Download Qt Creator for Windows PC v20.0.2 for Windows PC

Qt Creator 20.0.2 is the open-source IDE for Qt and C++ development: fast code editor, visual UI designer, CMake support and integrated debugging —...

Features

• Deep, semantic understanding of C++ and QML gives accurate navigation, find-usages and refactoring that plain text-based editors cannot match.
• Qt Designer is integrated into the IDE, so designing widget interfaces visually and wiring them to code happens in one application.
• The kit system cleanly manages combinations of compiler, debugger and Qt version, making multi-version and cross-platform projects practical.
• This standalone open-source installer comes straight from download.qt.io and installs with no Qt account, unlike the account-gated Qt online installer.
• First-class CMake and qmake project support plus integrated debugging and profiling cover the full build-run-debug cycle for Qt applications.

Considerations

• The standalone IDE does not bundle the Qt libraries, so you must separately install Qt and register it as a kit before you can build Qt applications.
• Its design centre is Qt and QML development, so for general C++ work the Qt-specific concepts and layout can feel like overhead.
• The open-source edition differs from the commercial Qt offering, so teams must check which features and Qt licences their project actually requires.

Qt Creator is the integrated development environment built by The Qt Company for Qt and C++ development, and the editor is the reason: it understands C++ and QML semantically rather than as coloured text, so find-usages, refactoring and navigation work correctly across a real codebase, and code completion is context-aware rather than a word list. The integrated Qt Designer is a genuine part of the IDE rather than a bolted-on extra, so widget forms, signals and code live in one place and stay in step. Project and build management covers CMake and qmake, debugging and profiling are integrated, and the whole IDE stays responsive in projects where general-purpose editors start to labour. Version 20.0.2, released in September 2026, is the current release in the 20.0 series — a reminder that a vendor IDE done properly is hard to beat for its own framework.

This page carries the edition that matters: the standalone open-source installer published on download.qt.io, which installs with no Qt account and no online-installer sign-up. The kit system is its organising idea: a kit ties together a compiler, debugger and a Qt version, so the same project can target desktop and other platforms, and the otherwise miserable business of juggling multiple Qt versions and toolchains becomes almost civilised. Read the package contents honestly, though: this standalone installer is the IDE on its own — it does not bundle the Qt libraries themselves. To build Qt applications you must also install Qt itself (via Qt's installers or your system packages) and register it as a kit. The open-source edition is also distinct from the commercial Qt Creator offering, and newcomers who expected a single all-in-one SDK download will be confused — that confusion is on the packaging, not on them.

Set your expectations before the download. Installing just the IDE to edit code is fine, but a working Qt development setup needs a suitable Qt kit too, and you should budget disk space for the IDE and whatever Qt versions you add — Qt Creator itself needs 4 GB of RAM and 5 GB of space. It also runs only on 64-bit Windows; the page's own entry covers the 32-bit situation separately. And while Qt Creator is a fine general C++ IDE, its design centre is unmistakably Qt development — for unrelated C++ work you may prefer a generalist IDE. For anyone building Qt or QML applications on Windows, though, this remains the default, obvious install, and the direct account-free route from download.qt.io is the right way to get it.

Download qt-creator-opensource-windows-x86_64-20.0.2.exe from download.qt.io, Qt's official download server — this standalone build needs no Qt account.

Double-click the downloaded EXE, approve the Windows prompt and follow the wizard to install Qt Creator 20.0.2.

Open Qt Creator and, under Preferences > Kits, point it at your compiler, debugger and Qt installation so projects can configure, build and debug.

Is Qt Creator ide free?

Yes, this edition is free. The standalone Qt Creator 20.0.2 open-source installer from download.qt.io installs with no Qt account, and the open-source edition is published principally under GPLv3 with the Qt Company GPL exception. Commercial Qt licences are a separate offering.

How do I install Qt Creator?

Run qt-creator-opensource-windows-x86_64-20.0.2.exe and follow the wizard. Afterwards, open Preferences > Kits and register your compiler, debugger and Qt installation. The standalone package is the IDE only, so a separate Qt installation is needed to build Qt applications.

Which is better, Qt Creator or Qt Designer?

They are not alternatives. Qt Creator is the full IDE for editing, building and debugging C++ and QML projects, while Qt Designer is the form-design tool for laying out Qt Widgets interfaces and is integrated into Qt Creator. In practice you use Designer inside Creator.

What is Qt Creator used for?

Qt Creator is used to develop Qt and C++ applications. Its editor understands C++ and QML semantically, supporting navigation, find-usages and refactoring, and it combines project and kit management, Qt Designer, building and debugging in one IDE; it can also handle general CMake-based C++ projects.