Top 20 Programming Languages of July 2026: See What’s Trending!

Rust’s Remarkable Rise

“Last month, we reported that Rust was breaking new records. This month, the story continues,” announces Paul Jansen, CEO of TIOBE Software, on the occasion of the latest edition of the TIOBE index, which measures the popularity of programming languages among developers. After reaching twelfth place in June, its highest position yet, Rust continues its upward trajectory and enters the top 10 for the first time.

Developed in 2006 by an employee of Mozilla Research, the language owes its growing popularity to its “memory safety” features and its ability to “generate extremely fast code”, explains Paul Jansen. These strengths, according to the executive, could allow it to challenge more established languages.

It is widely regarded as a direct competitor to C and C++, both of which continue to struggle with the challenges of explicit memory management and are therefore often deemed less safe. However, the C and C++ communities are actively working to make their languages safer. Time will tell if these efforts will be fruitful.

Paul Jansen

CEO, TIOBE Software

Top 20 Most Popular Programming Languages in July 2026

This edition of the TIOBE index, which marks its twenty-fifth anniversary this month, reports several noteworthy shifts. Python retains the top spot, despite a significant decline in its score since July 2025 (-8.03%). C, moving up one position, and C++ complete the podium. They maintain a comfortable margin over Java and C#. “Interestingly, three of the current top five languages, namely C, C++, and Java, were also leaders 25 years ago. Python broke into the top 5 about a decade ago, while C# entered about 15 years ago,” recalls Paul Jansen.

Alongside Rust, SQL and R also break into the top 10, taking eighth and ninth place, respectively, with gains of five and six positions. Conversely, Delphi/Object Pascal (-1 position), Ada (-7 positions), and Go (-6 positions) exit the top half of the table. Swift (15th) and Ruby (20th) make their way into the top 20.

Here are the top 20 programming languages most popular with developers in July 2026:

1. Python (= same position as July 2025)
2. C (+1)
3. C++ (-1)
4. Java (=)
5. C# (=)
6. JavaScript (=)
7. Visual Basic (+1)
8. SQL (+5)
9. R (+6)
10. Rust (+8)
11. Delphi/Object Pascal (-1)
12. Scratch (+5)
13. Go (-6)
14. PHP (=)
15. Swift (+6)
16. Ada (-7)
17. Assembly language (-2)
18. MATLAB (-2)
19. Fortran (-7)
20. Ruby (+3)

Access the complete ranking

How is the TIOBE Index Ranked?

The TIOBE Index has been around since 2002. Updated monthly, it assesses the popularity of programming languages based on the volume of search queries associated with them on about twenty search engines, including Google, Wikipedia, Bing, and Amazon. The ranking does not claim to designate the best language or the one that produces the most code, but rather the one that generates the most interest. It primarily serves as a monitoring tool. “The index can be used to check if your programming skills are still up to date, or to guide a strategic decision about which language to adopt for starting a new software project,” details TIOBE Software.