Comparison

Black vs Pylint

On the evidence we track, Black leads this comparison with a composite score of 74/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Black74
Pylint66
Score
vioscaleAI score
Black74 / 100high · 77%
Pylint66 / 100low · 49%
Pricing
Free tier
Black✓
Pylint✓
Model
Blackfree
Price level
Blackfree
Pylintfree
Transparent
Black✓
Pylint✓
Integrations
Count
Black5
Pylint10
Adoption
Dependent repos
Black105,588
Pylint117,361
Github stars
Black41,918
Pylint5,738
Package downloads weekly
Pylint–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Black75
Pylint100
Release
Cadence days
Black31
Pylint16
History
Pylint20 items
License
Spdx
BlackMIT
PylintGPL-2.0
Language
Primary
BlackPython
PylintPython
Content
Faq
Black6 items
Pylint6 items

Capabilities

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

Core
Function
BlackFormatter
PylintLinter
Language scope
BlackSingle-language
PylintSingle-language
Implementation language
BlackPython
PylintPython
Capability
Autofix
Black✓
Pylint✓
Config
Config model
BlackZero-config
PylintConfig file
Extensibility
Custom rules
Black✗
Pylint✓
Deployment
Deployment
BlackBoth
PylintCLI-local
Delivery
Editor integration
Black✓
Pylint✓
CI / VCS gating
Black✓
Pylint✓
Insight
Code metrics
Black✗
Pylint✓
Performance
Incremental / monorepo aware
Black✗
Pylint-
Licensing
Open-source
BlackOSS
PylintOSS
Commercial
Pricing model
BlackFree
PylintFree

What each one is

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

Black

Leader

A Python code formatter that automatically reformats entire files to enforce consistent styling. It produces minimal diffs to accelerate code review and ensures uniform appearance across projects.

Independently observed

Pylint

Pylint analyzes Python code without running it to identify errors, enforce coding standards, detect problematic patterns, and recommend improvements through configurable checks.

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

Leader
FreeFree tier

Free and open source

as of verify ↗

Pylint

FreeFree tier

Free and open source. Commercial support services available.

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Windows
Black✓
Pylint✗
Linux
Black✓
Pylint✗
CLI
Black✓
Pylint✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Black✓
Pylint✓

Integrations

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

In common (2)
  • Vim
  • GitHub Actions

Black

Leader
11 total - 9 not shared
  • Neovim
  • conform.nvim
  • ALE
  • SublimeText
  • Pre-commit
  • Jupyter Notebooks
  • blacken-docs
  • blackdoc
  • Visual Studio Code
Independently observed

Pylint

13 total - 11 not shared
  • Emacs
  • Eclipse
  • TextMate
  • PyDev
  • Spyder
  • Editra
  • Jenkins
  • Hudson
  • Apycot
  • Azure DevOps
  • GitLab CI
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Black or Pylint: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

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