Cargo vs pnpm
Cargo
doc.rust-lang.orgpnpm
pnpm.ioSide by side
| Figure | Cargo | pnpm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 8.8 (#6) | 8.0 (#35) |
| CI integrations | The Cargo guide gives build and test examples for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, builds.sr.ht, and CircleCI. | The documentation provides configuration examples for AppVeyor, Azure Pipelines, Bitbucket Pipelines, CircleCI, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Semaphore, and Travis CI. |
| Dependency resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lockfile support | Yes | Yes |
| Offline installation | Yes | Yes |
| Package formats | Rust crates; crates.io packages; alternate registry packages; Git dependencies; local path dependencies | npm packages,JSR packages,Cargo crates,PyPI packages,tarballs,Git repositories,local directories |
| Private registry auth | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | Cargo is the Rust package manager. | pnpm is a drop-in replacement for npm that manages project dependencies. |
| Supported platforms | Windows; macOS; Linux; other Unix-like systems | Linux,macOS,Windows,Android |
| What it does | Cargo downloads package dependencies, compiles packages, creates distributable packages, and can upload them to the crates.io registry. | pnpm is a fast, disk-space-efficient package manager and a drop-in replacement for npm. |
| 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.