gron vs JSON Hero
gron
github.comJSON Hero
jsonhero.devSide by side
| Figure | gron | JSON Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $4.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · JSON Tools | 8.0 (#11) | 7.6 (#17) |
| Purpose | gron transforms JSON into discrete assignments so users can grep for values and see their paths. | JSON Hero is an online tool for formatting, minifying, validating, viewing, searching, editing, comparing, and sharing JSON. |
Plans
In their own words
gron
gron is a free, open-source command-line utility that turns JSON into separate assignments with visible paths. This representation helps users grep values in large or deeply nested JSON, including responses from poorly documented APIs. Input can come from a file, URL, or standard input. The --ungron option converts assignments back into JSON, while --json emits a JSON stream. Other options provide value-only output, colored or monochrome display, line-by-line streaming, insecure certificate handling, and sorting control. The output is valid JavaScript, and the project demonstrates comparing JSON files by diffing their gron output. If array entries are missing, ungron inserts null values to preserve keys. gron has no runtime dependencies. Installation instructions cover binary downloads, Homebrew, and Go install. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows; plan information also lists FreeBSD binaries. The repository uses the MIT license.