Prettier vs Biome: Choosing the Right Tool for Code Quality

Choosing between Prettier and Biome can significantly impact your code quality workflow. This blog compares both tools in detail to help you decide. Discover which one fits your team's needs best.

Tired of managing endless ESLint plugins, Prettier conflicts, and performance slowdowns in your JavaScript tooling? You're not alone. As teams scale and codebases grow, the complexity of maintaining consistent formatting and catching syntax errors becomes overwhelming. This blog compares Prettier vs Biome—two tools aimed at solving these problems with different approaches. You'll learn the strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs of each tool.

This guide covers how each tool handles formatting, linting, and configuration, why Biome is gaining traction as a next-generation solution, and what to expect when you're planning to migrate. Expect actionable examples, diagrams, and performance insights to help you make the best choice for your JavaScript project.

Understanding the Foundations

What is Prettier?

Prettier is a formatter that parses your code and reprints it with consistent styles, taking the guesswork out of formatting decisions. It enforces uniformity and readability across your project, ignoring stylistic preferences in favor of consistency.

Key Features:

• Opinionated code formatting

• Integrates with code editors like Visual Studio Code

• Has a simple, prettier configuration model

• Cannot lint, only format

Example:

Copy
1const name="Prettier"  // gets formatted to:
2const name = "Prettier";

What is Biome?

Biome is an all-in-one tool designed to replace the combined stack of Prettier, ESLint, and parts of Babel. It handles code formatting, linting, and even type-checking for TypeScript files.

Biome supports:

• Lightning-fast performance (written in Rust)

• Built-in formatter and linter

• A unified single configuration file

• Aims to be a single dependency solution

Biome is still in early stages, but it’s already proving to be a serious contender in the JavaScript ecosystem.

Comparing Features: Prettier vs Biome

Managing Configuration: A Key Difference

Biome simplifies the configuration experience by consolidating everything—formatting, linting, and rules—into one single configuration file: biome.json.

Biome Configuration Example:

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1{
2  "files": {
3    "ignore": ["build/", "dist/"]
4  },
5  "formatter": {
6    "enabled": true
7  },
8  "linter": {
9    "enabled": true,
10    "rules": {
11      "style": {
12        "noUnusedVariables": "error"
13      }
14    }
15  }
16}

This replaces separate ESLint configuration and Prettier configuration files.

Prettier, by contrast, still relies on .prettierrc and integrates via plugins with eslint for handling syntax errors, rules, and unused variables.

How Biome Handles Everything

Biome acts as the single engine, reducing complexity and dependencies.

The Power of biome lint, biome check, and biome migrate

• biome lint: Inspects code for errors and style rules

• biome check: Runs validations against current settings

• biome migrate: Updates your configuration file, detects deprecated rules, and guides your migration from ESLint

Example command:

Copy
1biome check

This helps identify bad patterns early, before they cause runtime errors.

Prettier Biome Coexistence? Maybe Temporarily

Some developers may want to run both tools during early stages of adoption. You can disable biome formatting and just use biome lint while keeping Prettier active. But maintaining both long term creates configuration complexity.

Code Example: From ESLint to Biome

ESLint + Prettier

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1{
2  "extends": ["eslint:recommended", "plugin:react/recommended"],
3  "rules": {
4    "no-unused-vars": "warn",
5    "semi": ["error", "always"]
6  }
7}

Biome Equivalent

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1{
2  "linter": {
3    "enabled": true,
4    "rules": {
5      "style": {
6        "noUnusedVariables": "warn",
7        "semi": "always"
8      }
9    }
10  }
11}

Biome removes the need for separate ESLint configuration and plugins.

Integration with Tools

Both tools can be added to a pre-commit hook using lint-staged and husky. Here's how to set it up for Biome:

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1{
2  "lint-staged": {
3    "*.{js,ts}": ["biome format --write", "biome lint"]
4  }
5}

You can also use scripts like:

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1"scripts": {
2  "check": "biome check",
3  "lint": "biome lint",
4  "format": "biome format --write"
5}

Common Errors & Debugging

• Error messages in Biome are clear and actionable

• Common Biome issues include invalid JSON in the configuration file

• Use the biome check to verify configuration integrity

Example Output:

Copy
1[Error] Rule `noUnusedVariables` triggered on line 42

This pinpoints exactly what to fix, how, and where.

Who Should Use What?

Final Thoughts

Biome offers a bold direction in simplifying the configuration, formatting, and linting experience. If your project is greenfield or you're facing performance bottlenecks and want fewer dependencies, Biome is a serious alternative.

The choice between prettier vs biome comes down to your current stack and how ready you are to migrate. Prettier is stable and proven. Biome is fast, unified, and modern.

Make your decision based on your team’s workflow, output quality expectations, and ESLint rule management needs.