Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 27, 2026
Alternatives to bson
Short answerThe closest alternatives to bson on crates.io data are serde_with_macros (1.1M real downloads a day), serde_core (3.8M real downloads a day), serde_urlencoded (1.7M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is serde_core, and 5 shipped a release in the last year. bson itself gets 91,942 a day with 322 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs bson | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| serde_with_macros Pulled in | 1,137,240 | 12.37x | 8 | 28d | category Encoding, keyword "deserialization", keyword "serde" | compare |
| serde_core Established | 3,794,333 | 41.27x | 229 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| serde_urlencoded Widely used | 1,715,895 | 18.66x | 1,342 | 4.8y | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| serde_yaml Widely used | 1,238,004 | 13.47x | 7,766 | 2.6y | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| serde_repr Widely used | 895,570 | 9.74x | 1,237 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| rmp-serde Widely used | 345,933 | 3.76x | 1,717 | 10mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| ron Widely used | 265,639 | 2.89x | 1,028 | 4mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| serde-wasm-bindgen Widely used | 191,519 | 2.08x | 1,141 | 2.7y | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with bson; 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 bson: 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 bson, 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: Few direct dependents and steady. 1,137,240 real downloads a day.serde_with_macrosRust crate. proc-macro library for serde_with. Real use: 1.1M downloads a day on quiet days; 8 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time
Art: Nicholas Roerich, Nag Lake (1925). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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