Crates / async-graphql / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 27, 2026
Alternatives to async-graphql
Short answerThe closest alternatives to async-graphql on crates.io data are tower (2.3M real downloads a day), tower-http (2M real downloads a day), tonic (1.2M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is futures, and 6 shipped a release in the last year. async-graphql itself gets 44,761 a day with 329 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs async-graphql | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tower Widely used | 2,342,590 | 52.34x | 5,816 | 9mo | category Asynchronous, category Network programming, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | side by side |
| tower-http Widely used | 2,044,149 | 45.67x | 3,782 | 54d | category Asynchronous, category Network programming, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | compare |
| tonic Widely used | 1,214,889 | 27.14x | 3,752 | 6mo | category Asynchronous, category Network programming, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | compare |
| actix-rt Established | 151,547 | 3.39x | 467 | 41d | category Asynchronous, category Network programming, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | compare |
| futures Foundational | 2,405,900 | 53.75x | 26,505 | 2mo | category Asynchronous, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | compare |
| atomic-waker Established | 1,911,010 | 42.69x | 116 | 3.1y | category Asynchronous, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | compare |
| futures-lite Widely used | 763,457 | 17.06x | 1,109 | 15mo | category Asynchronous, keyword "async", keyword "futures" | compare |
| h2 Established | 2,290,495 | 51.17x | 296 | 18d | category Asynchronous, category Network programming, keyword "async" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with async-graphql; read its description before you swap.
- More dependents means more answered questions and a smaller chance it disappears.
- Check the last release against how fast you need fixes. For async-graphql: is it still maintained?
Rules
Alternatives = tracked crates (top 1000 by downloads) that share a specific crates.io category (2 points each) or keyword (3 points each) with async-graphql, most similar first; its own parts (same name prefix) and crates it depends on or that depend on it are left out, because those are companions, not substitutes. Real downloads = quiet-day median, crates.io data Oct 27, 2026. Built when we find 3 or more.
Up next
The closest alternative: Widely used and steady. 2,342,590 real downloads a day.towerRust crate. Tower is a library of modular and reusable components for building robust clients and servers. Real use: 2.3M downloads a day on quiet days; 5,816 crates...Read it next →Also worth your time
Art: Nicholas Roerich, Nag Lake (1925). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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