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Developer Tools · head to head

Prettier vs Sardine

Prettier logo

Prettier

Developer Tools

Opinionated code formatter

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Sardine logo

Sardine

Cybersecurity

Device intelligence and behaviour biometrics for fraud and compliance

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Prettier has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Prettier inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults; Sardine signal quality depends on the SDK being embedded in your own web and mobile clients, so fraud improvements become dependent on your app release cycle and any coverage gap is a blind spot.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Prettier and Sardine actually diverge.

Attributes where Prettier and Sardine differ
AttributePrettierSardine
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsCLI, Editor Plugins, Build ToolsWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Prettier

Nothing recorded that Sardine does not also cover.

Only in Sardine

  • Device intelligence
  • Behaviour biometrics
  • Scam detection
  • Onboarding risk scoring
  • AML transaction monitoring
  • Dispute and chargeback handling
  • Rules editor

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Prettier

  • Automatically formatting TypeScript files to project style standardsnot Sardine
  • Enforcing consistent HTML indentation across component filesnot Sardine
  • Removing style-related comments from pull request reviewsnot Sardine
  • Formatting GraphQL queries with consistent indentationnot Sardine

Sardine

  • A neobank losing money to authorised push payment scams where the customer genuinely approved the transfernot Prettier
  • A crypto exchange trying to detect accounts being operated by remote access rather than by their ownernot Prettier
  • A fintech seeing synthetic identity signups that pass document verification but share device characteristicsnot Prettier
  • A lender wanting first party fraud signals at application time that a credit bureau file does not containnot Prettier

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Prettier

  • Inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults
  • Developers must format entire files rather than selective line ranges in some contexts
  • Limited language support compared to some alternatives, though it covers major languages

Sardine

  • Signal quality depends on the SDK being embedded in your own web and mobile clients, so fraud improvements become dependent on your app release cycle and any coverage gap is a blind spot.
  • Behavioural and device telemetry collection needs a documented lawful basis under GDPR, and EU privacy reviews frequently delay rollouts that were scoped as engineering work.
  • Pricing is per session or per active user, so a consumer product with many low value sessions pays in proportion to traffic rather than to fraud exposure.
  • As a younger private company it lacks the enforcement-tested audit history that a bank examiner expects, which makes it a harder sell inside a regulated bank than inside a fintech.
  • It is strongest on session-time signals and weaker as a system of record for long horizon AML typologies, so larger institutions end up running it alongside a traditional monitoring platform rather than instead of one.

Pricing, plan by plan

Prettier

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Prettier review.

Sardine

On request
  • Sardine$undefined/year
    • Priced per user session or per monthly active user
    • Annual contract with volume commitment
    • SDK for web, iOS and Android

Which should you pick?

Choose Prettier if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on CLI, Editor Plugins, Build Tools.
Prettier review

Choose Sardine if

  • You need device intelligence.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want behaviour biometrics.
Sardine review

Questions people ask

Is Prettier or Sardine better?
Neither clearly leads. Prettier starts at Free and Sardine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Prettier or Sardine?
Prettier has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Prettier and On request for Sardine.
Does Prettier or Sardine run on more platforms?
Prettier runs on CLI, Editor Plugins, Build Tools. Sardine runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Prettier for free?
Yes. Prettier has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sardine starts at On request.
What is Prettier best used for?
Prettier is most often used for automatically formatting typescript files to project style standards, enforcing consistent html indentation across component files, removing style-related comments from pull request reviews, formatting graphql queries with consistent indentation. Of those, automatically formatting typescript files to project style standards and enforcing consistent html indentation across component files are not what Sardine is typically brought in for.
What can Prettier do that Sardine cannot?
Sardine covers Device intelligence, Behaviour biometrics, Scam detection, Onboarding risk scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Prettier: Is Prettier free and open source?

Yes, Prettier is completely free and open source, available as an npm package with no licensing costs or subscriptions.

Source
Sardine: Does Sardine do document verification?

It focuses on device, behavioural and transaction signals, and integrates identity verification providers rather than being one. Treat it as complementary to a KYC vendor.

Prettier: Can Prettier be integrated with ESLint?

Yes, Prettier integrates with ESLint by disabling ESLint formatting rules via eslint-config-prettier, allowing both tools to work together with Prettier handling formatting and ESLint handling code quality.

Source
Sardine: What does it need from us to work?

An SDK in your web and mobile applications plus transaction feeds. Without the client side collector you lose the signals that differentiate it.

Prettier: Does Prettier support configuration customization?

Prettier is intentionally opinionated with limited configuration options to enforce consistency. You can create a .prettierrc file for basic customization, but Prettier does not support extensive rule customization like ESLint.

Source
Sardine: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted, typically per session or per monthly active user with an annual volume commitment.

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