Biome vs Scalafmt

Biome7.1Visit Scalafmt6.6Visit

Higher score Biome #5 in Code Formatting Tools 7.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Biome

vs

Scalafmt #8 in Code Formatting Tools 6.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Scalafmt

• Biome fits best

  Web teams wanting lint and format

• Scalafmt fits best

  Scala projects using build tools

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Side by side

Feature	Biome 7.1/10 Visit ↗	Scalafmt 6.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.1	6.6
Ranking	#5 in Code Formatting Tools	#8 in Code Formatting Tools
Best for	Web teams wanting lint and format	Scala projects using build tools
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Self-hosted, Desktop
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	5 integrations	12 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Biome 0/4 · Scalafmt 4/4
Editor integration	Not published	✓ (best)
Ignore files	Not published	✓ (best)
Changed-lines formatting	Not published	✓ (best)
Library API	Not published	✓ (best)
Specs
Supported languages	Not published	Scala 2, Scala 3, sbt, Scala scripts
Supported platforms	Not published	CLI, editors, build tools, standalone library
License model	Not published	Open_source
Our review
Pros	Combines formatting, lint diagnostics, autofixes, and import sorting Supports custom lint diagnostics through GritQL plugins Works with VS Code, IntelliJ, Zed, CI, Docker, and standalone binaries	Supports Scala 2 and Scala 3 dialects Integrates with sbt, Maven, Gradle, and Mill Offers editor, changed-file, and library API options
Cons	Language support spans 17 entries, including experimental and in-progress languages Not every listed language currently supports linting Its focus is web projects rather than a general-purpose language toolchain	Focused on Scala, sbt, and Scala scripts rather than many languages Configuration is managed through a .scalafmt.conf file Not a hosted commercial service with paid support tiers
Our verdict	Biome is an open-source toolchain for web projects that brings together a formatter, linter, command-line interface, and Language Server Protocol integration. It is aimed at developers and web teams maintaining JavaScript, TypeScript, JSX,… Read the review →	Scalafmt is an open-source code formatter for Scala projects, including Scala 2, Scala 3, sbt, and Scala script files. It reformats code according to settings in a .scalafmt.conf file and can run through the command line, editors, build… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Biome — where it wins

  • Combines formatting, lint diagnostics, autofixes, and import sorting
  • Supports custom lint diagnostics through GritQL plugins
  • Works with VS Code, IntelliJ, Zed, CI, Docker, and standalone binaries

  Where it doesn't

  • Language support spans 17 entries, including experimental and in-progress languages
  • Not every listed language currently supports linting
  • Its focus is web projects rather than a general-purpose language toolchain

• Scalafmt — where it wins

  • Supports Scala 2 and Scala 3 dialects
  • Integrates with sbt, Maven, Gradle, and Mill
  • Offers editor, changed-file, and library API options

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on Scala, sbt, and Scala scripts rather than many languages
  • Configuration is managed through a .scalafmt.conf file
  • Not a hosted commercial service with paid support tiers

• Biome7.1/10 · Free plan

  An open-source web toolchain combining formatting, linting, fixes, and editor support.

  Visit BiomeFull verdict →
• Scalafmt6.6/10 · Free plan

  A configurable, open-source formatter for Scala code, scripts, and build files.

  Visit ScalafmtFull verdict →