Crates / version-compare / Alternatives
Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to version-compare
Short answerThe closest alternatives to version-compare on crates.io data are semver-parser (276K real downloads a day), toml_datetime (3.2M real downloads a day), toml (3M real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is toml_datetime, and 6 shipped a release in the last year. version-compare itself gets 262,013 a day with 86 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs version-compare | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| semver-parser Pulled in | 276,382 | 1.05x | 12 | 23mo | category Parsing tools, keyword "version" | compare |
| toml_datetime Pulled in | 3,215,444 | 12.27x | 29 | 16d | category Parser implementations, category Parsing tools | compare |
| toml Foundational | 2,960,881 | 11.30x | 20,777 | 15d | category Parser implementations, category Parsing tools | compare |
| toml_edit Widely used | 2,715,071 | 10.36x | 1,989 | 15d | category Parser implementations, category Parsing tools | compare |
| serde_spanned Pulled in | 2,255,941 | 8.61x | 16 | 16d | category Parser implementations, category Parsing tools | compare |
| toml_parser Pulled in | 1,763,218 | 6.73x | 22 | 15d | category Parser implementations, category Parsing tools | compare |
| quick-xml Widely used | 1,525,182 | 5.82x | 2,687 | 2mo | category Parser implementations, category Parsing tools | compare |
| rustc_version Established | 2,120,948 | 8.09x | 699 | 2.2y | keyword "version" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with version-compare; 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 version-compare: 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 version-compare, 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 losing ground. 276,382 real downloads a day.semver-parserRust crate. Parsing of the semver spec. Real use: 276K downloads a day on quiet days; 12 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time