Crates / unicode_categories / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to unicode_categories
Short answerThe closest alternatives to unicode_categories on crates.io data are heck (3.9M real downloads a day), icu_collections (2.5M real downloads a day), icu_properties_data (2.5M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is heck, and 7 shipped a release in the last year. unicode_categories itself gets 228,514 a day with 51 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs unicode_categories | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| heck Widely used | 3,901,922 | 17.08x | 1,865 | 2.6y | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| icu_collections Pulled in | 2,507,923 | 10.97x | 25 | 2d | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| icu_properties_data Pulled in | 2,505,718 | 10.97x | 8 | 2d | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| icu_properties Established | 2,501,772 | 10.95x | 118 | 2d | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| icu_normalizer_data Pulled in | 2,473,115 | 10.82x | 10 | 2d | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| icu_normalizer Pulled in | 2,472,932 | 10.82x | 89 | 2d | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| idna_adapter Pulled in | 2,429,162 | 10.63x | 41 | 6mo | keyword "unicode" | compare |
| icu_locale_core Established | 2,233,122 | 9.77x | 107 | 2d | keyword "unicode" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with unicode_categories; 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 unicode_categories: 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 unicode_categories, 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: Widely used and quiet for years. 3,901,922 real downloads a day.heckRust crate. heck is a case conversion library. Real use: 3.9M downloads a day on quiet days; 1,865 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time