Question

Can Java Spring-based applications be developed in the IntelliJ IDEA Community build?

Answer

Spring integration is provided via a set of bundled plugins available only in the IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate edition so full support of the Spring framework is not available in the Community build

See https://www.jetbrains.com/products/compare/?product=idea&product=idea-ce for more details about the difference between free and paid versions

Still, it is possible to use a Community build to develop Spring applications because it supports all the basic Java features such as Maven / Gradle build tools, and provides a set of useful run configurations such as Application or Jar Configuration

Also, a free trial for the IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate is available, and from time to time it is possible to use the EAP version for free