Benchmarks of JavaScript Package Managers

Last benchmarked at: May 24, 2026, 3:56 AM (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_modules folder.
• 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.json and running the install command again.

Lots of Files​

The app's package.json here

pnpm vs pnpm 🦀​

pnpm v12 will use a new installation engine for fetching and linking written in Rust. See pacquet.