Bun vs Npm vs Pnpm vs Yarn

Downloads & Popularity

Pnpm leads with 61.9M weekly downloads — roughly 4.9x more. Npm has 12.5M weekly downloads. Yarn has 9.0M weekly downloads. Bun has 997.8K weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.

Bundle Size

Pnpm has the smallest gzipped bundle at 1.6 KB. Npm comes in at 2.6 KB. Bun comes in at 5.8 KB. Yarn comes in at 1.5 MB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.

Health Score Comparison

Bun has an overall health score of 90/100 (excellent), with strong maintenance, quality, security, popularity scores. Npm has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Pnpm has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Yarn has an overall health score of 73/100 (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 Bun if you value actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Npm if you value massive community and ecosystem, minimal bundle footprint, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Pnpm if you value massive community and ecosystem, minimal bundle footprint, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Yarn if you value large community support, strong security track record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bun better than npm?

It depends on your needs. Bun has a health score of 90/100 while Npm scores 85/100. Npm has more weekly downloads (12.5M), 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, bun or npm?

Npm has the smaller gzipped bundle at 2.6 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.

How many developers use bun vs npm?

Based on npm download statistics, Bun has approximately 997.8K weekly downloads and Npm has approximately 12.5M weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.

Which is better maintained, bun or npm?

Bun currently has the higher overall health score at 90/100. Bun has a maintenance score of 100/100 and Npm scores 100/100 on maintenance.