argon2
Popular
Version 0.44.0
65
GoodAn Argon2 library for Node
- Weekly Downloads
- 754.6K
↑46%
- Bundle (gzip)
- 302.8 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Health Score Breakdown
Maintenance
40
Popularity
90
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
Argon2 vs Bcrypt
Side-by-side NPM package comparison
bcrypt
Very Popular
Version 6.0.0
73
GoodA bcrypt library for NodeJS.
- Weekly Downloads
- 3.5M
↑31%
- Bundle (gzip)
- 324.2 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Health Score Breakdown
Maintenance
60
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
Choosing between Argon2 and Bcrypt? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.
Downloads & Popularity
Bcrypt leads with 3.5M weekly downloads — roughly 4.6x more. Argon2 has 754.6K weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Bundle Size
Argon2 has the smallest gzipped bundle at 302.8 KB. Bcrypt comes in at 324.2 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Health Score Comparison
Bcrypt has an overall health score of 73/100 (good), with strong security, popularity scores. Argon2 has an overall health score of 65/100 (good), with strong security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
When to Choose Each
Choose Argon2 if you value strong security track record. Choose Bcrypt if you value large community support, strong security track record.
Our Verdict
Both Argon2 and Bcrypt are solid choices for JavaScript development. Bcrypt has the edge in overall health score (73/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is argon2 better than bcrypt?
- It depends on your needs. Argon2 has a health score of 65/100 while Bcrypt scores 73/100. Bcrypt has more weekly downloads (3.5M), suggesting broader adoption. Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
- Which has a smaller bundle size, argon2 or bcrypt?
- Argon2 has the smaller gzipped bundle at 302.8 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
- How many developers use argon2 vs bcrypt?
- Based on npm download statistics, Argon2 has approximately 754.6K weekly downloads and Bcrypt has approximately 3.5M weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.
- Which is better maintained, argon2 or bcrypt?
- Bcrypt currently has the higher overall health score at 73/100. Argon2 has a maintenance score of 40/100 and Bcrypt scores 60/100 on maintenance.
Argon2 vs bcrypt: Modern Standard vs Time-Tested Classic
Argon2 and bcrypt are both password hashing algorithms designed to be intentionally slow, making brute-force attacks computationally expensive. bcrypt has been the default recommendation for password hashing since the late 1990s — it's battle-tested, widely understood, and supported in every major programming language. Argon2 is the newer contender, winning the Password Hashing Competition (PHC) in 2015, and is now recommended by OWASP as the preferred password hashing algorithm.
Argon2's key advantage over bcrypt is memory-hardness. bcrypt is CPU-hard — it takes a fixed amount of memory regardless of the cost factor — which means attackers can parallelize bcrypt cracking on GPUs or ASICs relatively efficiently. Argon2 is both CPU-hard and memory-hard: you configure it to use a specific amount of RAM per hash operation, making GPU-based attacks orders of magnitude more expensive because GPUs have limited per-core memory. For high-security applications, Argon2's resistance to hardware-accelerated attacks is a meaningful advantage.
In the Node.js ecosystem, the practical difference comes down to native dependencies. The argon2 npm package requires a C compiler and node-gyp during installation, similar to bcrypt. For serverless deployments where native bindings are problematic, bcryptjs (pure JavaScript bcrypt) is often the path of least resistance. If you can handle native dependencies and want the strongest available password hashing, Argon2id (the hybrid variant) is the 2026 best practice. If you need maximum deployment compatibility or are working with existing bcrypt hashes, bcrypt remains perfectly secure for the foreseeable future.
Related Comparisons
Stay Updated
Get the latest package insights, npm trends, and tooling tips delivered to your inbox.