Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to cexpr
Short answerThe closest alternatives to cexpr on crates.io data are winnow (3.6M real downloads a day), clap (3.1M real downloads a day), clap_builder (2.8M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is winnow, and 7 shipped a release in the last year. cexpr itself gets 797,490 a day with 5 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs cexpr | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| winnow Established | 3,579,683 | 4.49x | 448 | 3mo | keyword "parser" | compare |
| clap Foundational | 3,139,218 | 3.94x | 49,450 | 40d | keyword "parser" | compare |
| clap_builder Pulled in | 2,755,258 | 3.45x | 26 | 40d | keyword "parser" | compare |
| clap_lex Pulled in | 2,652,105 | 3.33x | 35 | 40d | keyword "parser" | compare |
| url Foundational | 2,520,673 | 3.16x | 16,906 | 10mo | keyword "parser" | compare |
| httparse Established | 2,183,298 | 2.74x | 609 | 20mo | keyword "parser" | compare |
| quick-xml Widely used | 1,525,182 | 1.91x | 2,687 | 2mo | keyword "parser" | compare |
| wasmparser Established | 1,023,280 | 1.28x | 431 | 11d | keyword "parser" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with cexpr; 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 cexpr: 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 cexpr, 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. 3,579,683 real downloads a day.winnowRust crate. A byte-oriented, zero-copy, parser combinators library. Real use: 3.6M downloads a day on quiet days; 448 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time