Crates / Compare / proc-macro2 vs strum
Rust crates side by side · data Oct 24, 2026
proc-macro2 vs strum
Short answerBy steady daily use, proc-macro2 is bigger: 4,890,919 real downloads a day against 1,901,257 for strum (2.6x). 16,351 crates depend on proc-macro2 and 5,075 on strum. proc-macro2 last shipped 3 months ago, strum 8 months ago.
proc-macro2
FoundationalFoundational and steady.
16,351 crates depend on it; no release in the last 90 days, so its count is all steady use.
A substitute implementation of the compiler's `proc_macro` API to decouple token-based libraries from the procedural macro use case.
strum
Widely usedWidely used and steady.
5,075 crates depend on it; no release in the last 90 days, so its count is all steady use.
Helpful macros for working with enums and strings
proc-macro2strum · 100% = that crate's normal quiet day, so a spike to 300% is triple its usual traffic
Every number, side by side
| Same window, same method | proc-macro2 | strum |
|---|---|---|
| Real downloads a day | 4,890,919 | 1,901,257 |
| Crates that depend on it | 16,351 | 5,075 |
| Last release | 1.0.107, 3 months ago | 0.28.0, 8 months ago |
| Trend vs the field | -8% | -3% |
| Release-window share | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Downloads in the window | 428,505,703 | 169,215,396 |
| All-time downloads | 1,813,980,979 | 714,441,624 |
| Versions published | 163 | 40 |
| License | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| MSRV | 1.71 | 1.71 |
| First published | Jul 6, 2017 | Feb 12, 2017 |
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 (proc-macro2, 16,351 dependents): more eyes, more answered questions, and you may already have it in your tree.
- Check the release dates against your own pace: proc-macro2 3 months ago, strum 8 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 23, 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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