compare

PMD vs SpotBugs

The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.

PMD vs SpotBugs
Fact	PMD	SpotBugs
Language	Java	Java
Licence	Other	LGPL-2.1
Stars	5.5k	4k
Latest	pmd_releases/7.28.0	4.10.5
Last push	2026-10-18	2026-10-18
Release cadence	about 31 days between releases	about 36 days between releases
Active contributors	36 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days	27 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days
Flags	none	none

How they relate

Both replace SonarQube Community Build. Alternatives to SonarQube Community Build →
PartialPMDStatic analysis rules for Java and other languages, run as a CLI or build plugin without a server.
PartialSpotBugsBytecode analysis for Java bugs, run as a CLI or build plugin without a server.