on JetBrains Marketplace.

Community plugins remain fully supported, reliable, and compatible, ensuring your workflow remains efficient and productive within the unified distribution.