Programming Language
Popularity Index

A transparent, multi-source index of programming language popularity.
Updated every Tuesday from 7 independent data sources. Full methodology published.

This week: C++ climbed 2 spots to #3
20 languages tracked·7 data sources·updated weekly
Cited on Wikipedia7 data sources, full methodologyDomain Rating 39 (Ahrefs)

Why not TIOBE, PYPL, or RedMonk?

TIOBE counts search queries — which measures developer confusion, not adoption. Hence Scratch ranking above Rust.
PYPL tracks tutorial searches only, covers 22 languages, and updates monthly.
RedMonk relies on Stack Overflow, whose question volume has fallen by more than half year-on-year (verify) as developers move to AI assistants.

LangPop uses 7 independent sources, updates every Tuesday, and publishes the full formula. See the methodology →

Top 10 Languages

Updated: May 17, 2026
RankLanguageChangeScore
1Python56.4
2JavaScript40.3
3C++238.8
4Java132.7
5TypeScript127.8
6Go21.3
7C#18.5
8Rust116.2
9PHP115.2
10Swift10.1

Languages to Watch

See all trends →

Editorial picks — three languages where the story matters more than the rank.

rust

Rank #8

Memory safety has become a mandate, not a preference

Rust is the second language officially accepted into the Linux kernel, Android now ships Rust components, and CISA's secure-by-design push has named C/C++ rewrites as a national-security concern. The hiring signal lags the policy signal — for now.

Read more →

typescript

Rank #5

Quietly became the default for new web teams

Almost every greenfield Node project starts in TypeScript now, and Python/Go shops still default to TypeScript on the frontend. The rank shows it growing — the JavaScript-first share of new repos is what's actually collapsing.

Read more →

elixir

Rank #20

Phoenix LiveView turned BEAM concurrency into a frontend pattern

Real-time UIs without a SPA framework, sub-millisecond inter-process messaging, and the same actor model that runs WhatsApp. Niche by rank, disproportionately loved by the engineers who use it.

Read more →

Why LangPop?

📊

7 Data Sources

GitHub, Stack Overflow, Google Trends, job postings, npm/PyPI, Reddit, and tutorials. No single-source bias.

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Weekly Updates

Beat competitors' monthly or annual cadence. Fresh data every Tuesday with trend analysis.

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Full Transparency

Every weight, formula, and data source documented publicly. No black-box methodology.

Analysis

State of JavaScript 2026

Why JavaScript cannot be displaced, despite Python's dominance.

Read →
Analysis

State of Python 2026

How Python achieved and will maintain #1 across every major index.

Read →
AI

Best AI Coding Assistants 2026

GitHub Copilot vs Claude Code vs Cursor — ranked by the data.

Read →

The LangPop Weekly

Every Tuesday: the rankings shift, the trend that matters, and what AI coding tools are doing to the language landscape.

Weekly rankings Trend analysis AI coding insights

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