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Comparison guide
Npm vs Pnpm vs Yarn
Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Quick Verdict
Smallest Bundle
Npm
842.0 B gzipped
Most Popular
Pnpm
134.5M weekly downloads
Best Maintained
Npm
100/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Npm
50/100 quality score
Overall Pick
Pnpm
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
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yarn
📦🐈 Fast, reliable, and secure dependency management.
5.3M weekly downloads · 1.5 MB gzip · Health 67/100
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Choosing between Npm and Pnpm and Yarn? 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 134.5M weekly downloads — roughly 13.5x more. Npm has 10.0M weekly downloads. Yarn has 5.3M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Bundle Size
Npm has the smallest gzipped bundle at 842.0 B. Pnpm comes in at 1.2 MB. 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
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 67/100 (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 Npm if you value large community support, minimal bundle footprint, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Pnpm if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Yarn if you value large community support, strong security track record.
Our Verdict
Both Npm and Pnpm and Yarn are solid choices for JavaScript development. Npm has the edge in overall health score (85/100), 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 npm better than pnpm?
- It depends on your needs. Npm has a health score of 85/100 while Pnpm scores 85/100. Pnpm has more recorded weekly downloads (134.5M). Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
- Which has a smaller bundle size, npm or pnpm?
- Npm has the smaller gzipped bundle at 842.0 B. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
- How many developers use npm vs pnpm?
- Pnpm has more recorded weekly downloads (134.5M). Download counts reflect package installations, not unique developers.
- Which is better maintained, npm or pnpm?
- Npm has a maintenance score of 100/100. Npm 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.