Cargo vs Gradle
Cargo
doc.rust-lang.org
Gradle
gradle.orgSide by side
| Figure | Cargo | Gradle |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 8.8 (#6) | 8.7 (#11) |
| Dependency management | Cargo downloads and builds package dependencies and helps ensure repeatable builds. | Gradle downloads and manages transitive dependencies and supports Maven and Ivy compatible repositories. |
| Dependency resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Intended users | The Cargo Book presents Cargo as a tool for developing Rust packages. | Gradle describes itself as the open-source build system of choice for Java, Android, and Kotlin developers, from startups to large enterprises. |
| Lockfile support | Yes | Yes |
| Offline installation | Yes | Yes |
| Package formats | Rust crates; crates.io packages; alternate registry packages; Git dependencies; local path dependencies | Maven,Ivy,flat directory |
| Private registry auth | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | Cargo is the Rust package manager. | Gradle Build Tool automates building software of any type, size, or complexity. |
| Supported platforms | Windows; macOS; Linux; other Unix-like systems | Windows,macOS,Linux |
| Workspace support | Yes | Yes |
Plans
In their own words
Cargo
Cargo is the free package manager and build tool for Rust, used through a command-line interface. It downloads dependencies, builds packages, and supports repeatable builds with lockfiles. Developers can compile, check, document, test, run, package, install, and publish Rust projects. The `cargo new` command creates a package, defaulting to a binary; adding `--lib` creates a library. Cargo uses crates.io by default and also handles alternate registries, Git dependencies, and local paths. Workspaces allow multiple packages to share a lockfile and output directory. Package features can enable conditional compilation and optional dependencies. In offline mode, Cargo avoids network access and attempts to use cached data. It supports authentication options for registries and new subcommands without modifying Cargo itself. Rustup installs Cargo with the stable Rust release, and installation instructions cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like systems. Cargo is open source under the MIT and Apache License, Version 2.0. Some documented capabilities remain unstable and require a nightly toolchain and `-Z` flags.
Gradle
Gradle Build Tool is a free, open-source system for automating software builds across projects of different types and sizes. Build logic can use either Kotlin DSL or Groovy DSL. Incremental builds, caching and parallel task execution support the build process, while Gradle downloads and manages transitive dependencies from Maven- and Ivy-compatible repositories. The Gradle Wrapper can provision a build environment and specify the Gradle version used by a project. Its ecosystem covers JVM, Android, C/C++, Swift, Objective-C and assembler projects, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. The Tooling API lets IDEs and other tools inspect projects, run builds, receive progress events and cancel operations. Listed support includes Android Studio and Ant, plus Checkstyle, CodeNarc, PMD and JaCoCo. Gradle includes dependency verification. The maker says open-source security fixes are limited by its end-of-life policy; its Security Subscription offers prioritized fixes under SLA and extended maintenance, but does not guarantee a clean scanner report when findings come from third-party libraries.