Best Homebrew Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from package managers ranked against Homebrew on the same published basis.
- 1Homebrew vs pnpm
- 2Homebrew vs Conan
- 3Homebrew vs Go Modules
- 4Homebrew vs CocoaPods
- 5Homebrew vs vcpkg
- 6Homebrew vs npm
- 7Homebrew vs uv
- 8Homebrew vs Yarn
- 9Homebrew vs Cargo
- 10Homebrew vs Gradle
- 11Homebrew vs pip
- 12Homebrew vs Composer
- 13Homebrew vs Pixi
- 14Homebrew vs Nix
- 15Homebrew vs Carthage
- 16Homebrew vs Hex
- 17Homebrew vs NuGet
- 18Homebrew vs conda
- 19Homebrew vs PDM
- 20Homebrew vs Poetry
Homebrew alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pnpm | 9.2 | No | — | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 2 | Conan | 8.9 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | Go Modules | 8.7 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | CocoaPods | 8.7 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Mac |
| 5 | vcpkg | 8.4 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | npm | 8.2 | Free plan | $7/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | uv | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Yarn | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Cargo | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | Gradle | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | pip | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | Composer | 7.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 13 | Pixi | 7.7 | Free plan | €42/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Nix | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 15 | Carthage | 7.6 | No | — | iOS, Mac |
| 16 | Hex | 7.5 | Free plan | $7.50/mo | API, self-hosted, Web |
| 17 | NuGet | 7.4 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 18 | conda | 7.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 19 | PDM | 7.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 20 | Poetry | 7.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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Questions about Homebrew alternatives
What is the best alternative to Homebrew?
pnpm, number 1 in package managers with a score of 9.2 out of 10. The others here: Conan, Go Modules, CocoaPods and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Homebrew?
CocoaPods is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.