Product Debt Index vs SonarQube
SonarQube tells you how many code smells you have. PDI tells you when technical debt will bankrupt your engineering capacity. They measure different things at different layers.
| Dimension | PDI | SonarQube |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Economic impact of debt in dollar terms | Code quality (bugs, smells, duplications) |
| Output | Technical Insolvency Date, PDI score, dollar cost | Quality gate pass/fail, ratings A-E |
| Audience | CTOs, CFOs, board members, investors | Developers, tech leads |
| Question answered | "When will debt consume all capacity?" | "How many code quality issues exist?" |
| Cost | Free (richardewing.io/tools/pdi) | Free (Community) / $150+/mo (Enterprise) |
| AI features | AI-powered analysis via LLM | AI Code Assurance (Enterprise) |
| Board-ready? | ✅ Produces executive-ready reports | ❌ Developer-focused dashboards |
| Integration | Standalone web tool | CI/CD pipeline integration |
The Verdict
Use both. SonarQube is excellent at catching code-level issues in your CI/CD pipeline. PDI answers the question SonarQube can't: "What is this debt costing us in dollars, and when will it consume all engineering capacity?"
SonarQube is a microscope. PDI is a financial statement. CTOs need both. Boards only care about the financial statement.
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