Crates / pbkdf2 / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to pbkdf2
Short answerThe closest alternatives to pbkdf2 on crates.io data are crypto-common (3.8M real downloads a day), ppv-lite86 (2.4M real downloads a day), subtle (2.2M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is crypto-common, and 5 shipped a release in the last year. pbkdf2 itself gets 707,668 a day with 765 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs pbkdf2 | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| crypto-common Pulled in | 3,766,260 | 5.32x | 85 | 5mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| ppv-lite86 Pulled in | 2,441,634 | 3.45x | 6 | 20mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| subtle Widely used | 2,159,165 | 3.05x | 2,362 | 2.3y | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| ring Widely used | 2,112,308 | 2.98x | 1,837 | 19mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| sha1 Widely used | 2,004,209 | 2.83x | 2,496 | 3mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| chacha20 Established | 1,737,072 | 2.45x | 260 | 58d | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| der Established | 1,514,408 | 2.14x | 378 | 49d | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "crypto" | compare |
| signature Established | 1,419,605 | 2.01x | 417 | 6mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, 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 pbkdf2; 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 pbkdf2: 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 pbkdf2, 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: Few direct dependents and steady. 3,766,260 real downloads a day.crypto-commonRust crate. Common traits used by cryptographic algorithms. Real use: 3.8M downloads a day on quiet days; 85 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time