Building a lean TypeScript quality stack doesn't have to break the bank. We tested the most popular free and low-cost tools and found that combining ESLint, Prettier, and DeepSource gives you style enforcement, syntax checking, and automated security review for under $50/month for small teams.
ESLint catches unused variables, logic errors, and type-level issues with TypeScript plugins. It's free, open-source, and runs anywhere.
Prettier auto-formats code consistently across your team. Integrates cleanly with ESLint and runs in CI or pre-commit hooks.
DeepSource finds security vulnerabilities, anti-patterns, and hardcoded secrets in PRs. Team plan at $24/user/month fits under $50 budget.
If you're a small TypeScript team looking to ship clean, secure code without burning your entire budget on developer tooling, you're in luck. The best code quality stack combines free, open-source industry standards with one affordable automated review tool — and it all comes in under $50 per month.
We tested the most popular tools across three critical dimensions: style consistency, syntax correctness, and security/anti-pattern detection. Here's what we found.
The things actually worth buying for a small TypeScript team are surprisingly simple. You don't need a half-dozen paid services. You need three tools that each own their lane.
ESLint is the undisputed standard for JavaScript and TypeScript linting. It's open-source, massively extensible, and catches everything from unused variables to logic errors before they ever reach production. With TypeScript-specific plugins like @typescript-eslint, it understands your type system and flags type-level issues alongside runtime concerns.
For small teams, ESLint's free, self-hosted model is perfect. You configure it once in your eslint.config.js, run it in CI, and let it enforce your team's conventions automatically. There's no per-seat cost, no usage cap, and a plugin ecosystem that covers React, Node, testing frameworks, and more.
The catch: ESLint only handles style and syntax rules. It won't find security vulnerabilities or deep anti-patterns across your codebase. That's where the other tools come in.
Prettier is the gold standard for code formatting. It's an opinionated formatter that eliminates entire categories of style debates — tabs vs. spaces, semicolons vs. no semicolons, trailing commas, line length, and more. Just run it and your code is consistently formatted.
The magic of Prettier is that it integrates seamlessly with ESLint via eslint-config-prettier, which turns off ESLint rules that would conflict with Prettier's formatting. This means ESLint handles logic and syntax, Prettier handles formatting, and they never step on each other's toes.
Prettier is completely free and runs locally, in CI, or as a pre-commit hook. For a small TypeScript team, it's the easiest win you'll get.
DeepSource fills the gap that ESLint and Prettier leave open: automated code review for security issues, anti-patterns, and performance problems. It runs static analysis on every pull request and flags issues before they're merged.
What sets DeepSource apart is its TypeScript-specific analyzers. It understands your framework (React, Next.js, NestJS, etc.) and catches issues like missing error boundaries, unsafe type assertions, hardcoded secrets, and dependency vulnerabilities. The free tier covers public repos, and the Team plan at $24/user/month fits comfortably under our $50/month budget for a small team.
DeepSource also offers Autofix — AI-powered suggestions that can be applied with one click. For a lean team, this means fewer review cycles and faster merges.
| Dimension | ESLint | Prettier | DeepSource |
|---|---|---|---|
| Style | ✅ Custom rules | ✅ Auto-formatting | ❌ Not its focus |
| Syntax | ✅ Deep analysis | ❌ Format only | ✅ Anti-patterns |
| Security | ❌ Limited | ❌ None | ✅ SAST + secrets |
| Price | Free | Free | Free / $24/user/mo |
The three pillars of code quality are style, syntax, and security. Each tool in this stack owns exactly one of those pillars:
Together, they cover the full quality surface area for a small TypeScript team. You get consistent formatting, correct syntax, and secure code — all for under $50/month.
The things actually worth buying for TypeScript code quality are the tools that cover distinct, non-overlapping concerns. ESLint and Prettier are free and essential. DeepSource adds automated security review at a price that fits any small team's budget.
Skip the expensive all-in-one platforms. This lean stack gives you professional-grade quality assurance without the professional-grade price tag.
| Pick | Price | Price | Type Support | Extensibility | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ESLint ▶ Pick | — | Free | TypeScript plugins | Thousands of plugins | Check price ↗ |
Prettier best for code formatting — zero-config, eliminates style debates. | — | Free | — | — | Check price ↗ |
DeepSource best for automated security review — catches what linters miss. | — | Free / $24/user | — | — | Check price ↗ |
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Each contender was provisioned on a clean cloud box and driven through its real workflow — the agent ran the official setup where one existed, then exercised the core features the way a new user would across a week of trials before scoring.
