Benchmarks of JavaScript Package Managers
Last benchmarked at: Jul 3, 2023, 1:27 PM (daily updated).
This benchmark compares the performance of npm, pnpm, Yarn Classic, and Yarn PnP (check Yarn's benchmarks for any other Yarn modes that are not included here).
Here's a quick explanation of how these tests could apply to the real world:
- clean install: How long it takes to run a totally fresh install: no lockfile present, no packages in the cache, no- node_modulesfolder.
- with cache,- with lockfile,- with node_modules: After the first install is done, the install command is run again.
- with cache,- with lockfile: When a repo is fetched by a developer and installation is first run.
- with cache: Same as the one above, but the package manager doesn't have a lockfile to work from.
- with lockfile: When an installation runs on a CI server.
- with cache,- with node_modules: The lockfile is deleted and the install command is run again.
- with node_modules,- with lockfile: The package cache is deleted and the install command is run again.
- with node_modules: The package cache and the lockfile is deleted and the install command is run again.
- update: Updating your dependencies by changing the version in the- package.jsonand running the install command again.
Lots of Files
The app's package.json here
| action | cache | lockfile | node_modules | npm | pnpm | Yarn | Yarn PnP | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| install | 31.8s | 17.2s | 22.1s | 20.2s | |||
| install | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | 2s | 1.5s | 695ms | n/a | 
| install | ✔ | ✔ | 9s | 4.7s | 8.8s | 668ms | |
| install | ✔ | 13.7s | 7.7s | 22.8s | 15.2s | ||
| install | ✔ | 14.3s | 14.4s | 8.9s | 670ms | ||
| install | ✔ | ✔ | 2.4s | 3.8s | 16s | n/a | |
| install | ✔ | ✔ | 2s | 1.5s | 681ms | n/a | |
| install | ✔ | 2.4s | 13.4s | 16.6s | n/a | ||
| update | n/a | n/a | n/a | 7.3s | 6.9s | 8.7s | 16.9s |