Best Package Managers in 2026
Updated
Package managers help teams handle project dependencies, from resolving versions to installing packages in different environments. Compared on dependency resolution, free plan, lockfile support, offline installation, package formats, paid from, private registry auth, supported platforms, and workspace support, these entries let you examine both project fit and setup needs. Lockfiles and workspaces may matter for coordinating project structure, while offline installation and private registry authentication are useful criteria to check against your package sources. Gradle, NuGet, and Hex are among the tools shown. Compare supported platforms and package formats with your development environments, and consider the listed cost details where applicable.
93ranked
18free plans on this page
$7/molowest paid tier
12 Oct 2026last checked
Package Managers, one module each.A lit port is something its maker publishes; 12 of 12 with a known API signal have a public API.
- 01 Gradle API yesFREE yesDOCS 8.7Free
- 02 NuGet API yesDOCS 8.3
- 03 Hex API yesFREE yesDOCS 8.3$7.50/mo
- 04 Tank API yesFREE yesDOCS 8.2Free
- 05 Mamba API yesFREE yesDOCS 8.1Free
- 06 LuaRocks API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.7Free
- 07 DNF API yesDOCS 7.6
- 08 Rattler API yesDOCS 7.6
- 09 npm FREE yesDOCS 7.5$7/mo
- 10 uv FREE yesDOCS 7.5Free
- 11 snapd API yesDOCS 7.5
- 12 Coursier API yesDOCS 7.5
- 13 Yarn FREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 14 Cargo FREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 15 RubyGems.org API yesDOCS 7.4
- 16 pip FREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 17 Apache Maven FREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 18 Composer FREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 19 Haxelib API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 20 pnpm DOCS 7.1
- 21 Pixi FREE yesDOCS 7.1€42/mo
- 22 vcpkg FREE yesDOCS 7.1Free
- 23 Swift Package Manager FREE yesDOCS 7.1Free
- 24 Bun FREE yesDOCS 7.0Free
- 25 Nix FREE yesDOCS 7.0Free
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Package formats | Supported platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gradle | 8.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | Maven, Ivy, flat directory | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
| 2 | NuGet | 8.3 | .nupkg, .snupkg | Windows, macOS, Linux, .NET | ||||
| 3 | Hex | 8.3 | Free plan | $7.50/mo | Yes | |||
| 4 | Tank | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | AI agent skills, instructions, hooks, tools, agents, rules, resources, prompts, bundles | Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Windsurf, OpenCode, Cline, Roo Code | |
| 5 | Mamba | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | ||||
| 6 | LuaRocks | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | .rock, .rockspec | Linux, macOS, Windows, Unix, FreeBSD, Cygwin | |
| 7 | DNF | 7.6 | RPM packages; modulemd modules; comps groups and environments | RPM-based Linux distributions | ||||
| 8 | Rattler | 7.6 | Yes | .conda, .tar.bz2 | Windows, macOS, Linux, browser, Node.js | |||
| 9 | npm | 7.5 | 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 |
| 10 | uv | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | source distributions, wheels, requirements.txt, pylock.toml | macOS, Linux, Windows, CPython, PyPy, Pyodide, GraalPy | |
| 11 | snapd | 7.5 | snap (.snap) | Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL-family systems, openSUSE, Arch Linux, Manjaro, Gentoo, Solus, and Yocto-based systems | ||||
| 12 | Coursier | 7.5 | Maven, Ivy | Linux, macOS, Windows | ||||
| 13 | Yarn | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | npm packages; tarballs; local, Git, link, patch, portal, and workspace references | Linux, macOS, Windows | |
| 14 | Cargo | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | Rust crates; crates.io packages; alternate registry packages; Git dependencies; local path dependencies | Windows; macOS; Linux; other Unix-like systems | |
| 15 | RubyGems.org | 7.4 | Yes | |||||
| 16 | pip | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | sdist, wheel | Linux, macOS, Windows, Python | |
| 17 | Apache Maven | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | pom, jar, maven-plugin, ejb, war, ear, rar | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
| 18 | Composer | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositories | PHP; Windows; Linux; macOS | |
| 19 | Haxelib | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | ZIP archives containing Haxe source and haxelib.json manifests | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
| 20 | pnpm | 7.1 | Yes | npm packages, JSR packages, Cargo crates, PyPI packages, tarballs, Git repositories, local directories | Linux, macOS, Windows, Android | |||
| 21 | Pixi | 7.1 | Free plan | €42/mo | Yes | |||
| 22 | vcpkg | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | C/C++ libraries | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | |
| 23 | Swift Package Manager | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | source packages, system libraries, binary targets, package registry archives | macOS, Linux, Windows; packages can target Apple platforms | |
| 24 | Bun | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | npm packages, Git repositories, GitHub repositories, tarballs, file dependencies, npm aliases | macOS, Linux, Windows | ||
| 25 | Nix | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | Nix expressions, derivations, flakes | Linux, macOS, Windows through WSL2 |
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