Crates / secrecy / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to secrecy
Short answerThe closest alternatives to secrecy on crates.io data are zeroize_derive (979K real downloads a day), compact_str (712K real downloads a day), sdd (239K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is getrandom, and 7 shipped a release in the last year. secrecy itself gets 573,031 a day with 1,604 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs secrecy | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| zeroize_derive Pulled in | 979,424 | 1.71x | 26 | 4mo | category Cryptography, category Memory management, keyword "memory", keyword "secure" | compare |
| compact_str Established | 712,106 | 1.24x | 575 | 3mo | category Memory management, keyword "memory" | compare |
| sdd Pulled in | 238,698 | 0.42x | 7 | 38d | category Memory management, keyword "memory" | compare |
| plain Pulled in | 429,597 | 0.75x | 40 | 8.9y | category No standard library, keyword "memory" | compare |
| getrandom Widely used | 7,623,482 | 13.30x | 5,558 | 4mo | category No standard library, category Operating systems | compare |
| libc Foundational | 4,964,021 | 8.66x | 17,338 | 8d | category No standard library, category Operating systems | compare |
| digest Widely used | 3,862,411 | 6.74x | 1,197 | 6mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library | compare |
| block-buffer Pulled in | 3,815,018 | 6.66x | 23 | 4mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with secrecy; 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 secrecy: 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 secrecy, 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. 979,424 real downloads a day.zeroize_deriveRust crate. Custom derive support for zeroize. Real use: 979K downloads a day on quiet days; 26 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time