Crates / Compare / arrow-array vs datafusion
Rust crates side by side · data Oct 27, 2026
arrow-array vs datafusion
Short answerBy steady daily use, arrow-array is bigger: 319,689 real downloads a day against 72,805 for datafusion (4.4x). 750 crates depend on arrow-array and 451 on datafusion. arrow-array last shipped 9 days ago, datafusion 20 days ago.
arrow-array
EstablishedEstablished and steady.
750 crates depend on it; small bumps on release days (1.29x the baseline).
Array abstractions for Apache Arrow
datafusion
EstablishedEstablished and steady.
451 crates depend on it; downloads don't spike on releases.
DataFusion is an in-memory query engine that uses Apache Arrow as the memory model
arrow-arraydatafusion · 100% = that crate's normal quiet day, so a spike to 300% is triple its usual traffic
How they relate
- Often used together: 2 tracked crates depend on both (lance, lancedb). They are not always either/or.
Every number, side by side
| Same window, same method | arrow-array | datafusion |
|---|---|---|
| Real downloads a day | 319,689 | 72,805 |
| Crates that depend on it | 750 | 451 |
| Last release | 59.3.1, 9 days ago | 55.2.0, 20 days ago |
| Trend vs the field | +6% | +9% |
| Release-window share | 10.7% | 7.2% |
| Downloads in the window | 29,545,436 | 6,822,377 |
| All-time downloads | 110,259,385 | 30,443,718 |
| Versions published | 68 | 123 |
| License | Apache-2.0 AND MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| MSRV | 1.85 | 1.94.0 |
| First published | Oct 3, 2022 | Jan 31, 2018 |
Which to pick
- Downloads tell you what is common, not what fits. Each crate's own description above says what it is for; when the jobs differ, pick by the job.
- When both fit, prefer the one more crates depend on (arrow-array, 750 dependents): more eyes, more answered questions, and you may already have it in your tree.
- Check the release dates against your own pace: arrow-array 9 days ago, datafusion 20 days ago.
Also in this space
Method
Real downloads = the median day with no release that day or the day before, from the crates.io API (Jul 27, 2026 to Oct 26, 2026). Raw crates.io counts include CI and bots and run high (why); the method is from our 90-day study.
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Art: Nicholas Roerich, Nag Lake (1925). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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