Crates / quick-xml / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to quick-xml
Short answerThe closest alternatives to quick-xml on crates.io data are xml-rs (303K real downloads a day), csv (678K real downloads a day), serde_spanned (2.3M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is serde_json, and 5 shipped a release in the last year. quick-xml itself gets 1,525,182 a day with 2,687 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs quick-xml | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xml-rs Established | 302,873 | 0.20x | 370 | 3mo | category Parser implementations, keyword "parser", keyword "writer" | side by side |
| csv Widely used | 677,936 | 0.44x | 3,501 | 12mo | category Encoding, category Parser implementations, keyword "parser", keyword "serde" | side by side |
| serde_spanned Pulled in | 2,255,941 | 1.48x | 16 | 16d | category Encoding, category Parser implementations, keyword "serde" | compare |
| xmlparser Pulled in | 514,297 | 0.34x | 49 | 3.1y | category Parser implementations, keyword "parser", keyword "xml" | compare |
| html5ever Established | 506,290 | 0.33x | 380 | 40d | category Parser implementations, keyword "html", keyword "parser" | side by side |
| roxmltree Established | 313,298 | 0.21x | 823 | 12mo | category Parser implementations, keyword "parser", keyword "xml" | side by side |
| ron Widely used | 265,639 | 0.17x | 1,028 | 4mo | category Encoding, keyword "parser", keyword "serde" | compare |
| serde_json Foundational | 4,294,696 | 2.82x | 113,141 | 13d | category Encoding, category Parser implementations, keyword "serde" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with quick-xml; 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 quick-xml: 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 quick-xml, 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. 302,873 real downloads a day.xml-rsRust crate. An XML library in pure Rust. Real use: 303K downloads a day on quiet days; 370 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time