NDepend vs PMD
NDepend
ndepend.comPMD
pmd.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | NDepend | PMD |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code Complexity Analyzers | 7.8 (#8) | 8.3 (#6) |
| Spec score · Static Analysis Tools | 7.7 (#20) | 8.2 (#12) |
| Operating systems | The download page says the redistributable is suitable for Windows, macOS, and Linux; the Developer edition runs only on Windows. | The documentation provides execution instructions for Linux/Unix and Windows, using pmd or pmd.bat. |
| Purpose | NDepend is a .NET code quality and security analysis tool that provides insight into codebases for developers, architects, and executives. | PMD is an extensible cross-language static code analyzer that finds common programming flaws. |
Plans
NDepend
- NDepend Azure DevOps / TFS ExtensionPrice not published
- NDepend for Build MachinePrice not published
- NDepend for DeveloperPrice not published
- NDepend GitHub ActionPrice not published
In their own words
PMD
PMD is a free, extensible static code analyzer that checks source code for programming flaws such as unused variables, empty catch blocks, and unnecessary object creation. It includes more than 400 built-in rules, and teams can write custom rules in Java or XPath. Its bundled CPD tool finds duplicated code across many programming languages. PMD checks source directories from the command line and can run as a Maven, Ant, Gradle, or bld build operation. Supported languages include Java, JavaScript, Salesforce Apex and Visualforce, Kotlin, Swift, Modelica, PL/SQL, Apache Velocity, JSP, WSDL, Maven POM, HTML, XML, and XSL; Scala is supported without Scala rules. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and requires Java 8 or above. For CI, its GitHub Action can create SARIF reports and fail builds based on violation counts; documentation also covers GitLab, Jenkins, and Bamboo integrations. IDE integrations include Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio Code, though some listed plugins are not actively maintained. Only the latest major version is actively developed.