Reasons to endorse a technology — Work data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Question

Thinking about technologies you enjoy using for work, school, or personal projects, what is the main reason you would recommend one to others? Select one.

single select
Optional
v2026.1
Randomized

Data

	Respondents	Percent
It is reliable, performant, and stable	3,874	17.3%
It helps me be more productive or save time	3,563	15.9%
It has a strong community, ecosystem, or open-source presence	2,888	12.9%
It has a strong developer experience, such as APIs, SDKs, tooling, or integrations	2,541	11.4%
It is flexible, customizable, or easy to adapt to my needs	1,678	7.5%
It has a reputation for quality and long-term trustworthiness	1,666	7.5%
It has excellent documentation, examples, or learning resources	1,370	6.1%
It is easy to learn and use	1,226	5.5%
I’m not sure	1,223	5.5%
Other, please specify	632	2.8%
It has useful AI features or agent capabilities	505	2.3%
It has strong security, privacy, or compliance features	423	1.9%
It has manageable cost, pricing, or licensing	421	1.9%
I would not recommend any technology I use	361	1.6%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “Reasons to endorse a technology”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/work/data/tech-endorse

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

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  "data": [
    {
      "response": "It is reliable, performant, and stable",
      "count": 3874,
      "pct": 0.173
    },
    {
      "response": "It helps me be more productive or save time",
      "count": 3563,
      "pct": 0.159
    },
    {
      "response": "It has a strong community, ecosystem, or open-source presence",
      "count": 2888,
      "pct": 0.129
    },
    {
      "response": "It has a strong developer experience, such as APIs, SDKs, tooling, or integrations",
      "count": 2541,
      "pct": 0.114
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    {
      "response": "It is flexible, customizable, or easy to adapt to my needs",
      "count": 1678,
      "pct": 0.075
    },
    {
      "response": "It has a reputation for quality and long-term trustworthiness",
      "count": 1666,
      "pct": 0.075
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    {
      "response": "It has excellent documentation, examples, or learning resources",
      "count": 1370,
      "pct": 0.061
    },
    {
      "response": "It is easy to learn and use",
      "count": 1226,
      "pct": 0.055
    },
    {
      "response": "I’m not sure",
      "count": 1223,
      "pct": 0.055
    },
    {
      "response": "Other, please specify",
      "count": 632,
      "pct": 0.028
    },
    {
      "response": "It has useful AI features or agent capabilities",
      "count": 505,
      "pct": 0.023
    },
    {
      "response": "It has strong security, privacy, or compliance features",
      "count": 423,
      "pct": 0.019
    },
    {
      "response": "It has manageable cost, pricing, or licensing",
      "count": 421,
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      "response": "I would not recommend any technology I use",
      "count": 361,
      "pct": 0.016
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}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| It is reliable, performant, and stable | 3,874 | 17.3% |
| It helps me be more productive or save time | 3,563 | 15.9% |
| It has a strong community, ecosystem, or open-source presence | 2,888 | 12.9% |
| It has a strong developer experience, such as APIs, SDKs, tooling, or integrations | 2,541 | 11.4% |
| It is flexible, customizable, or easy to adapt to my needs | 1,678 | 7.5% |
| It has a reputation for quality and long-term trustworthiness | 1,666 | 7.5% |
| It has excellent documentation, examples, or learning resources | 1,370 | 6.1% |
| It is easy to learn and use | 1,226 | 5.5% |
| I’m not sure | 1,223 | 5.5% |
| Other, please specify | 632 | 2.8% |
| It has useful AI features or agent capabilities | 505 | 2.3% |
| It has strong security, privacy, or compliance features | 423 | 1.9% |
| It has manageable cost, pricing, or licensing | 421 | 1.9% |
| I would not recommend any technology I use | 361 | 1.6% |

Spreadsheet

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