Comparison

PMD 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
PMD60
Ruff74
Score
Vioscale score
PMD60 / 100medium · 53%updating
Ruff74 / 100high · 76%updating
Pricing
Free tier
PMD
Ruff
Price level
PMDfree
Ruff
Transparent
PMD
Ruff
Integrations
Count
PMD1
Ruff6
Adoption
Dependent repos
PMD356
Ruff5,870
Github stars
Package downloads weekly
PMD
Activity
Commits last 30d
PMD62
Ruff100
Release
Cadence days
PMD28
Ruff7
History
License
Spdx
PMD
RuffMIT
Language
Primary
PMDJava
RuffRust

Capabilities

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

Core
Function
PMDStatic analyzer
RuffLinter
Language scope
PMDMulti-language
RuffSingle-language
Implementation language
PMDJava
RuffRust
Capability
Autofix
PMD-
Ruff
Config
Config model
PMDRule packs
Ruff-
Extensibility
Custom rules
PMD
Ruff-
Deployment
Deployment
PMDCLI-local
RuffCLI-local
Delivery
Editor integration
PMD
Ruff
CI / VCS gating
PMD
Ruff-
Insight
Code metrics
PMD-
Ruff-
Performance
Incremental / monorepo aware
PMD-
Ruff
Licensing
Open-source
PMDOSS
RuffOSS
Commercial
Pricing model
PMDFree
RuffFree

What each one is

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

PMD

PMD is a multilingual static code analyzer that detects common programming issues like unused variables and inefficient patterns. It includes over 400 built-in rules, supports 16+ languages with primary focus on Java, and supports custom rules via Java or XPath.

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.

PMD

FreeFree tier

Free, open source

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
PMD
Ruff
Windows
PMD
Ruff
Linux
PMD
Ruff
CLI
PMD
Ruff
Deployment
Self-hosted
PMD
Ruff

Integrations

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

PMD

1 total
  • Eclipse
Independently observed

Ruff

Leader
6 total
  • Flake8
  • isort
  • Autoflake
  • Pyflakes
  • pycodestyle
  • Pylint
Independently observed

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