Crates / downcast-rs / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to downcast-rs
Short answerThe closest alternatives to downcast-rs on crates.io data are ordered-float (1.4M real downloads a day), educe (381K real downloads a day), snafu (263K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is hashbrown, and 8 shipped a release in the last year. downcast-rs itself gets 561,536 a day with 298 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs downcast-rs | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ordered-float Widely used | 1,379,318 | 2.46x | 1,143 | 2mo | category Rust patterns, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| educe Established | 380,869 | 0.68x | 191 | 41d | category Rust patterns, keyword "trait" | compare |
| snafu Established | 263,488 | 0.47x | 998 | 3mo | category Rust patterns, keyword "no_std" | compare |
| hashbrown Widely used | 8,927,960 | 15.90x | 2,468 | 6mo | keyword "no_std" | compare |
| indexmap Widely used | 4,883,122 | 8.70x | 6,422 | 49d | keyword "no_std" | compare |
| base64 Foundational | 4,638,981 | 8.26x | 19,537 | 3mo | keyword "no_std" | compare |
| serde Foundational | 4,327,945 | 7.71x | 133,588 | 3mo | keyword "no_std" | compare |
| serde_derive Widely used | 4,161,400 | 7.41x | 6,497 | 3mo | keyword "no_std" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with downcast-rs; 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 downcast-rs: 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 downcast-rs, 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: Widely used and steady. 1,379,318 real downloads a day.ordered-floatRust crate. Wrappers for total ordering on floats. Real use: 1.4M downloads a day on quiet days; 1,143 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time