Best Package Managers in 2026
Updated
In short: Gradle is ranked #1 of 93 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of NuGet and Hex. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Hex. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Chocolatey at $1.50/mo.
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.
93 package managers ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Package Managers, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 4 of the 25 on this page have a public API.
- 01 Gradle API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 8.7Free
- 02 NuGet API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 8.3
- 03 Hex API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 8.3$7.50/mo
- 04 npm API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.5$7/mo
- 05 uv API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.5Free
- 06 Yarn API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 07 Cargo API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 08 RubyGems.org API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 7.4
- 09 Composer API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 10 pnpm API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 7.1
- 11 Pixi API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.1€42/mo
- 12 Nix API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.0Free
- 13 Conan API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.9
- 14 conda API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.9
- 15 PDM API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.9
- 16 Poetry API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.8
- 17 Go Modules API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.8
- 18 pip API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.7
- 19 Chocolatey API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.7$1.50/mo
- 20 CocoaPods API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 6.7Free
- 21 Apache Maven API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6
- 22 Dart pub API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6
- 23 vcpkg API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.5
- 24 Swift Package Manager API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.5
- 25 GNU Guix API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 6.5Free
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which package manager is ranked first on Inferse?
Gradle is ranked #1 of 93 with a score of 8.7. NuGet is second and Hex third.
How many of these have a free plan?
11 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 on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.