Best Package Managers in 2026
Updated
93 package managers ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
93ranked
2free plans on this page
5 Oct 2026last checked
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 51 pkgsrc No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.9 Package formats: source packages; binary packagesSupported platforms: NetBSD, Solaris, SmartOS, illumos, Linux, macOS (Darwin), FreeBSD, OpenBSD, DragonFlyBSD, MINIX 3, SCO OpenServer/UnixWare, HP-UXDependency resolution: Yes
- 52 Scoop No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.9 Package formats: ZIP, 7z, TAR, GZ, LZMA, LZH archives; installer files; single-file apps; PowerShell scriptsSupported platforms: Windows 10 and newer; Windows Server 2016 and newer; Windows 7/8 and Server 2008/2012 with PowerShell 5.1Dependency resolution: Yes
- 53 Shards No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.9 Package formats: Crystal shards defined in shard.ymlSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, WindowsDependency resolution: Yes
- 54 cpan No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.9 Package formats: Perl modules; Perl distributions, commonly .tar.gz archivesSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, WindowsDependency resolution: Yes
- 55 Apache Ivy No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.9 Package formats: Ivy files, Maven POMs, OSGi bundlesSupported platforms: Java/JREDependency resolution: Yes
- 56 Zypper No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.9 Package formats: RPM packages and source RPM packagesSupported platforms: Linux, including openSUSE and SUSE Enterprise LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 57 LuaRocks No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8 Package formats: .rock, .rockspecSupported platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, Unix, FreeBSD, CygwinDependency resolution: Yes
- 58 Racket Package Manager No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8 Package formats: ZIP, TAR, TGZ, TAR.GZ, PLT archives; directories; Git and GitHub repositoriesSupported platforms: Windows, macOS, LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 59 Flatpak Builder No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8Free
- 60 MSYS2 No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7 Package formats: tar.zst, tar.xzSupported platforms: Windows 10 1809+ x86_64; Windows 10 ARM64Dependency resolution: Yes
- 61 Pamac No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7 Package formats: ALPM, AUR, Appstream, Flatpak, SnapSupported platforms: Linux, especially Manjaro LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 62 XBPS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7 Package formats: XBPS binary packagesSupported platforms: LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 63 tdnf No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7 Package formats: RPMSupported platforms: LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 64 Alpine apk-tools No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Supported platforms: LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 65 pkg_add No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Package formats: TGZ, gzip-compressed ustar archives with packing listsSupported platforms: OpenBSD alpha, amd64, arm64, armv7, hppa, i386, landisk, luna88k, macppc, octeon, powerpc64, riscv64, sparc64Dependency resolution: Yes
- 66 Bower No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6Free
- 67 Nala No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Package formats: .debSupported platforms: Debian, Ubuntu, and derivativesDependency resolution: Yes
- 68 MacPorts No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Package formats: tbz2, tar, tbz, tgz, tlz, txz, xar, zip, cpgz, cpioSupported platforms: macOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 69 FreeBSD pkg No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Package formats: tar archive (.pkg), gzip, bzip2, zstd, xzSupported platforms: FreeBSDDependency resolution: Yes
- 70 PEAR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Package formats: phar, tar, tgz, zipSupported platforms: Windows, Unix/Linux/BSD, macOSDependency resolution: Yes
- 71 Quicklisp No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Package formats: Common Lisp systems/libraries and source archivesSupported platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, WindowsDependency resolution: Yes
- 72 Synaptic No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Package formats: Debian packages (.deb)Supported platforms: Linux (Debian)Dependency resolution: Yes
- 73 CLPM No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Package formats: Quicklisp, CLPI, ASDFSupported platforms: macOS, Linux, Windows; Common Lisp implementations including SBCL and CCLDependency resolution: Yes
- 74 Haxelib No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Package formats: ZIP archives containing Haxe source and haxelib.json manifestsSupported platforms: Windows, macOS, LinuxDependency resolution: Yes
- 75 pkgin No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Package formats: pkgsrc binary packagesSupported platforms: NetBSD; DragonFly BSD; Solaris/SunOS; Debian GNU/Linux; Mac OS X; MinixDependency resolution: Yes
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Package formats | Supported platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | pkgsrc | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | source packages; binary packages | NetBSD, Solaris, SmartOS, illumos, Linux, macOS (Darwin), FreeBSD, OpenBSD, DragonFlyBSD, MINIX 3, SCO OpenServer/UnixWare, HP-UX |
| 52 | Scoop | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | ZIP, 7z, TAR, GZ, LZMA, LZH archives; installer files; single-file apps; PowerShell scripts | Windows 10 and newer; Windows Server 2016 and newer; Windows 7/8 and Server 2008/2012 with PowerShell 5.1 |
| 53 | Shards | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | Crystal shards defined in shard.yml | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 54 | cpan | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | Perl modules; Perl distributions, commonly .tar.gz archives | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 55 | Apache Ivy | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | Ivy files, Maven POMs, OSGi bundles | Java/JRE |
| 56 | Zypper | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | RPM packages and source RPM packages | Linux, including openSUSE and SUSE Enterprise Linux |
| 57 | LuaRocks | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | .rock, .rockspec | Linux, macOS, Windows, Unix, FreeBSD, Cygwin |
| 58 | Racket Package Manager | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | ZIP, TAR, TGZ, TAR.GZ, PLT archives; directories; Git and GitHub repositories | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 59 | Flatpak Builder | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 60 | MSYS2 | 5.7 | No | — | — | — | tar.zst, tar.xz | Windows 10 1809+ x86_64; Windows 10 ARM64 |
| 61 | Pamac | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | ALPM, AUR, Appstream, Flatpak, Snap | Linux, especially Manjaro Linux |
| 62 | XBPS | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | XBPS binary packages | Linux |
| 63 | tdnf | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | RPM | Linux |
| 64 | Alpine apk-tools | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Linux |
| 65 | pkg_add | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | TGZ, gzip-compressed ustar archives with packing lists | OpenBSD alpha, amd64, arm64, armv7, hppa, i386, landisk, luna88k, macppc, octeon, powerpc64, riscv64, sparc64 |
| 66 | Bower | 5.6 | Free plan | Free | — | — | — | — |
| 67 | Nala | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | .deb | Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives |
| 68 | MacPorts | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | tbz2, tar, tbz, tgz, tlz, txz, xar, zip, cpgz, cpio | macOS |
| 69 | FreeBSD pkg | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | tar archive (.pkg), gzip, bzip2, zstd, xz | FreeBSD |
| 70 | PEAR | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | phar, tar, tgz, zip | Windows, Unix/Linux/BSD, macOS |
| 71 | Quicklisp | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | Common Lisp systems/libraries and source archives | Linux, Mac OS X, Windows |
| 72 | Synaptic | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | Debian packages (.deb) | Linux (Debian) |
| 73 | CLPM | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | Quicklisp, CLPI, ASDF | macOS, Linux, Windows; Common Lisp implementations including SBCL and CCL |
| 74 | Haxelib | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | ZIP archives containing Haxe source and haxelib.json manifests | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 75 | pkgin | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | pkgsrc binary packages | NetBSD; DragonFly BSD; Solaris/SunOS; Debian GNU/Linux; Mac OS X; Minix |
More in Developer Tools
All developer tools listsAccessibility Testing Software 168Log Management Software 107AI Coding Assistants 103AI Agent Platforms 73Reverse Engineering Tools 73Software Composition Analysis Software 65Browser Automation Tools 63Integrated Development Environments 62Artifact repository software 60Code Playground Software 58Network Monitoring 56Version Control Software 54