Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to png
Short answerThe closest alternatives to png on crates.io data are zune-core (612K real downloads a day), zune-jpeg (603K real downloads a day), moxcms (594K real downloads a day). Of the 7 we list, the most used is zune-core, and 6 shipped a release in the last year. png itself gets 1,045,922 a day with 1,264 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs png | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| zune-core Pulled in | 611,619 | 0.58x | 64 | 3mo | category Images | compare |
| zune-jpeg Established | 602,931 | 0.58x | 117 | 5d | category Images | compare |
| moxcms Pulled in | 593,585 | 0.57x | 51 | 39d | category Images | compare |
| tiff Established | 461,469 | 0.44x | 134 | 8mo | category Images | compare |
| color_quant Pulled in | 453,755 | 0.43x | 47 | 6mo | category Images | compare |
| image-webp Pulled in | 403,308 | 0.39x | 64 | 14mo | category Images | compare |
| rgb Established | 392,903 | 0.38x | 349 | 8mo | category Images | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with png; 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 png: 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 png, 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 gaining. 611,619 real downloads a day.zune-coreRust crate. Core utilities for image processing in the zune family of crates. Real use: 612K downloads a day on quiet days; 64 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time