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Head-to-head · Code Clone Detection Tools

PMD vs semdup

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score PMD #3 in Code Clone Detection Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit PMD
semdup #8 in Code Clone Detection Tools 8.4/10 Open source ✓ 2 of 3 features Visit semdup

PMD leads on 0 checks, semdup on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorePMD · 9.0/10
  • Free planonly PMD
  • Most featuressemdup · 2 of 3

PMD scores higher on our rubric for code clone detection tools: 9.0 against 8.4 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #8.

PMD is the better fit for teams wanting clones plus broad static analysis. semdup is the better fit for semantic duplicate detection with local inference.

  • PMD fits best

    Teams wanting clones plus broad static analysis

  • semdup fits best

    Semantic duplicate detection with local inference

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Side by side

Feature PMD 9.0/10 Visit ↗ semdup 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.4
Ranking #3 in Code Clone Detection Tools #8 in Code Clone Detection Tools
Best for Teams wanting clones plus broad static analysis Semantic duplicate detection with local inference
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted, Desktop Self-hosted
Integrations 10 integrations 2 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business
Features PMD 0/3 · semdup 2/3
CI integration Not checked yet ✓ (best)
IDE integration Not checked yet Not checked yet
Self-hosted option Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Clone detection method Not checked yet Semantic
Scan scope Not checked yet Repository
Supported languages Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • CPD detects duplicated code alongside 400+ built-in analysis rules
  • Supports 16 languages with Java and XPath custom rules
  • Fits Maven, IDE, CI, and major build-tool workflows
  • Finds semantic duplicates beyond token-level similarity
  • Supports local CPU or CUDA inference with ONNX
  • Automates repository scans through GitHub Actions
Cons
  • Primarily suits teams comfortable with self-hosted developer tooling
  • Custom rules require Java or XPath knowledge
  • IDE support centers on Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio Code
  • Self-hosted installation adds deployment responsibility
  • Amazon Bedrock embeddings may incur separate AWS charges
  • Language support is limited to the listed programming languages
Our verdict

PMD is an open-source, multilanguage static code analyzer for developers and development teams that need more than duplicate-code detection. Its CPD component identifies duplicated code, while the wider analysis engine covers issues such…

Read the review →

semdup is an open-source command-line tool for identifying near-duplicate source code by comparing semantic meaning rather than token sequences. It indexes functions or code blocks, stores embeddings locally, and reports duplicate clusters…

Read the review →
  1. PMDCode Clone Detection Tools 9.0Free plan
  2. semdupCode Clone Detection Tools 8.4Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • PMD — where it wins

    • CPD detects duplicated code alongside 400+ built-in analysis rules
    • Supports 16 languages with Java and XPath custom rules
    • Fits Maven, IDE, CI, and major build-tool workflows

    Where it doesn't

    • Primarily suits teams comfortable with self-hosted developer tooling
    • Custom rules require Java or XPath knowledge
    • IDE support centers on Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio Code

  • semdup — where it wins

    • Finds semantic duplicates beyond token-level similarity
    • Supports local CPU or CUDA inference with ONNX
    • Automates repository scans through GitHub Actions

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted installation adds deployment responsibility
    • Amazon Bedrock embeddings may incur separate AWS charges
    • Language support is limited to the listed programming languages
  • PMD9.0/10 · Free plan

    A strong open-source choice for teams pairing clone detection with broad static analysis.

    Visit PMDFull verdict →
  • semdup8.4/10 · Open source

    A self-hosted semantic clone detector with repository diff and CI support.

    Visit semdupFull verdict →

More comparisons

All code clone detection tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update