Crates / rmp-serde / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to rmp-serde
Short answerThe closest alternatives to rmp-serde on crates.io data are serde_json (4.3M real downloads a day), serde_core (3.8M real downloads a day), serde_urlencoded (1.7M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is serde_json, and 5 shipped a release in the last year. rmp-serde itself gets 345,933 a day with 1,717 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs rmp-serde | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| serde_json Foundational | 4,294,696 | 12.41x | 113,141 | 13d | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | side by side |
| serde_core Established | 3,794,333 | 10.97x | 229 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| serde_urlencoded Widely used | 1,715,895 | 4.96x | 1,342 | 4.8y | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | side by side |
| serde_yaml Widely used | 1,238,004 | 3.58x | 7,766 | 2.6y | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | side by side |
| serde_with Widely used | 1,160,488 | 3.35x | 3,105 | 28d | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | side by side |
| serde_with_macros Pulled in | 1,137,240 | 3.29x | 8 | 28d | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | compare |
| serde_path_to_error Established | 1,101,806 | 3.19x | 642 | 13mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | side by side |
| serde_repr Widely used | 895,570 | 2.59x | 1,237 | 3mo | category Encoding, keyword "serde", keyword "serialization" | side by side |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with rmp-serde; 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 rmp-serde: 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 rmp-serde, 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. 4,294,696 real downloads a day.serde_jsonRust crate. A JSON serialization file format. Real use: 4.3M downloads a day on quiet days; 113,141 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time