Comparison

Black vs pre-commit

No clear leader: Black (72.7) and pre-commit (68.2) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Black full profile →pre-commit full profile →

Machine formatsJSON Markdown GraphQLor send Accept: application/json

Black73

pre-commit68

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Black	pre-commit
Vioscale score	73 / 100high · 78%	68 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	8	-
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	7.7	4.6
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 2 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=black&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=pre-commit&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	105,588	35,684
Github starsadoption.github_stars	41,816	15,536
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	39,005,228	42,454,729
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	29	13
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	31	57
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MIT	MIT
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Python	Python

Score

Vioscale score

Black73 / 100high · 78%

pre-commit68 / 100medium · 73%

Pricing

Free tier

Black✓

pre-commit✓

Model

Blackopen_source

pre-commitcommercial

Price level

Blackfree

pre-commitfree

Transparent

Black✓

pre-commit✓

Integrations

Count

Black8

pre-commit–

Security

Disclosure policy

Black✓

pre-commit–

Scorecard

Black7.7

pre-commit4.6

Vulnerabilities

BlackCount: 2 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=black&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH

pre-commitCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=pre-commit&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Status page

Black–

pre-commit✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Black105,588

pre-commit35,684

Github stars

Black41,816

pre-commit15,536

Package downloads weekly

Black39,005,228

pre-commit42,454,729

Activity

Commits last 30d

Black29

pre-commit13

Release

Cadence days

Black31

pre-commit57

History

Black20 items

pre-commit20 items

License

Spdx

BlackMIT

pre-commitMIT

Language

Primary

BlackPython

pre-commitPython

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for code quality tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Code Quality Tools
Capability	Black	pre-commit
Core
Function	Formatter	Meta-runner
Language scope	Single-language	Multi-language
Implementation language	Python	Python
Capability
Autofix	✓	✗
Config
Config model	Zero-config	Config file
Extensibility
Custom rules	✗	✓
Deployment
Deployment	Both	CLI-local
Delivery
Editor integration	✓	✗
CI / VCS gating	✓	✓
Insight
Code metrics	✗	✗
Performance
Incremental / monorepo aware	✗	✗
Licensing
Open-source	OSS	OSS
Commercial
Pricing model	Free	Free

Core

Function

BlackFormatter

pre-commitMeta-runner

Language scope

BlackSingle-language

pre-commitMulti-language

Implementation language

BlackPython

pre-commitPython

Capability

Autofix

Black✓

pre-commit✗

Config

Config model

BlackZero-config

pre-commitConfig file

Extensibility

Custom rules

Black✗

pre-commit✓

Deployment

BlackBoth

pre-commitCLI-local

Delivery

Editor integration

Black✓

pre-commit✗

CI / VCS gating

Black✓

pre-commit✓

Insight

Code metrics

Black✗

pre-commit✗

Performance

Incremental / monorepo aware

Black✗

pre-commit✗

Licensing

Open-source

BlackOSS

pre-commitOSS

Commercial

Pricing model

BlackFree

pre-commitFree

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Black

An opinionated Python code formatter that automatically reformats code according to a standardized style. It produces minimal diffs for cleaner code review and reduces developer cognitive load by removing formatting decisions, allowing focus on code logic.

Independently observed

pre-commit

A framework that automates the execution of code quality checks as git pre-commit hooks, eliminating the need for developers to manually install language-specific dependencies on their machines to run linters and formatters written in any programming language.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Black

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source (MIT licensed)

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

pre-commit

Free

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Black	pre-commit
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

CLI

Black✓

pre-commit✓

Deployment

Self-hosted

Black✓

pre-commit✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Black

8 total

Neovim
conform.nvim
ALE
SublimeText
Pre-commit
Jupyter Notebooks
blacken-docs
blackdoc

Independently observed

pre-commit

Not documented yet.

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.