Best Package Managers in 2026
Updated
In short: npm is ranked #1 of 93 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of uv and Gradle. The best-ranked option with a free plan is uv. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Chocolatey at $1.50/mo.
Choosing a package manager means considering how dependencies are resolved and how project requirements are represented. Compare Dependency resolution, Lockfile support, and Workspace support, then check Package formats and Offline installation against the packages and environments you use. Private registry auth and Supported platforms add further setup criteria, while Free plan and Paid from help with cost comparisons. Conan, pnpm, and npm begin the ranking, followed by Go Modules and uv. Look across the listed capabilities in light of your project structure, package sources, and the platforms where installation needs to work.
93 package managers ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
93ranked
9free plans on this page
$1.50/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
#1 npm Top pick · 8.8 Free plan · $7/mo
#2 uv Runner-up · 8.7 Free plan · Free
#3 Gradle Also great · 8.6 Free plan · Free
- Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $7/mo
- Package formats
- package.json folders, gzipped tarballs, URLs, name@version, name@tag, Git URLs
- Supported platforms
- macOS, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems via Node.js installers or version managers
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial$7/mofirst paid tier About npmVisit site - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- source distributions, wheels, requirements.txt, pylock.toml
- Supported platforms
- macOS, Linux, Windows, CPython, PyPy, Pyodide, GraalPy
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About uvVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- Maven, Ivy, flat directory
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- Rust crates; crates.io packages; alternate registry packages; Git dependencies; local path dependencies
- Supported platforms
- Windows; macOS; Linux; other Unix-like systems
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- npm packages; tarballs; local, Git, link, patch, portal, and workspace references
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About YarnVisit site - AndroidLinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- npm packages, JSR packages, Cargo crates, PyPI packages, tarballs, Git repositories, local directories
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows, Android
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - AndroidiOSLinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- Conan recipes and binary packages
- Supported platforms
- Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, embedded and bare-metal targets
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositories
- Supported platforms
- PHP; Windows; Linux; macOS
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - AndroidiOSLinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- Go modules, module ZIP files
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial€42/mofirst paid tier About PixiVisit site - apiLinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Package formats
- .nupkg, .snupkg
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, .NET
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free planFree trial apiself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial$7.50/mofirst paid tier About HexVisit site - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- .conda, .tar.bz2
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- wheel, sdist
- Supported platforms
- Windows, Linux, macOS, Python 3.10+
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- Free
- Package formats
- nupkg, nuspec, packages.config
- Supported platforms
- Windows; Linux; macOS
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial$1.50/mofirst paid tier About ChocolateyVisit site - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- source distributions, wheels
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - AndroidiOSLinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- C/C++ libraries
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- sdist, wheel
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows, Python
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- Dart packages
- Supported platforms
- Windows, Linux, macOS
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- pom, jar, maven-plugin, ejb, war, ear, rar
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- source packages, system libraries, binary targets, package registry archives
- Supported platforms
- macOS, Linux, Windows; packages can target Apple platforms
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Package formats
- npm packages, Git repositories, GitHub repositories, tarballs, file dependencies, npm aliases
- Supported platforms
- macOS, Linux, Windows
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- Nix expressions, derivations, flakes
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows through WSL2
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About NixVisit site - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- R packages; Python packages
- Supported platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - LinuxmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Package formats
- registered Julia packages, Git repositories, local path packages, package artifacts
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD
- Dependency resolution
- Yes
- Lockfile support
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial
Is your tool 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 Specifiction?
npm is ranked #1 of 93 with a score of 8.8. uv is second and Gradle third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 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, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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