Prettier vs standard
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
An opinionated code formatter that rewrites your code in one consistent style.
Open source · MIT
A JavaScript style guide with a linter and auto-fixer that needs no config files.
The short answer
Choose Prettier if you need…
- Teams that want one shared code style without writing their own rules
- Developers who want formatting handled automatically on save
- Projects that use JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, or Markdown
- Setups that run formatting in a pre-commit hook or CI check
Choose standard if you need…
- JavaScript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules
- Node.js developers who want a quick, zero-config check in their package.json test script
- Open source projects that want clear, automated style expectations for contributors
- Developers who want to avoid managing .eslintrc files
Side-by-side
| Prettier | standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dev tool | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 52.4k | 29.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 16 months ago |
What each one is
Prettier
Prettier reads your source code, parses it, and reprints it using its own fixed formatting rules, wrapping lines when they exceed a maximum length. It supports many languages, including JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, JSON, Markdown, and YAML. Teams use it so everyone's code looks the same and code reviews don't turn into debates about spacing and line breaks.
standard
Standard is a JavaScript style guide enforced by a linter, which is a tool that checks code for formatting problems and common programmer mistakes. Running standard --fix will automatically correct many style issues. It is designed so you do not need to write or maintain a configuration file.
Best for
Prettier
- Teams that want one shared code style without writing their own rules
- Developers who want formatting handled automatically on save
- Projects that use JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, or Markdown
- Setups that run formatting in a pre-commit hook or CI check
standard
- JavaScript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules
- Node.js developers who want a quick, zero-config check in their package.json test script
- Open source projects that want clear, automated style expectations for contributors
- Developers who want to avoid managing .eslintrc files
Strengths
Prettier
- Removes formatting debates from code review by applying one consistent style
- Supports many languages in one tool, as listed in the README
- Widely used, with an active repository and a recent release (3.9.10)
standard
- No configuration files to create or maintain
- Automatic fixing via standard --fix saves review time
- Widely used and actively maintained, with about 29,000 GitHub stars and a recent push in July 2025
Not ideal for
Prettier
- People who want to customize every formatting detail, since Prettier is opinionated and offers limited options (the README links to an Options page, which was not reviewed here)
- Projects in languages not listed in the README, unless a plugin exists for them
standard
- Teams that want to customize many style rules, since the README stresses there is no configuration (reason: the style is fixed by design)
- Projects that prefer Prettier-style formatting specifically, since the README only compares to Prettier in a linked talk and does not describe it as a replacement (reason: different approach)
- Developers who need the linter to check non-JavaScript languages (reason: it targets JavaScript files by default: **/*.js and **/*.jsx)
Trade-offs
Prettier
- Its opinionated style means limited control over individual formatting choices
- Teams with an established, different style may need to reformat existing code, which creates large diffs
standard
- Style rules are fixed, so you cannot easily adjust them to personal or team preferences
- Requires Node.js and npm to be installed first
- The README is truncated here, so details on supported syntax and newer language features are unclear
Getting started
Prettier
Install with npm (from the project's install docs; README excerpt does not include the command)
git clone https://github.com/prettier/prettierstandard
Install globally as a command line program
npm install standard --globalInstall locally for a single project
npm install standard --save-devFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Prettier and standard?
Prettier: An opinionated code formatter that rewrites your code in one consistent style. standard: A JavaScript style guide with a linter and auto-fixer that needs no config files. Prettier suits teams that want one shared code style without writing their own rules, while standard suits javascript projects where the team wants consistent style without debating rules.
Are Prettier and standard free?
Prettier: Free and open source. standard: Free and open source.
Is Prettier or standard more popular?
Prettier has more GitHub stars (52.4k) than standard (29.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Prettier and standard?
Other options people compare them with include ESLint, PostCSS, esbuild, Mitosis, Madge.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.