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For past express editions, I've been able to find a "compare editions" page that shows what features are available in express, professional, ultimate, etc. Something like this.
However, every comparison table I've seen so far omits the express editions. Surely Microsoft must have a list of things you get by upgrading to Visual Studio Professional from an Express Edition--after all, it's a free product, and they would like you to upgrade to a paid product! So, where have they hidden this feature comparison table, or "reasons to upgrade to Professional" list?
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Microsoft Visual Studio Express is a set of integrated development environments (IDEs) that Microsoft developed and released free of charge. They are function-limited version of the non-free Visual Studio and require mandatory registration.
Your Visual Studio Professional subscription includes Azure DevOps, a collection of services to plan, build and ship applications faster, to any cloud or on-premises. Leverage agile planning tools, a continuous integration and delivery platform, source control management, and artifact repository.
The Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows Desktop Language Pack is a free add-on that you can use to switch the language that's displayed in the Visual Studio user interface.
In general, the only difference between the Community and Professional editions of Visual Studio is one of licensing. There is no operational difference between the two editions. Visual Studio Enterprise is the most feature-rich and most expensive. It is aimed primarily at software architects and QA experts.
Most of the new functionality applies to the Ultimate and Premium editions. However, some features apply also to the Professional and Express editions. The following table lists the Visual Studio 2013 updates that are released so far.
Existing Windows 8 projects may be maintained with Visual Studio 2013, including remote debugging to Windows 8.1 and Windows 8. Use Visual Studio 2012 to create new Windows 8 projects. Visual Studio 2013 supports migration of Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 projects to Windows Phone 8.
Here are the differences so you can determine which version you need. Visual Studio Express is the free version of the product that is usually released alongside the full version of the product. Giving a free edition of Visual Studio allows people who want to learn a .NET language an easy way in.
Giving a free edition of Visual Studio allows people who want to learn a .NET language an easy way in. Since the Express version is free, it is often pared down and contains less functionality than the full version. Applications created in the Express version can be later maintained in other versions of Visual Studio if you decide to upgrade.
As far as I know there is no single table with a summary.
It depends on which version of express your talking about. Express is split up into a lot of different SKUs based on the type of product you're building; Web, Phone etc. Which is probably why there isn't an entry on this table for Express. 2013 was a point release to 2012 and there is a comparison of Express Web 2012 to Pro on MSDN.
The biggest single difference is that you cannot run plugins in Express. This means no Resharper, Test Driven .NET etc. This also applies to some plugins that you might consider to be written my Microsoft because they were not part of the official Microsoft release, for example plugins written my various other groups. This is a long-standing gripe for users of Express and looks like it is still the case for 2013, How to install Nunit plugin in Visual Studio 2013 Express?.
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