Conan vs npm
Conan
conan.ionpm
npmjs.comSide by side
| Figure | Conan | npm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $7/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 9.0 (#3) | 9.3 (#1) |
| Spec score · Package Registries | 9.0 (#2) | 8.8 (#5) |
| Spec score · Package Management Software | 8.9 (#2) | 8.7 (#3) |
| Dependency resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lockfile support | Yes | Yes |
| Offline installation | Yes | Yes |
| Package formats | Conan recipes and binary packages | package.json folders,gzipped tarballs,URLs,name@version,name@tag,Git URLs |
| Private registry auth | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | Linux,Windows,macOS,Android,iOS,embedded and bare-metal targets | macOS,Windows,Linux,and other operating systems via Node.js installers or version managers |
| Workspace support | Yes | Yes |
Plans
In their own words
Conan
Conan is a free, open-source package manager for C and C++ projects. It manages dependencies and binary packages through Conan recipes, with dependency resolution, lockfiles, workspaces, private registry authentication and offline installation. Binary configurations can vary by architecture, compiler and version, runtime, and C++ standard library. If a matching binary is unavailable, Conan can build from source on demand. It supports Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, embedded and bare-metal targets, as well as desktop, server and mobile platforms. Build integrations include CMake, MSBuild, Makefiles, Meson and SCons; other integrations include Docker, MinGW, WSL and JFrog Artifactory. Teams can share and reuse native binaries. Artifactory Community Edition offers self-hosted private package hosting, with a WebUI, authentication and permissions. Conan is released under the MIT License. The listed plan describes the package manager as free and open source; no price is stated for either plan.
npm
npm is a JavaScript package registry and command-line tool for sharing code and managing packages. The Registry and CLI are free for public package use, and the Free plan lets public package authors publish unlimited public packages. npm accepts package.json folders, gzipped tarballs, URLs, name-and-version or name-and-tag references, and Git URLs. Its tools support dependency resolution, lockfiles, workspaces, private registry authentication, and offline installation. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and other operating systems through Node.js installers or version managers. For private packages, the Paid user account plan is $7 a month; Pro is also $7 a month for individual creators, while Teams is $7 per user per month for teams and organizations. Pro includes unlimited private packages and package-based permissions; Teams adds team-based permissions. Organizations can manage members, teams, roles, permissions, and package access. All plans include basic support and automatic security warnings. Paid billing starts when card details are submitted, with the first month charged immediately.