Best Package Managers in 2026
Updated
In short: pnpm is ranked #1 of 93 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Conan and Go Modules. The best-ranked option with a free plan is CocoaPods. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Chocolatey at $1.50/mo.
Choosing a package manager involves how your projects find, record, and install their dependencies. Compared on dependency resolution, lockfile support, and workspace support, these options offer different ways to handle project structure. Package formats and supported platforms help frame compatibility, while offline installation and private registry authentication matter for package access. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing are also listed for cost comparison. pnpm, Conan, and Go Modules are among the tools to consider, along with vcpkg and npm. Weigh the listed criteria against the languages, package sources, and development environments your projects use.
93 package managers ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
93ranked
12free plans on this page
$1.50/molowest paid tier
5 Oct 2026last checked
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 1 pnpm Android only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 9.2 Package formats: npm packages, JSR packages, Cargo crates, PyPI packages, tarballs, Git repositories, local directoriesSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, AndroidDependency resolution: Yes
- 2 Conan iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.9 Package formats: Conan recipes and binary packagesSupported platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, embedded and bare-metal targetsDependency resolution: Yes
- 3 Go Modules iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.7 Package formats: Go modules, module ZIP filesSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, WindowsDependency resolution: Yes
- 4 CocoaPods iPhone only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.7Free Package formats: Pod, podspecSupported platforms: iOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 5 vcpkg iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.4 Package formats: C/C++ librariesSupported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 6 npm No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.2$7/mo Package formats: package.json folders, gzipped tarballs, URLs, name@version, name@tag, Git URLsSupported platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems via Node.js installers or version managersDependency resolution: Yes
- 7 uv No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.2Free Package formats: source distributions, wheels, requirements.txt, pylock.tomlSupported platforms: macOS, Linux, Windows, CPython, PyPy, Pyodide, GraalPyDependency resolution: Yes
- 8 Yarn No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.1Free Package formats: npm packages; tarballs; local, Git, link, patch, portal, and workspace referencesSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, WindowsDependency resolution: Yes
- 9 Cargo No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.1Free Package formats: Rust crates; crates.io packages; alternate registry packages; Git dependencies; local path dependenciesSupported platforms: Windows; macOS; Linux; other Unix-like systemsDependency resolution: Yes
- 10 Gradle No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.0Free Package formats: Maven, Ivy, flat directorySupported platforms: Windows, macOS, LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 11 pip No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.0Free Package formats: sdist, wheelSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, PythonDependency resolution: Yes
- 12 Composer No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.9Free Package formats: PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositoriesSupported platforms: PHP; Windows; Linux; macOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 13 Pixi No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.7€42/mo
- 14 Nix No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.6Free Package formats: Nix expressions, derivations, flakesSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows through WSL2Dependency resolution: Yes
- 15 Carthage iPhone only RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.6 Package formats: framework, xcframeworkSupported platforms: macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 16 Hex No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.5$7.50/mo
- 17 NuGet No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.4 Package formats: .nupkg, .snupkgSupported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, .NETDependency resolution: Yes
- 18 conda No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.3 Package formats: .conda, .tar.bz2Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 19 PDM No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.3 Package formats: wheel, sdistSupported platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Python 3.10+Dependency resolution: Yes
- 20 Poetry No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.3 Package formats: source distributions, wheelsSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, WindowsDependency resolution: Yes
- 21 Apache Maven No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.1 Package formats: pom, jar, maven-plugin, ejb, war, ear, rarSupported platforms: Windows, macOS, LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 22 Chocolatey No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.1$1.50/mo Package formats: nupkg, nuspec, packages.configSupported platforms: Windows; Linux; macOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 23 Dart pub No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.0 Package formats: Dart packagesSupported platforms: Windows, Linux, macOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 24 GNU Guix No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.0Free
- 25 Swift Package Manager No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.9 Package formats: source packages, system libraries, binary targets, package registry archivesSupported platforms: macOS, Linux, Windows; packages can target Apple platformsDependency resolution: Yes
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Package formats | Supported platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pnpm | 9.2 | No | — | Yes | — | npm packages, JSR packages, Cargo crates, PyPI packages, tarballs, Git repositories, local directories | Linux, macOS, Windows, Android |
| 2 | Conan | 8.9 | No | — | Yes | — | Conan recipes and binary packages | Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, embedded and bare-metal targets |
| 3 | Go Modules | 8.7 | No | — | Yes | — | Go modules, module ZIP files | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 4 | CocoaPods | 8.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Pod, podspec | iOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS |
| 5 | vcpkg | 8.4 | No | — | Yes | — | C/C++ libraries | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
| 6 | npm | 8.2 | Free plan | $7/mo | Yes | $7/mo | package.json folders, gzipped tarballs, URLs, name@version, name@tag, Git URLs | macOS, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems via Node.js installers or version managers |
| 7 | uv | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | source distributions, wheels, requirements.txt, pylock.toml | macOS, Linux, Windows, CPython, PyPy, Pyodide, GraalPy |
| 8 | Yarn | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | npm packages; tarballs; local, Git, link, patch, portal, and workspace references | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 9 | Cargo | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Rust crates; crates.io packages; alternate registry packages; Git dependencies; local path dependencies | Windows; macOS; Linux; other Unix-like systems |
| 10 | Gradle | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Maven, Ivy, flat directory | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 11 | pip | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | sdist, wheel | Linux, macOS, Windows, Python |
| 12 | Composer | 7.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositories | PHP; Windows; Linux; macOS |
| 13 | Pixi | 7.7 | Free plan | €42/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | Nix | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Nix expressions, derivations, flakes | Linux, macOS, Windows through WSL2 |
| 15 | Carthage | 7.6 | No | — | Yes | — | framework, xcframework | macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS |
| 16 | Hex | 7.5 | Free plan | $7.50/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 17 | NuGet | 7.4 | No | — | — | — | .nupkg, .snupkg | Windows, macOS, Linux, .NET |
| 18 | conda | 7.3 | No | — | Yes | — | .conda, .tar.bz2 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 19 | PDM | 7.3 | No | — | Yes | — | wheel, sdist | Windows, Linux, macOS, Python 3.10+ |
| 20 | Poetry | 7.3 | No | — | Yes | — | source distributions, wheels | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 21 | Apache Maven | 7.1 | No | — | Yes | — | pom, jar, maven-plugin, ejb, war, ear, rar | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 22 | Chocolatey | 7.1 | No | $1.50/mo | Yes | Free | nupkg, nuspec, packages.config | Windows; Linux; macOS |
| 23 | Dart pub | 7.0 | No | — | Yes | — | Dart packages | Windows, Linux, macOS |
| 24 | GNU Guix | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 25 | Swift Package Manager | 6.9 | No | — | Yes | — | source packages, system libraries, binary targets, package registry archives | macOS, Linux, Windows; packages can target Apple platforms |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which package manager is ranked first on Samsung Mobile US Press?
pnpm is ranked #1 of 93 with a score of 9.2. Conan is second and Go Modules third.
How many of these have a free plan?
12 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Chocolatey has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1.50/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.
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