Crates / openssl / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to openssl
Short answerThe closest alternatives to openssl on crates.io data are security-framework (1.2M real downloads a day), security-framework-sys (935K real downloads a day), schannel (901K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is digest, and 5 shipped a release in the last year. openssl itself gets 945,534 a day with 1,868 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs openssl | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| security-framework Established | 1,156,937 | 1.22x | 179 | 8mo | category API bindings, category Cryptography, keyword "crypto", keyword "ssl" | compare |
| security-framework-sys Pulled in | 934,775 | 0.99x | 50 | 8mo | keyword "crypto", keyword "ssl" | compare |
| schannel Pulled in | 901,416 | 0.95x | 34 | 8d | keyword "ssl", keyword "tls" | compare |
| hyper-tls Established | 741,124 | 0.78x | 476 | 2.9y | keyword "ssl", keyword "tls" | compare |
| digest Widely used | 3,862,411 | 4.08x | 1,197 | 6mo | category Cryptography, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| crypto-common Pulled in | 3,766,260 | 3.98x | 85 | 5mo | category Cryptography, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| ppv-lite86 Pulled in | 2,441,634 | 2.58x | 6 | 20mo | category Cryptography, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| subtle Widely used | 2,159,165 | 2.28x | 2,362 | 2.3y | category Cryptography, keyword "crypto" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with openssl; 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 openssl: 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 openssl, 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: Established and steady. 1,156,937 real downloads a day.security-frameworkRust crate. Security.framework bindings for macOS and iOS. Real use: 1.2M downloads a day on quiet days; 179 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time