Best Debuggers in 2026
Updated
In short: LLDB is ranked #1 of 27 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of IDA Pro and FlowStorm. The best-ranked option with a free plan is IDA Pro. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Xdebug at £16.67/mo.
When you need to investigate program behavior, a debugger can help you pause execution and examine what is happening. Compare supported languages and target platforms, then check for features such as conditional and exception breakpoints, remote debugging, and core dump debugging. Time-travel debugging, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing are also included as comparison points. LLDB, GDB, and Delve lead the ranking, with Xdebug and IDA Pro among the entries that follow. Consider the order alongside the languages, targets, and debugging workflows relevant to your work.
27 debuggers ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
5 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LLDBWindows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone | Three bars | — | 5 of 6 | Free | 6.8 | |
| 2 | IDA ProWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $91.58/mo | 6.6 | |
| 3 | FlowStormWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 4 | GDBWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 5 | RenderDocWindows · Linux · Android | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 6 | DelveWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 7 | XdebugWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | £16.67/mo | 5.6 |
| 8 | TRACE32Windows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 9 | Black Magic DebugWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 10 | dnSpyExWindows · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 11 | Erlang DebuggerWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 12 | OpenOCDWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 13 | Perl DebuggerWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 14 | PonyDebuggerWeb · Mac · iPhone | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 15 | pyOCDWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 16 | CUDA-GDBLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 17 | FLEXiPhone | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 18 | UDE Universal Debug EngineWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 19 | WinDbgWindows | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 20 | OllyDbgWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 21 | rrLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 22 | Ruby debugNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 23 | x64dbgWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 24 | SEGGER OzoneWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.0 |
| 25 | UDBLinux · Extension | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.0 |
Is your app 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 debugger is ranked first on Freedom251?
LLDB is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 6.8. IDA Pro is second and FlowStorm third.
How many of these have a free plan?
5 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Xdebug has the lowest first paid tier we found: £16.67/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.