Comparison

PMD vs Ruff

On the evidence we track, Ruff leads this comparison with a composite score of 73/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

PMD full profile →Ruff full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

PMD56

★Ruff73

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	PMD	RuffLeader
vioscaleAI score	56 / 100low · 49%	73 / 100medium · 68%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	-
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	4	6
Security
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	6.2	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=net.sourceforge.pmd%3Apmd-java&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=ruff&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	356	5,870
Github starsadoption.github_stars	5,508	49,914
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	-	77,677,334
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	64	100
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	28	7
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	MIT
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Java	Rust
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide	Available worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	4 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

PMD56 / 100low · 49%

Ruff73 / 100medium · 68%

Pricing

Free tier

PMD✓

Ruff–

Model

PMDopen_source

Ruffcommercial

Price level

PMDfree

Ruff–

Transparent

PMD✓

Ruff–

Integrations

Count

PMD4

Ruff6

Security

Gdpr

PMD–

Ruff✓

Scorecard

PMD6.2

Ruff–

Vulnerabilities

PMDCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=net.sourceforge.pmd%3Apmd-java&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

RuffCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=ruff&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Adoption

Dependent repos

PMD356

Ruff5,870

Github stars

PMD5,508

Ruff49,914

Package downloads weekly

PMD–

Ruff77,677,334

Activity

Commits last 30d

PMD64

Ruff100

Release

Cadence days

PMD28

Ruff7

History

PMD20 items

Ruff20 items

License

Spdx

PMD–

RuffMIT

Language

Primary

PMDJava

RuffRust

Market

Availability

PMDAvailable worldwide

RuffAvailable worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US

Content

Faq

PMD4 items

Ruff7 items

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Code Quality Tools
Capability	PMD	Ruff
Core
Function	Static analyzer	Linter
Language scope	Multi-language	Single-language
Implementation language	Java	Rust
Capability
Autofix	-	✓
Config
Config model	Rule packs	-
Extensibility
Custom rules	✓	-
Deployment
Deployment	CLI-local	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

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

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 static analysis tool that scans source code to detect bugs, code smells, and quality issues across many programming languages. It includes copy-paste detection capabilities and supports custom rule creation.

Independently observed

Ruff

Leader

A tool for analyzing and formatting Python code, designed to be fast and efficient through Rust implementation, with support across multiple platforms.

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

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-09-14verify ↗

Ruff

Leader

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	PMD	Ruff
macOSPlatforms	✗	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

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

11 total

Eclipse
Gradle PMD Plugin
eclipse-pmd
pmd-eclipse-plugin
PMD X
PMD
Apex PMD
PMD for Java
Gradle
IntelliJ
VS Code

Independently observed

Ruff

Leader

7 total

Flake8
isort
Autoflake
Pyflakes
pycodestyle
Pylint
Visual Studio Code

Independently observed

Still deciding?

PMD or Ruff: 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.