Composer vs Swift Package Manager
Composer
getcomposer.orgSwift Package Manager
swift.orgSide by side
| Figure | Composer | Swift Package Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 8.9 (#5) | 8.6 (#15) |
| Dependency resolution | Composer determines which package versions need to be installed and can update all dependencies in one command. | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | Composer and the content on its site are released under the MIT license. | Swift and its package manager were published under the Apache 2.0 license with a Runtime Library Exception. |
| Lockfile support | Yes | Yes |
| Offline installation | Yes | Yes |
| Package formats | PHP packages; ZIP; TAR; VCS repositories | source packages,system libraries,binary targets,package registry archives |
| Private registry auth | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | Composer is a tool for managing PHP project dependencies, installing and updating the libraries a project declares. | Swift Package Manager lets developers share code as packages, use other shared packages, and build, test, document, and run code. |
| Supported platforms | PHP; Windows; Linux; macOS | macOS,Linux,Windows; packages can target Apple platforms |
Plans
In their own words
Composer
Composer manages dependencies for PHP projects, installing and updating the libraries each project declares. By default, it keeps those dependencies in a directory within the project, and it can also manage a global project. It resolves dependencies and supports lockfiles, workspaces, private registry authentication, and offline installation. Packagist is its default package source; custom Composer, version-control, and local-path repositories are also supported. Composer integrates with Fossil, Git, Mercurial, Perforce, and Subversion. It can be installed locally or as a system-wide executable on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The latest version requires PHP 7.2.5 or later; the 2.2.x LTS line supports PHP 5.3.2 and later. Its audit command checks installed packages for security advisories, abandoned packages, malware flags, and other dependency policies. Composer is free under the MIT license. Plugins and scripts can run with the user's permissions, so the project advises against running Composer as root with untrusted packages.
Swift Package Manager
Swift Package Manager is a free tool for sharing Swift code as packages, using dependencies, and building, testing, documenting, and running code. A package uses a Package.swift manifest alongside source files, resources, and other assets. Packages can provide library, executable, or plugin products, and can depend on other Swift packages, system libraries, or binary dependencies. Commands such as swift build and swift test support builds and tests; package dependencies are resolved automatically when swift build or swift run is invoked. Plugins can add build capabilities or commands, including generating source files and resources, and run in a sandbox that blocks network and most file-system access unless the user approves additional permissions. Swift Package Manager works from the command line and is integrated into Xcode. It supports macOS, Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Amazon Linux, as well as Windows; tools on macOS can build for Apple platforms including iOS. Swift 6.4 made Swift Build the default build system in Swift Package Manager.