Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to zstd
Short answerThe closest alternatives to zstd on crates.io data are async-compression (708K real downloads a day), leb128fmt (630K real downloads a day), compression-core (561K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is flate2, and 6 shipped a release in the last year. zstd itself gets 1,083,388 a day with 2,614 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs zstd | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| async-compression Established | 707,872 | 0.65x | 387 | 7d | category Compression, keyword "compression" | side by side |
| leb128fmt Pulled in | 629,549 | 0.58x | 4 | 3.1y | category Compression, keyword "compression" | compare |
| compression-core Pulled in | 561,038 | 0.52x | 4 | 7d | category Compression, keyword "compression" | compare |
| zopfli Pulled in | 554,646 | 0.51x | 25 | 13d | category Compression, keyword "compression" | compare |
| flate2 Widely used | 2,127,583 | 1.96x | 7,758 | 57d | category API bindings, category Compression | side by side |
| bzip2 Established | 435,362 | 0.40x | 580 | 12mo | category API bindings, category Compression | compare |
| lz4_flex Established | 475,029 | 0.44x | 717 | 3mo | keyword "compression" | compare |
| snap Established | 318,500 | 0.29x | 318 | 3mo | keyword "compression" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with zstd; 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 zstd: 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 zstd, 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 gaining. 707,872 real downloads a day.async-compressionRust crate. Adaptors between compression crates and Rust's modern asynchronous IO types. Real use: 708K downloads a day on quiet days; 387 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time