Comparison

flake8 vs Ruff

On the evidence we track, Ruff 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 formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
flake858
Ruff74
Score
Vioscale score
flake858 / 100medium · 66%updating
Ruff74 / 100high · 76%updating
Pricing
Free tier
flake8
Ruff
Model
Price level
flake8free
Ruff
Transparent
flake8
Ruff
Integrations
Count
flake83
Ruff6
Adoption
Dependent repos
flake8
Ruff5,870
Github stars
flake83,819
Ruff49,341
Package downloads weekly
Activity
Commits last 30d
flake84
Ruff100
Release
Cadence days
flake8
Ruff7
History
flake8
License
Spdx
flake8MIT
RuffMIT
Language
Primary
flake8Python
RuffRust
Market

Capabilities

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

Core
Function
flake8Linter
RuffLinter
Language scope
flake8Single-language
RuffSingle-language
Implementation language
flake8Python
RuffRust
Capability
Autofix
flake8
Ruff
Config
Config model
flake8Config file
Ruff-
Extensibility
Custom rules
flake8
Ruff-
Deployment
Deployment
flake8CLI-local
RuffCLI-local
Delivery
Editor integration
flake8
Ruff
CI / VCS gating
flake8
Ruff-
Insight
Code metrics
flake8
Ruff-
Performance
Incremental / monorepo aware
flake8-
Ruff
Licensing
Open-source
flake8OSS
RuffOSS
Commercial
Pricing model
flake8Free
RuffFree

What each one is

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

flake8

flake8 is an open-source Python linter that combines multiple style-checking tools to verify code compliance with PEP 8 and detect errors. It uses a plugin architecture for extensibility and is commonly integrated into development workflows and CI/CD pipelines.

Independently observed

Ruff

Leader

A fast Python linter built in Rust that consolidates multiple linting tools into a single interface. It supports over 500 rules, provides automated fixes for common issues, and runs significantly faster than traditional Python linters on even very large codebases.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

flake8

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Ruff

Leader

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
macOS
flake8
Ruff
Windows
flake8
Ruff
Linux
flake8
Ruff
CLI
flake8
Ruff
Deployment
Self-hosted
flake8
Ruff

Integrations

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

In common (2)
  • pycodestyle
  • pyflakes

flake8

3 total - 1 not shared
  • mccabe
Independently observed

Ruff

Leader
6 total - 4 not shared
  • Flake8
  • isort
  • Autoflake
  • Pylint
Independently observed

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