Best Linters in 2026
Updated
In short: Cppcheck is ranked #1 of 33 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of Biome and Astral. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Biome.
Linters help you check code against language rules and project conventions. Compared on languages supported, IDE support, and CI support, the entries also vary in custom rules, security rules, and autofix. Cppcheck, Biome, and Astral are among the tools to consider. Think about the languages your projects use and whether checks belong in an editor, an automated pipeline, or both. Custom rules may be relevant when your team has conventions to enforce, while autofix is another capability to weigh. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost context as you compare the listed options.
33 linters ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Linters, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 11 of the 25 on this page can be tried for free.
- 1 CppcheckFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 2 BiomeFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 3 AstralFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 4 PMDFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 5 RuffFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 6 ESLintFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 7 golangci-lintFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 8 OxcFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 9 StylelintFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 10 Hadolint
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 11 PHPMD
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 12 ShellCheck
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 13 actionlint
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 14 Clippy
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 15 detektFree plan
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 16 HLint
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 17 Staticcheck
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 18 SwiftLint
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 19 cpplint
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 20 PassWeb
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 21 yamllint
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 22 Flake8
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 23 LuacheckFree plan
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 24 RuboCop
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 25 Checkstyle
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Languages supported | Autofix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cppcheck | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 2 | — |
| 2 | Biome | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 17 | Yes |
| 3 | Astral | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 4 | PMD | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 16 | — |
| 5 | Ruff | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 6 | ESLint | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 7 | golangci-lint | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 8 | Oxc | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 2 | Yes |
| 9 | Stylelint | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 8 | Yes |
| 10 | Hadolint | 6.1 | No | — | Yes | — | 2 | — |
| 11 | PHPMD | 6.1 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | No |
| 12 | ShellCheck | 6.1 | No | — | Yes | — | 4 | Yes |
| 13 | actionlint | 6.0 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Clippy | 6.0 | No | — | — | — | 1 | Yes |
| 15 | detekt | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 16 | HLint | 6.0 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 17 | Staticcheck | 6.0 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 18 | SwiftLint | 6.0 | No | — | — | — | 1 | Yes |
| 19 | cpplint | 5.9 | No | — | — | — | 2 | Yes |
| 20 | PassWeb | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | Yes |
| 21 | yamllint | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | No |
| 22 | Flake8 | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | No |
| 23 | Luacheck | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 | RuboCop | 5.8 | No | — | — | — | 1 | Yes |
| 25 | Checkstyle | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | 1 | — |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which linter is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Cppcheck is ranked #1 of 33 with a score of 7.8. Biome is second and Astral third.
How many of these have a free plan?
11 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.