Comparison

Black vs Qlty

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
Qlty54
Score
vioscaleAI score
Black74 / 100high · 77%
Qlty54 / 100low · 49%
Pricing
Free tier
Black✓
Qlty✓
Model
Blackfree
Price level
Blackfree
Qltymid
Starting price
Black–
Qlty$20
Transparent
Black✓
Qlty✓
Integrations
Count
Black5
Qlty6
Reliability
Status page
Black–
Qlty✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Black105,588
Qlty0
Github stars
Black41,918
Qlty3,186
Package downloads weekly
Qlty–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Black75
Qlty45
Release
Cadence days
Black31
Qlty2
History
License
Spdx
BlackMIT
Qlty–
Language
Primary
BlackPython
QltyC
Market
Availability
Content
Faq

Capabilities

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

Core
Function
BlackFormatter
QltyQuality platform
Language scope
BlackSingle-language
QltyMulti-language
Implementation language
BlackPython
QltyRust
Capability
Autofix
Black✓
Qlty✓
Config
Config model
BlackZero-config
QltyConfig file
Extensibility
Custom rules
Black✗
Qlty✓
Deployment
Deployment
BlackBoth
QltyBoth
Delivery
Editor integration
Black✓
Qlty✓
CI / VCS gating
Black✓
Qlty✓
Insight
Code metrics
Black✗
Qlty✓
Performance
Incremental / monorepo aware
Black✗
Qlty✓
Licensing
Open-source
BlackOSS
QltyOpen-core
Commercial
Pricing model
BlackFree
QltyPer-contributor

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

Qlty

A code quality and coverage platform combining linting, auto-formatting, security scanning, duplication detection, and code coverage analysis with AI-powered fix suggestions, deployed as a cloud service with a local CLI.

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 ↗

Qlty

from $20/contributor/moHybridFree tier

Free plan available. Pro from $20/contributor/month. Enterprise $30/contributor/month with volume discounts (5% off 100+ seats, 10% off 200+ seats annually).

  • FreeFree
    • Linting & auto-formatting
    • Code coverage
    • Maintainability & duplication
    • Open, extensible Rust CLI
    • Unlimited private/public contributors
    • +1 more
  • Pro$20/contributor/month
    • Everything from Free
    • Shared configurations
    • Trends & hotspots
    • One year of history
    • Accelerated analysis
    • +10 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Everything from Pro
    • Advanced analytics
    • Organization policies
    • Custom permissions
    • Audit logs
    • +6 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Black✗
Qlty✓
macOS
Black✗
Qlty✓
Windows
Black✓
Qlty✓
Linux
Black✓
Qlty✓
CLI
Black✓
Qlty✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Black✗
Qlty✓
Self-hosted
Black✓
Qlty✗

Integrations

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

In common (2)
  • Visual Studio Code
  • GitHub Actions

Black

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

Qlty

6 total - 4 not shared
  • GitHub
  • CircleCI
  • Chrome
  • Firefox
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Black or Qlty: 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.