Crates / overload / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to overload
Short answerThe closest alternatives to overload on crates.io data are lazy_static (2.4M real downloads a day), quick-error (1.1M real downloads a day), new_debug_unreachable (691K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is lazy_static, and 2 shipped a release in the last year. overload itself gets 171,034 a day with 7 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs overload | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lazy_static Foundational | 2,449,997 | 14.32x | 10,953 | 23d | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| quick-error Established | 1,130,044 | 6.61x | 293 | 5.5y | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| new_debug_unreachable Pulled in | 691,350 | 4.04x | 23 | 2.6y | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| derive_builder Widely used | 633,349 | 3.70x | 1,332 | 2.0y | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| derive_builder_macro Pulled in | 624,830 | 3.65x | 1 | 2.0y | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| educe Established | 380,869 | 2.23x | 191 | 41d | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| derivative Established | 320,737 | 1.88x | 616 | 5.7y | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
| maplit Established | 266,928 | 1.56x | 819 | 7.2y | category Rust patterns, keyword "macro" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with overload; 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 overload: 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 overload, 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: Foundational and steady. 2,449,997 real downloads a day.lazy_staticRust crate. A macro for declaring lazily evaluated statics in Rust. Real use: 2.4M downloads a day on quiet days; 10,953 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time