Crates / maturin / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 27, 2026
Alternatives to maturin
Short answerThe closest alternatives to maturin on crates.io data are pyo3-build-config (835K real downloads a day), pyo3 (818K real downloads a day), pyo3-ffi (814K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is pyo3-build-config, and 6 shipped a release in the last year. maturin itself gets 572 a day with 1 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs maturin | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pyo3-build-config Established | 835,359 | 1460.42x | 156 | 10d | category API bindings, category FFI, keyword "pyo3", keyword "python" | compare |
| pyo3 Widely used | 817,609 | 1429.39x | 2,315 | 10d | category API bindings, category FFI, keyword "pyo3", keyword "python" | compare |
| pyo3-ffi Pulled in | 814,393 | 1423.76x | 12 | 10d | category API bindings, category FFI, keyword "pyo3", keyword "python" | compare |
| pyo3-macros-backend Pulled in | 813,880 | 1422.87x | 1 | 10d | category API bindings, category FFI, keyword "pyo3", keyword "python" | compare |
| pyo3-macros Pulled in | 813,099 | 1421.50x | 3 | 10d | category API bindings, category FFI, keyword "pyo3", keyword "python" | compare |
| objc2 Widely used | 607,001 | 1061.19x | 1,193 | 19d | category API bindings, category FFI | compare |
| objc2-core-foundation Established | 539,144 | 942.56x | 422 | 13mo | category API bindings, category FFI | compare |
| block2 Established | 538,869 | 942.08x | 530 | 13mo | category API bindings, category FFI | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with maturin; 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 maturin: 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 maturin, 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 27, 2026. Built when we find 3 or more.
Up next
The closest alternative: Established and losing ground. 835,359 real downloads a day.pyo3-build-configRust crate. Build configuration for the PyO3 ecosystem. Real use: 835K downloads a day on quiet days; 156 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time
Art: Nicholas Roerich, Nag Lake (1925). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
