Feature Comparison
| Feature | pnpm | Yarn | npm | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workspace support | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
Isolated node_modules | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Default in pnpm. |
Hoisted node_modules | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Default in npm. |
| Plug'n'Play | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Default in Yarn. |
| Autoinstalling peers | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | |
| Zero-Installs | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | |
| Patching dependencies | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | |
| Managing Node.js versions | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | |
| Managing versions of itself | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | |
| Has a lockfile | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, package-lock.json. |
| Overrides support | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Known as "resolutions" in Yarn. |
| Content-addressable storage | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Yarn uses a CAS when nodeLinker is set to pnpm. |
| Dynamic package execution | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | pnpm dlx, yarn dlx, npx. |
| Side-effects cache | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | |
| Catalogs | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | |
| Config dependencies | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | |
| JSR registry support | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | |
| Auto-install before script run | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | In Yarn, Plug'n'Play ensures dependencies are always up to date. |
| Hooks | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | |
| Listing licenses | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | pnpm supports it via pnpm licenses list. Yarn has a plugin for it. |
Note: To keep the comparison concise, we include only features likely to be used frequently.