# Homebrew vs pnpm

**Leader by Vioscale score:** pnpm

| Attribute | Homebrew | pnpm |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 58.8 (50% (medium)) | 71.8 (66% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 600 |
| adoption.github_stars | 49,281 | 36,223 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 174,694,273 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Homebrew is a package manager that installs command-line tools, libraries, and applications from upstream source code. It organizes each package in an isolated directory and uses symlinks to integrate them into your system. | A package manager for JavaScript projects that emphasizes fast performance and minimal disk space requirements. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"public_registry","ecosystem":"os","deployment":"cli_local","open_source":"oss","pricing_model":"free","package_formats":"multi","private_packages":true,"content_addressable":true,"vuln_license_scanning":true,"supply_chain_integrity":true}` | `{"role":"manager_client","ecosystem":"js","deployment":"cli_local","workspaces":true,"open_source":"oss","pricing_model":"free","upstream_proxy":true,"package_formats":"multi","private_packages":true,"content_addressable":true,"lockfile_deterministic":true,"supply_chain_integrity":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 7 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"GitHub Actions"},{"name":"AppVeyor"},{"name":"Azure Pipelines"},{"name":"Bitbucket Pipelines"},{"name":"CircleCI"},{"name":"npm"},{"name":"JSR"}]` |
| language.primary | Ruby | Rust |
| license.spdx | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://brew.sh","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:52:23.773Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://pnpm.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:32:10.481Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 3 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.19","date":"2026-08-24T07:43:35Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.18","date":"2026-08-17T07:46:53Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.17","date":"2026-08-11T14:37:20Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.16","date":"2026-08-10T13:40:39Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.15","date":"2026-08-03T07:55:59Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.14","date":"2026-07-31T15:10:38Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.13","date":"2026-07-27T12:54:46Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.12","date":"2026-07-20T16:17:48Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.11","date":"2026-07-14T23:12:25Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.10","date":"2026-07-13T11:58:34Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.9","date":"2026-07-08T07:22:48Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.8","date":"2026-07-06T19:02:09Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.7","date":"2026-07-06T07:07:07Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.6","date":"2026-06-30T01:17:41Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.5","date":"2026-06-26T18:11:56Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.4","date":"2026-06-25T11:35:36Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.3","date":"2026-06-22T14:25:07Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.2","date":"2026-06-15T14:05:05Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.1","date":"2026-06-12T02:47:15Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/Homebrew/brew/releases/tag/6.0.0","date":"2026-06-11T13:13:47Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0","date":"2026-08-26T15:13:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v12.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/pnpr%400.1.0-alpha.8","date":"2026-08-26T15:13:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"pnpr@0.1.0-alpha.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.11","date":"2026-08-25T09:49:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.10","date":"2026-08-24T19:06:14Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v11.24.0","date":"2026-08-24T19:10:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.24.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.9","date":"2026-08-23T23:17:08Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v11.23.0","date":"2026-08-23T14:41:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.23.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.8","date":"2026-08-20T20:48:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.7","date":"2026-08-18T10:37:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/pnpr%400.1.0-alpha.7","date":"2026-08-18T10:37:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"pnpr@0.1.0-alpha.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.6","date":"2026-08-15T17:17:48Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v11.22.0","date":"2026-08-15T17:18:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.5","date":"2026-08-13T16:42:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.4","date":"2026-08-12T14:42:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/pnpr%400.1.0-alpha.6","date":"2026-08-12T14:38:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"pnpr@0.1.0-alpha.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.3","date":"2026-08-09T20:32:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.2","date":"2026-08-09T14:32:02Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v11.21.0","date":"2026-08-09T14:25:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v11.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.1","date":"2026-08-07T14:57:20Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v12.0.0-rc.0","date":"2026-08-05T20:20:09Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v12.0.0-rc.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.9 | 6.9 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2FHomebrew%2Fbrew&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40pnpm%2Ferror&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Package Registries)

| Capability | Homebrew | pnpm |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Public registry | Package manager client |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Ecosystem / language | OS-level | JavaScript |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | CLI-local | CLI-local |
| **Formats** |  |  |
| Package formats supported | Many formats | Many formats |
| **Hosting** |  |  |
| Private / scoped packages | ✓ | ✓ |
| Upstream proxy / caching | - | ✓ |
| **Resolution** |  |  |
| Lockfile / deterministic installs | - | ✓ |
| Workspaces / monorepo | - | ✓ |
| Content-addressable store | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Supply chain** |  |  |
| Supply-chain integrity | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vulnerability / licence scanning | ✓ | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Openness | Open-source | Open-source |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Pricing model | Free / OSS | Free / OSS |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:21:17.471Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*