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npm trends: Compare NPM package downloads Review

Worth it

Should I use npm trends: Compare NPM package downloads?

Which NPM package should you use? Compare packages download stats, bundle sizes, github stars and more. - npmtrends.com

· 1 month ago

Use it — it's free and the fastest way to gauge npm package adoption before committing. Don't rely on it alone: download counts can be inflated and say nothing about package quality or security.

Confidence

High. Based on ~20 public sources: official site, community lists, dev blogs, LinkedIn posts, and academic citations. No formal ratings or paid tiers found.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • JS/TS devs choosing between libraries
  • Framework adoption research
  • Indie devs and students picking stacks
  • Tech-radar trend spotting

Not for

  • Non-JavaScript stacks (Python, Go, Rust) — nothing to compare
  • Teams needing license, audit, or maintenance vetting of packages
  • Anyone wanting vendor support, SLAs, or data exports
  • Procurement-grade decisions — popularity ≠ production-readiness

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

One developer demonstrated npm download counts can be exploited; treat numbers as directional only

medium

No maintenance, licensing, or security audit data — vet packages with other tools

low

Security page covers only basic OWASP escaping; no third-party audits cited

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free tool comparing npm downloads, bundle sizes, and GitHub stars side by side
  • Widely cited in academic studies for framework adoption data
  • Community lists call it 'essential for choosing the right libraries'
  • Used to trace multi-year adoption trends, like 5 years of testing framework data

Cons

  • Download counts can be exploited or inflated; popularity isn't quality
  • Shows popularity only; contribution frequency and health must be checked separately
  • Users caution the trends reflect opinions, not ground truth

Sources & method

- 9 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x1review x7security x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 9

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free with full comparison features
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Widely recommended as the quick default
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Downloads, bundle sizes, stars; nothing deeper
  • Support quality. No support evidence found
  • Security posture: 3/5. Has security page; no incidents found
  • $0 Price Marked [Free] in community tool lists
  • Yes Free tier Open web tool, no paid tiers found
  • 5+ Academic citations Cited in papers and theses for adoption data

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Unlimited package comparisons
  • Download trends, bundle sizes, GitHub stars

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Developers, bloggers, and researchers consistently recommend it as the quickest npm popularity comparison.

“npm trends - Compare npm package downloads over time. Essential for choosing the right libraries.”
GitHub, awesome-vibe-coding list
“NPM Trends tool is very useful when you want to compare the download rates of”
LinkedIn, Mustafa Qundos
“As a fan of Svelte, it's great to see to growing so rapidly!”
LinkedIn, Attila Buturla
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources: official site, community lists, dev blogs, LinkedIn posts, and academic citations. No formal ratings or paid tiers found.

Free, instant npm popularity comparison. Great first signal for picking JS packages — verify quality elsewhere.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources: official site, community lists, dev blogs, LinkedIn posts, and academic citations. No formal ratings or paid tiers found.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. npm trends: Compare NPM package downloads (official)npmtrends.com
    official
  2. npmtrends security pagenpmtrends.com
    security
  3. awesome-vibe-coding — GitHub list marking it [Free]github.com
    review
  4. Testing Framework Adoption Trends: 5 Years of npm Data — TestDinotestdino.com
    review
  5. React Query paper citing npmtrends — TechRxivtechrxiv.org
    review
  6. How I exploited NPM downloads... and why you shouldn't — dev.todev.to
    review
  7. VueJS vs ReactJS vs SvelteJS — Reddit r/sveltejsreddit.com
    review
  8. 5 Best Practices for Choosing Third-Party NPM Packagesreadclub.me
    review
  9. Rise of JavaScript Frameworks — Master's thesis citing npmtrendsagrawalshyam.com
    review

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