Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to snap
Short answerThe closest alternatives to snap on crates.io data are lz4_flex (475K real downloads a day), async-compression (708K real downloads a day), zstd-safe (1.1M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is zstd-safe, and 8 shipped a release in the last year. snap itself gets 318,500 a day with 318 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs snap | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lz4_flex Established | 475,029 | 1.49x | 717 | 3mo | keyword "compress", keyword "compression" | side by side |
| async-compression Established | 707,872 | 2.22x | 387 | 7d | keyword "compression", keyword "decompression" | compare |
| zstd-safe Pulled in | 1,111,608 | 3.49x | 55 | 8d | keyword "compression" | compare |
| zstd Widely used | 1,083,388 | 3.40x | 2,614 | 8d | keyword "compression" | compare |
| zstd-sys Pulled in | 1,052,310 | 3.30x | 57 | 8d | keyword "compression" | compare |
| zip Widely used | 977,272 | 3.07x | 4,151 | 7d | keyword "compression" | compare |
| brotli Established | 841,265 | 2.64x | 613 | 52d | keyword "decompression" | compare |
| brotli-decompressor Pulled in | 832,021 | 2.61x | 74 | 3d | keyword "decompression" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with snap; 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 snap: 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 snap, 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. 475,029 real downloads a day.lz4_flexRust crate. Fastest LZ4 implementation in Rust, no unsafe by default. Real use: 475K downloads a day on quiet days; 717 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time