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Comparison guide
Bun vs Pnpm
Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Quick Verdict
Smallest Bundle
Bun
5.9 KB gzipped
Most Popular
Pnpm
219.0M weekly downloads
Best Maintained
Bun
100/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Bun
80/100 quality score
Overall Pick
Bun
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
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Choosing between Bun and Pnpm? 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
Pnpm leads with 219.0M weekly downloads — roughly 55.7x more. Bun has 3.9M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Bundle Size
Bun has the smallest gzipped bundle at 5.9 KB. Pnpm comes in at 1.2 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 92/100 (excellent), with strong maintenance, quality, security, popularity scores. Pnpm has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, 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 large community support, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Pnpm if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record.
Our Verdict
Both Bun and Pnpm are solid choices for JavaScript development. Bun has the edge in overall health score (92/100), 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 bun better than pnpm?
- It depends on your needs. Bun has a health score of 92/100 while Pnpm scores 85/100. Pnpm has more recorded weekly downloads (219.0M). 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 pnpm?
- Bun has the smaller gzipped bundle at 5.9 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 pnpm?
- Pnpm has more recorded weekly downloads (219.0M). Download counts reflect package installations, not unique developers.
- Which is better maintained, bun or pnpm?
- Bun has a maintenance score of 100/100. Bun scores 100/100 and Pnpm scores 100/100 on maintenance.
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One PDF: the best package for every category (ORMs, bundlers, auth, testing, state management). Used by 500+ devs. Free, updated monthly.