Crates / base64 / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to base64
Short answerThe closest alternatives to base64 on crates.io data are data-encoding (1.4M real downloads a day), bincode (828K real downloads a day), serde (4.3M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is serde, and 7 shipped a release in the last year. base64 itself gets 4,638,981 a day with 19,537 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs base64 | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-encoding Established | 1,416,151 | 0.31x | 854 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "base64", keyword "no_std" | side by side |
| bincode Widely used | 828,247 | 0.18x | 5,913 | 10mo | category Encoding, keyword "decode", keyword "encode" | side by side |
| serde Foundational | 4,327,945 | 0.93x | 133,588 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| serde_core Established | 3,794,333 | 0.82x | 229 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| toml_datetime Pulled in | 3,215,444 | 0.69x | 29 | 16d | category Encoding, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| toml Foundational | 2,960,881 | 0.64x | 20,777 | 15d | category Encoding, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| hex Foundational | 1,974,541 | 0.43x | 14,719 | 5.6y | category Encoding, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| toml_parser Pulled in | 1,763,218 | 0.38x | 22 | 15d | category Encoding, keyword "no_std" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with base64; 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 base64: 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 base64, 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 24, 2026. Built when we find 3 or more.
Up next
The closest alternative: Established and steady. 1,416,151 real downloads a day.data-encodingRust crate. Efficient and customizable data-encoding functions like base64, base32, and hex. Real use: 1.4M downloads a day on quiet days; 854 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time