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Should I Use npm trends: Compare NPM package downloads?

npmtrends.com·Analyzed 18 hours ago··Based on 9 sources

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

Worth it

Worth it

Use it — it's free and the fastest way to gauge npm package adoption before committing.

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

Confidence: High

$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

Value for money5

Free with full comparison features

Ease of use4

Widely recommended as the quick default

Feature depth3

Downloads, bundle sizes, stars; nothing deeper

Security posture3

Has security page; no incidents found

Pros

  • Free tool comparing npm downloads, bundle sizes, and GitHub stars side by side¹
  • Widely cited in academic studies for framework adoption data⁵
  • Community lists call it 'essential for choosing the right libraries'³
  • Used to trace multi-year adoption trends, like 5 years of testing framework data⁴

Cons

  • Download counts can be exploited or inflated; popularity isn't quality⁶
  • Shows popularity only; contribution frequency and health must be checked separately⁸
  • Users caution the trends reflect opinions, not ground truth⁷

Gotchas

  • mediumOne developer demonstrated npm download counts can be exploited; treat numbers as directional only⁶
  • mediumNo maintenance, licensing, or security audit data — vet packages with other tools⁸
  • lowSecurity page covers only basic OWASP escaping; no third-party audits cited²

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

Pricing

Free

$0

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

Security

No known public 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

Alternatives

Compare npm trends: Compare NPM package downloads with each alternative.

npm.bet (Vercel Labs)

Open-source multi-package npm download trend visualizer

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.

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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