# Grunt vs Less

| Attribute | Grunt | Less |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 12.2 (4% (low)) | 60.3 (21% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 0 | 4 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 951,165 |
| adoption.github_stars | 960 | 17,029 |
| deployment.options | - | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A command-line tool that streamlines JavaScript development by automating common tasks such as code linting, testing, minification, and compilation through configuration files. | Less is a dynamic stylesheet language that extends CSS with variables, mixins, functions, nesting, and mathematical operations, compiling to standard CSS for web projects. |
| language.primary | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | - | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://lesscss.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-22T22:28:25.279Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | - | free |
| release.cadence_days | - | 41 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v5.0.0-alpha.1","date":"2026-08-13T22:18:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v5.0.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.9.0","date":"2026-08-13T21:33:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.8.1","date":"2026-07-27T17:11:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.8.0","date":"2026-07-22T17:20:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.7.0","date":"2026-07-18T17:41:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.6.7","date":"2026-06-22T21:32:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.6.6","date":"2026-06-14T00:18:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.6.5","date":"2026-06-13T22:30:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.6.3","date":"2026-03-11T18:12:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.6.0","date":"2026-03-10T19:12:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.5.1","date":"2026-01-11T21:34:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.4.2","date":"2025-10-06T22:26:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.4.1","date":"2025-08-25T23:33:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.4.0","date":"2025-07-16T22:36:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2025-04-08T21:14:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2025-01-30T23:32:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2024-12-08T09:33:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2023-09-07T02:34:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.1.3","date":"2022-06-09T03:59:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/less/less.js/releases/tag/v4.1.2","date":"2021-10-14T06:00:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.2"}]` |
| security.scorecard | - | 5.4 |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=less&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:58:58.843Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*