CBMC

6.9easy start · #6 of 33
in Formal Verification Tools

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows.

CBMC is ranked #6 of 33 in formal verification tools on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

CBMC plans and pricing

All plans

CBMC Free 4-clause BSD licensed open-source software github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on formal verification tools

Free plan: Yes
Verification method: model-checking
Supported formalisms: contracts
Counterexamples: Yes
Input languages: C, C++, Java bytecode, SystemC
Deployment: self-hosted

Best CBMC alternatives

See all 12

PVS 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 17.4 Rocq 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 27.2 UPPAAL 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 37.2 Alloy Analyzer 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 47.1 Z3 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 57.1 Isabelle 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 76.9

The record

Purpose: CBMC is a bounded model checker for C and C++ programs that explores possible execution paths and checks assertions.
Safety checks: It can check array bounds, pointer safety, exceptions, user-specified assertions, and some undefined behavior such as signed integer overflow.
Bounded analysis: CBMC may require restricting inputs to a bounded size, and its verification unwinds loops before passing the resulting equation to a decision procedure.
Language support: The repository states support for C89, C99, most of C11, C17, C23, many GCC and Visual Studio extensions, and SystemC using Scoot.
Platforms: The installation guide points to installation instructions for macOS, Ubuntu, Windows, and Docker.
Distribution: The release page provides macOS Homebrew instructions, Ubuntu DEB packages, Windows MSI installers, and Docker container images.
Build integration: goto-cc can replace gcc or cl.exe in Makefiles to collect project models for verification.
Continuous integration: The user guide describes using CBMC as part of routine software development and continuous integration.
Related tools: The user guide names CBMC Viewer and CBMC Starter Kit as third-party tools for summarizing findings and adding verification to a project.
Solver support: CBMC supports an incremental SMT2 backend that can use an SMT-LIB 2.6 compliant solver, with examples for Z3 and CVC5.
License: The repository identifies CBMC as licensed under the 4-clause BSD license.
Support: The repository asks users encountering problems to file a bug report as a GitHub issue.
Release guidance: The repository says released versions are tested and intended for production use, while develop versions are not recommended for production use.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Formal Verification Tools in 2026#6 of 33

Is CBMC yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote CBMC

Sources

diffblue.github.io/cbmc/· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/diffblue/cbmc· checked 4 Oct 2026
diffblue.github.io/cbmc/installation_guide.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/diffblue/cbmc/releases· checked 4 Oct 2026
diffblue.github.io/cbmc/cprover-manual/md_goto-cc.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
diffblue.github.io/cbmc/user_guide.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
diffblue.github.io/cbmc/cprover-manual/md_smt2-incr.html· checked 4 Oct 2026