If you are a student or hobbyist looking for a modern, free IDE, use (still supported). If you absolutely need VS2013, read on.

| Feature | VS2013 Community | VS2022 Community | |--------|----------------|------------------| | Cost | Free | Free | | Support status | End-of-life | Active (until 2029) | | .NET support | Up to 4.5.2 / 4.6 | 4.8, .NET 6/7/8/9 | | C++ standard | C++11 partial, C++14 partial | C++20, C++23 | | Windows 11 support | Unreliable | Fully supported | | GitHub / Copilot | No | Yes |

| Problem | Solution | |--------|----------| | | Use the ISO download (available via Microsoft’s older downloads page). | | “This app can't run on your PC” (Windows 11) | Try compatibility mode: Right-click installer → Properties → Compatibility → Windows 8. | | Login loop / license validation fails | Microsoft’s auth servers for VS2013 are unreliable. Use a product key (available free via Dev Essentials) or install offline. | | NuGet no longer works | VS2013 supports up to NuGet 2.8.6. Modern package versions won’t install. Use Install-Package with older version numbers. | | Git integration broken | VS2013 uses a very old libgit2. Use external tools like Git GUI or SourceTree. |

You should only download VS 2013 if you are maintaining a legacy application that specifically targets the .NET Framework 4.5.1 or requires the Visual C++ 2013 toolset. For all modern development, please use Visual Studio 2022, which offers superior refactoring tools, IntelliCode, and Git integration out of the box.

Yes, but with a catch. was released in November 2014 (Update 4). It was the first time Microsoft offered a full-featured, free edition for individual developers, open-source contributors, and small teams (up to 5 users).