shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Prettier?

An opinionated code formatter. - prettier.io

Worth it. If your team writes JavaScript/TypeScript and wants style debates gone, Prettier is the free de facto standard. Skip it if raw speed matters (Biome is much faster) or you'd rather fold formatting into ESLint stylistic rules.

Confidence

High. Based on ~30 public sources; most snippets were truncated, so user quotes are verbatim post/essay titles.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityCommunity-maintained OSS; no support evidence found.
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Prettier

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Enterprise (via Tidelift)Custom, not published

Best for

  • JS/TS teams tired of style debates
  • Large codebases needing one enforced style
  • Mixed-language repos via plugins
  • VS Code users wanting format-on-save

Not for

  • Speed-critical repos — Biome formats far faster
  • Teams folding formatting into ESLint stylistic rules
  • Devs wanting per-developer custom styles — it's opinionated by design
  • Teams still running compromised pre-10.1.6 plugin versions

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

CVE-2025-54313: eslint-config-prettier hijacked July 2025; only 10.1.6+ is safe — audit lockfiles.

high

eslint-plugin-prettier had malicious code embedded; Snyk rated it critical.

medium

Exploit targeted Windows only, but treat all compromised versions as unsafe.

low

Donation-funded project; vendor support only via Tidelift, not Prettier directly.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open source under MIT
  • Ends formatting arguments with one opinionated style
  • Huge ecosystem: editor extensions and language plugins
  • Used by 2,888 tracked companies
  • Enterprise security support available via Tidelift

Cons

  • Slow format-on-save on large files
  • Minimal config frustrates devs wanting custom styles
  • Formatting can differ across machines without shared config
  • Ecosystem plugins caught in 2025 supply-chain attack
  • Some teams abandon it for lighter tools

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/26/2026 - 15 sources - Core prettier package unaffected, but two ecosystem plugins (eslint-config-prettier, eslint-plugin-prettier) were compromised via npm in July 2025 (CVE-2025-54313); fixed versions shipped.

official x6review x5security x2news x2
  • CVE-2025-54313 — eslint-config-prettier compromise, npm package hijacked July 2025, distributing malicious code; Windows-targeted; version 10.1.6 confirmed safe.
  • Malicious code in eslint-plugin-prettier, Snyk flagged embedded malicious code in the plugin, rated critical, July 2025.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 15

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free MIT tool, no seats, no limits.
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Works out of the box; team config drift happens.
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Many languages via plugins; deliberately minimal configuration.
  • Support quality. Community-maintained OSS; no support evidence found.
  • Security posture: 2/5. July 2025 supply-chain attack hit ecosystem plugins.
  • $0 Price MIT open source
  • Yes Free tier Entirely free; donation-funded
  • 2,888 companies Adoption Tracked users via TheirStack
  • $1,500/mo Maintainer funding Per maintainer via OpenCollective

Pricing

Prettier

$0

  • Full formatter, multi-language
  • MIT license
  • Community support via GitHub

Enterprise (via Tidelift)

Not disclosed

  • Security maintenance guarantee
  • Vendor-backed support

Security

Core prettier package unaffected, but two ecosystem plugins (eslint-config-prettier, eslint-plugin-prettier) were compromised via npm in July 2025 (CVE-2025-54313); fixed versions shipped.

  • CVE-2025-54313 — eslint-config-prettier compromisenpm package hijacked July 2025, distributing malicious code; Windows-targeted; version 10.1.6 confirmed safe.11
  • Malicious code in eslint-plugin-prettierSnyk flagged embedded malicious code in the plugin, rated critical, July 2025.
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources; most snippets were truncated, so user quotes are verbatim post/essay titles.

Free opinionated formatter that ends style debates; ideal for JS/TS teams, but 2025 plugin supply-chain breach and Biome competition.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources; most snippets were truncated, so user quotes are verbatim post/essay titles.

Sources

  1. Prettier · Opinionated Code Formatterprettier.io
    official
  2. prettier on npmnpmjs.com
    official
  3. Prettier Rationaleprettier.io
    official
  4. Prettier - Code formatter (VS Code)marketplace.visualstudio.com
    official
  5. Prettier for Enterprise (Tidelift)prettier.io
    official
  6. Why I don't use Prettierantfu.me
    review
  7. Those who stopped using prettier, why? (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  8. I don't like prettier (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  9. Prettier formatting differs across setups (Stack Overflow)stackoverflow.com
    review
  10. FormatOnSave takes a long time (GitHub issue)github.com
    review
  11. CVE-2025-54313 (NVD)nvd.nist.gov
    security
  12. eslint-config-prettier hijack, 10.1.6 safe (JFrog)research.jfrog.com
    security
  13. Companies that use Prettier (TheirStack)theirstack.com
    news
  14. Prettier begins paying maintainersprettier.io
    news
  15. Biome: toolchain of the webbiomejs.dev
    official

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