# GCC vs LLVM: source lines of code compared

The GCC vs LLVM comparison on OctoCounts shows side-by-side source line counts for gcc-mirror/gcc and llvm/llvm-project, counted with the same engine and analysis options on the dates shown in the methodology line: files, total lines, code lines, comment lines, blank lines, and per-language totals, pinned to the exact commits listed below.

As of 2026-09-06, gcc-mirror/gcc contains 18,510,299 total lines (11,245,820 code) across 143,157 files, while llvm/llvm-project contains 11,420,548 total lines (8,218,225 code) across 36,479 files as of 2026-09-16. gcc-mirror/gcc is about 1.4x the size of llvm/llvm-project by code lines. Code size is not code quality: a larger count only means more source material, not a better or worse project.

| Metric | [gcc-mirror/gcc](https://octocounts.com/github/gcc-mirror/gcc) | [llvm/llvm-project](https://octocounts.com/github/llvm/llvm-project) |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Files | 143,157 | 36,479 |
| Total lines | 18,510,299 | 11,420,548 |
| Code lines | 11,245,820 | 8,218,225 |
| Comment lines | 4,794,940 | 1,787,239 |
| Blank lines | 2,469,539 | 1,415,084 |
| Languages counted | 12 | 12 |

Top languages in gcc-mirror/gcc: C (27.2% of code), C++ (26.8% of code), C Header (7.7% of code). Top languages in llvm/llvm-project: C++ (67.2% of code), C Header (20.8% of code), C (2.1% of code). C, C++, C Header appear in both top language lists; PO File, D appear only in gcc-mirror/gcc's top languages; C++ Header, Python appear only in llvm/llvm-project's top languages.

Methodology: both counts come from cached OctoCounts reports generated with tokei. gcc-mirror/gcc was counted at ref fc0a5c0d04a55429868594403f96608f7003aed4 (commit fc0a5c0d04a5) on 2026-09-06; llvm/llvm-project was counted at ref 6f6bbfb5e63e8cf4f051c7e5f773c41fe5ddbf19 (commit 6f6bbfb5e63e) on 2026-09-16. See the [counting methodology](https://octocounts.com/docs/methodology) for ignored directories and analysis options.
## About this comparison

gcc-mirror/gcc counts a Git mirror of the GCC source repository: the compiler collection — front ends, optimizers, code generators, runtime libraries, and test suites across several languages. llvm/llvm-project counts the LLVM monorepo: the LLVM core plus Clang, MLIR, LLDB, libc++, and other subprojects in one tree. Both are compiler-infrastructure source trees, but they are organized very differently, which the counts above reflect.

Both trees are predominantly C and C++ in the per-language tables, befitting their shared role as native toolchains; the remaining share on each side marks the front ends and runtime libraries that are not written in the core languages.

The totals are scoped differently by construction: llvm-project consolidates many subprojects into one counted tree, while the GCC mirror counts the GNU compiler collection proper, so the two numbers describe differently-scoped collections rather than two counts of 'one compiler'.

_Compiler collection size does not measure compilation speed, generated-code quality, or which toolchain suits a project — those depend on the target, the languages involved, and the shipped toolchain versions. Read the counts as the size of two differently-organized source trees._

Sources: [gcc-mirror/gcc repository (Git mirror of GCC)](https://github.com/gcc-mirror/gcc) · [llvm/llvm-project repository (monorepo of LLVM subprojects)](https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project). Statements verified 2026-09-16.

Evidence and next steps:

- [gcc-mirror/gcc SLOC report](https://octocounts.com/github/gcc-mirror/gcc)
- [llvm/llvm-project SLOC report](https://octocounts.com/github/llvm/llvm-project)
- [Compare gcc-mirror/gcc and llvm/llvm-project interactively](https://octocounts.com/compare?left=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fgcc-mirror%2Fgcc&right=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fllvm%2Fllvm-project)

Note: code size is not code quality. OctoCounts only reports reproducible line counts and makes no claim that either project is better.

## Compare FAQ

### Which has more lines of code, gcc-mirror/gcc or llvm/llvm-project?

gcc-mirror/gcc has more code: 11,245,820 code lines versus 8,218,225 for llvm/llvm-project, about 1.4x as much, based on cached OctoCounts reports as of 2026-09-16.

### Does more source lines of code mean more complexity?

Not necessarily. SLOC measures size, not complexity, quality, or maintainability. A larger codebase can mean more features, more generated or vendored code, more verbose language idioms, or more tests — none of which imply the code is harder to work with. Use SLOC to gauge the scale of what you'd be reading or maintaining, not as a quality signal for gcc-mirror/gcc, llvm/llvm-project, or any repository.

### How is this comparison calculated?

Methodology: both counts come from cached OctoCounts reports generated with tokei. gcc-mirror/gcc was counted at ref fc0a5c0d04a55429868594403f96608f7003aed4 (commit fc0a5c0d04a5) on 2026-09-06; llvm/llvm-project was counted at ref 6f6bbfb5e63e8cf4f051c7e5f773c41fe5ddbf19 (commit 6f6bbfb5e63e) on 2026-09-16. See the counting methodology for ignored directories and analysis options.

### Can I compare a different branch, tag, or commit?

Yes. This page shows the default branch for each repository. Use the interactive comparison tool to pick any public GitHub repository, branch, tag, or commit SHA for both sides and get a fresh side-by-side report.

## Related OctoCounts pages

- [Interactive repository comparison](https://octocounts.com/compare)
- [Recently analyzed repositories](https://octocounts.com/recent)
- [Popular SLOC reports](https://octocounts.com/popular)
- [Trending GitHub repositories](https://octocounts.com/trending)
- [Hall of Monoliths](https://octocounts.com/hall-of-monoliths)
- [Original research: how filtering changes SLOC counts](https://octocounts.com/research)
- [GitHub SLOC counter guide](https://octocounts.com/docs/github-sloc-counter)
- [Counting methodology](https://octocounts.com/docs/methodology)
- [SLOC and code metrics glossary](https://octocounts.com/docs/glossary)
- [OctoCounts API docs](https://octocounts.com/docs/api)