Crates / Compare / arrow-schema vs polars
Rust crates side by side · data Oct 27, 2026
arrow-schema vs polars
Short answerBy steady daily use, arrow-schema is bigger: 320,142 real downloads a day against 32,528 for polars (9.8x). 825 crates depend on arrow-schema and 629 on polars. arrow-schema last shipped 9 days ago, polars 3 months ago.
arrow-schema
EstablishedEstablished and steady.
825 crates depend on it; small bumps on release days (1.29x the baseline).
Defines the logical types for arrow arrays
polars
EstablishedEstablished and gaining.
629 crates depend on it; downloads don't spike on releases.
DataFrame library based on Apache Arrow
arrow-schemapolars · 100% = that crate's normal quiet day, so a spike to 300% is triple its usual traffic
How they relate
- Often used together: 1 tracked crate depend on both (lancedb). They are not always either/or.
Every number, side by side
| Same window, same method | arrow-schema | polars |
|---|---|---|
| Real downloads a day | 320,142 | 32,528 |
| Crates that depend on it | 825 | 629 |
| Last release | 59.3.1, 9 days ago | 0.55.2, 3 months ago |
| Trend vs the field | +6% | +18% |
| Release-window share | 10.7% | 3.6% |
| Downloads in the window | 29,578,835 | 3,205,617 |
| All-time downloads | 110,451,320 | 16,518,239 |
| Versions published | 68 | 126 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| MSRV | 1.85 | not set |
| First published | Oct 3, 2022 | Jun 18, 2020 |
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-schema, 825 dependents): more eyes, more answered questions, and you may already have it in your tree.
- Check the release dates against your own pace: arrow-schema 9 days ago, polars 3 months 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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