Side by side

Ruff vs Stylelint

Both stand on linters. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Ruff

Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2

Ruff combines Python linting, formatting and fixes, with integrations for common editors and CI workflows. Its free, permissively licensed offering has broad built-in rules, but teams needing custom lint rules will hit a stated limitation.

Visit Ruff

Stylelint

Free plan APILinuxMac+1

Stylelint provides flexible CSS linting through its CLI, Node.js API and PostCSS integration. Its free offering includes extensive rules and extension options, with general support directed to Stack Overflow and issue reports to GitHub.

Visit Stylelint

The facts

	Ruff	Stylelint
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	API, Linux, Mac, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	1	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	docs.astral.sh	stylelint.io
On linters	#20 of 33	#24 of 33

Ruff: what it does well

Includes more than 900 built-in rules.
Can automatically fix violations such as unused imports.
Formatter is designed to replace Black.
Provides editor, CI and pre-commit integrations.
Includes a Bandit-derived security rule group.

What to know first

Custom and third-party lint rules are unsupported.
Formatter may differ from Black at the margins.
Language Server needs a companion for navigation and autocompletion.
Editor setup assistance is best-effort.

Stylelint: what it does well

More than 100 built-in rules for modern CSS
Can automatically fix problems when possible
Supports custom rules and reusable configurations
Offers CLI, Node.js API and PostCSS integration
Free, with no paid plans or usage limits stated

What to know first

Custom syntax support for other languages requires extensions
Maintained by volunteers

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