npm Package Comparator
Compare 2-3 npm packages side by side — weekly downloads, GitHub stars, bundle size, license, and more. Make informed decisions when choosing between competing libraries.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between two npm packages that do similar things?▼
Consider: (1) Weekly downloads — higher traffic means more real-world testing. (2) GitHub stars — indicates community interest. (3) Last publish date — stale packages may have unpatched vulnerabilities. (4) Bundle size — smaller is better for browser-side code. (5) Maintainer count and issue response time. (6) TypeScript support — does it ship its own types or need @types? (7) License — MIT/Apache for commercial use, check GPL carefully.
What does 'weekly downloads' indicate?▼
Weekly downloads from npm show how many times a package was downloaded in the past week. A package with 10M+ weekly downloads is deeply embedded in the ecosystem. However, downloads include CI/CD installs, automated testing, and mirrors — they don't directly equal users. Downloads are better for comparing relative popularity between similar packages than as an absolute quality signal.
How do I check if a package is actively maintained?▼
Check: (1) Last publish date on npmjs.com. (2) GitHub commit activity in the last 90 days. (3) Open issues vs closed issues ratio. (4) Whether recent issues get responses. (5) The CHANGELOG — are bugs being fixed? A package can be 'done' and need no updates, or it can be abandoned. Context matters: a utility library with no commits in 2 years may be perfectly stable.
What license should I look for in npm packages?▼
MIT and Apache 2.0 are the most permissive and safe for commercial use. BSD is also permissive. ISC is effectively equivalent to MIT. GPL/LGPL requires your project to be open-source if you distribute it — check with your legal team. AGPL is even stricter, covering network use. Unlicensed or 'proprietary' packages should be avoided unless explicitly granted permission.
Should I prefer a package with more stars or more downloads?▼
Downloads are a more reliable adoption signal for technical packages. Stars reflect developer interest and marketing, but downloads reflect actual integration into projects. A package with 1K stars but 5M weekly downloads is more widely used than one with 50K stars and 100K downloads. That said, stars correlate with documentation quality and community health.
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Look up npm package weekly download counts, unpacked size, dependency count, latest version, license, and repository link. Live data from the npm registry.
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