Pacman vs pip
Pacman
pacman.archlinux.pagepip
pip.pypa.ioSide by side
| Figure | Pacman | pip |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 6.7 (#93) | 8.8 (#7) |
| Package building | The companion makepkg utility automates package builds using a custom build script called a PKGBUILD. | pip delegates building source distribution packages to a build backend when needed. |
| Package sources | It can download packages from remote servers and synchronize with remote repositories. | pip looks at PyPI by default and can install packages from other Python package repositories. |
| Purpose | Pacman manages software packages on Linux systems. | pip is the package installer for Python and can install packages from PyPI and other indexes. |
| Support | The project asks users to report bugs to its GitLab issue tracker with details such as the command line and the nature of the bug. | The documentation directs users seeking help to GitHub Issues, the Discourse channel, and User IRC. |
Plans
In their own words
Pacman
Pacman has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
pip
pip installs Python packages from PyPI and other package indexes, as well as from version control URLs, local project directories, and source archives. It supports source distributions and wheels, resolves dependencies, and can install an environment specified in a requirements file. Its install command can produce a JSON report of installed packages. pip runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the current version supports CPython 3.10 through 3.15 and the latest PyPy3. Other operating systems and Python versions are not supported by its maintainers. It is commonly included in virtual environments and Python downloads from python.org; ensurepip and get-pip.py are also installation options. An experimental standalone zip application is available, but its documentation advises against production use. pip is free. It does not collect telemetry, though it sends non-identifying details such as Python version and operating system to the remote indexes it accesses. Remote tampering checks are not enabled by default; hash-checking mode and binary-only installs are listed as more secure options.