Crates / utf16_iter / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to utf16_iter
Short answerThe closest alternatives to utf16_iter on crates.io data are utf8_iter (2.1M real downloads a day), encoding_rs (1.4M real downloads a day), write16 (353K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is toml_datetime, and 2 shipped a release in the last year. utf16_iter itself gets 349,411 a day with 3 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs utf16_iter | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| utf8_iter Pulled in | 2,136,300 | 6.11x | 12 | 2.9y | category Encoding, category Internationalization (i18n), keyword "encoding", keyword "iterator" | compare |
| encoding_rs Widely used | 1,414,714 | 4.05x | 1,424 | 30d | category Encoding, category Internationalization (i18n), keyword "encoding", keyword "unicode" | compare |
| write16 Pulled in | 352,874 | 1.01x | 6 | 4.3y | category Internationalization (i18n), category Text processing, keyword "unicode", keyword "utf-16" | compare |
| encode_unicode Pulled in | 548,844 | 1.57x | 19 | 4.2y | category Encoding, keyword "unicode", keyword "utf-16" | compare |
| unicode-width Widely used | 2,194,046 | 6.28x | 3,230 | 13mo | category Internationalization (i18n), category Text processing, keyword "unicode" | compare |
| unicode-bidi Established | 1,058,529 | 3.03x | 190 | 22mo | category Encoding, category Text processing, keyword "unicode" | compare |
| widestring Established | 308,184 | 0.88x | 319 | 12mo | category Encoding, category Text processing, keyword "utf-16" | compare |
| toml_datetime Pulled in | 3,215,444 | 9.20x | 29 | 16d | category Encoding, keyword "encoding" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with utf16_iter; 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 utf16_iter: 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 utf16_iter, 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 quiet for years. 2,136,300 real downloads a day.utf8_iterRust crate. Iterator by char over potentially-invalid UTF-8 in &[u8]. Real use: 2.1M downloads a day on quiet days; 12 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time