Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Homebrew VS Scoop

Compare Homebrew VS Scoop and see what are their differences

Homebrew logo Homebrew

The missing package manager for macOS

Scoop logo Scoop

A command-line installer for Windows
  • Homebrew Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-29
  • Scoop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-02

Homebrew features and specs

  • User-Friendly
    Homebrew provides an easy-to-use command-line interface that simplifies the installation and management of software packages.
  • Wide Range of Packages
    Homebrew offers a vast repository of software, covering a broad spectrum of utilities, languages, and applications.
  • Dependency Management
    Homebrew automatically handles dependencies, ensuring that all required packages are installed and up to date.
  • Community Support
    Homebrew has a strong community backing and regular contributions, which ensures frequent updates and a robust support system.
  • Cross-Platform
    Homebrew is available on macOS and Linux, allowing for consistent package management across different operating systems.
  • Customizability
    Users can create their own formulae to install software that isn’t available in the core repositories.

Possible disadvantages of Homebrew

  • Resource Intensive
    Some users find that Homebrew can be resource-intensive, particularly during installation of large packages or those with numerous dependencies.
  • Security Risks
    Because Homebrew allows for the installation of third-party software, there is a potential risk of downloading insecure or malicious packages.
  • Complexity for Beginners
    While user-friendly for most, beginners with no command-line experience might find the initial learning curve steep.
  • Duplication
    Users might accidentally install software that is already managed by other package managers or system libraries, leading to duplication.
  • Limited GUI Support
    Homebrew is primarily a command-line tool and lacks a graphical user interface, which could be a drawback for users who prefer GUI-based package management.

Scoop features and specs

  • Simple Installation
    Scoop allows for simple installation of software packages using easy-to-remember commands, making it accessible even to users with limited technical knowledge.
  • No Admin Rights Required
    Scoop doesn't require administrative privileges for installation, making it convenient for users in restricted environments.
  • No Path Pollution
    Packages are installed in a structured directory and don't pollute the system PATH, reducing the risk of environmental conflicts.
  • Dependencies Management
    Scoop manages dependencies automatically, ensuring that all required libraries and dependencies are installed along with the main package.
  • Portable Packages
    Many Scoop packages are portable, allowing users to install, use, and remove them without leaving traces behind on the system.
  • Customizable
    Scoop allows users to create and maintain their own buckets (collections of app manifests), facilitating the management of custom or private software.

Possible disadvantages of Scoop

  • Limited GUI Integration
    Scoop is primarily command-line based and lacks a graphical user interface, which may be a disadvantage for users who prefer visual interaction.
  • Windows-Only
    Scoop is designed specifically for Windows, limiting its applicability for users who work across multiple operating systems.
  • Smaller Repository
    Compared to package managers like Chocolatey, Scoop has a smaller repository, potentially limiting the availability of certain software through its platform.
  • Dependency on PowerShell
    Scoop relies on PowerShell, which means it cannot be used on systems where PowerShell is restricted or unavailable.
  • Learning Curve for Non-Technical Users
    While straightforward, Scoop still requires users to be comfortable with command-line operations, which might present a learning curve for non-technical users.

Homebrew videos

Homebrew Review: Coopers Lager - Taste Test

More videos:

  • Review - Homebrew Review | Alchemist Class by Mage Hand Press (featuring Designer Mike Holik)
  • Review - Northern Brewer Cream Ale Homebrew Review Tasting

Scoop videos

5 Ice Cream Scoops Compared!

More videos:

  • Review - Hamilton Beach Coffee Maker "The Scoop" Exclusive Review
  • Review - The Scoop: Lateral trainer review
  • Review - SCOOP Review
  • Review - Game Scoop! 698: Spoiler-Free God of War Ragnarok Opinions

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Homebrew and Scoop)
Front End Package Manager
Windows Tools
53 53%
47% 47
Package Manager
62 62%
38% 38
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Homebrew and Scoop

Homebrew Reviews

Top Homebrew Alternative: ServBay Becomes the Go-To for Developers
Homebrew is a highly popular package manager on macOS and Linux systems, enabling users to easily install, update, and uninstall command-line tools and applications. Its design philosophy focuses on simplifying the software installation process on macOS, eliminating the need for manual downloads and compilations of software packages.
Source: medium.com

Scoop Reviews

5 Best Windows package manager to use via command line
Furthermore, we don’t need admin rights to use Scoop, I mean no evaluated Powershell or Command prompt to install packages as we do in Chocolatey. However, when it comes to the range of packages available in its repository it couldn’t compete with Choco, moreover, the gist of using Scoop is different. Most of the users use it to get mostly command-line tools such as MongoDB,...
6 Best Windows Package Manager to Auto-Update Apps (2020)
The problem with package management is that the cmdlets are complex. This brings Scoop in the picture. Scoop is a small open-source utility for PowerShell. You need to have a minimum of version 3.0. So, the commands to install software is as simple as scoop install firefox. To install Scoop, you just need to type the following in the Powershell.
Source: techwiser.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Homebrew should be more popular than Scoop. It has been mentiond 917 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Homebrew mentions (917)

  • Connect to Unsupported Older Linux servers with VS Code Remote-SSH using Custom glibc & libstdc++
    Install glibc and patchelf using brew (Homebrew), or build from source, or use a prebuilt binary (if available). This guide uses brew. Also you can see this. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • Dark Souls CRUD Arena - The Prisoner Approach
    In past personal projects, and in my most recent role, I've used Docker for dependency management to avoid the "works on my machine" scenario. I also just like keeping dependencies off my machine, but for this project I opted not to use containers given my lack of dependencies. I used Homebrew for all my needs :). - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Use the Amazon Q Developer CLI on AWS Graviton
    Install Homebrew if it's not already available on your computer. - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • 5 Local Environment Mistakes I See Everywhere, and How to Fix Them Properly
    # ./launch.sh: #!/bin/bash if ! Command -v brew &> /dev/null; then echo "❌ Homebrew is not installed. Install it from https://brew.sh/" exit 1 fi if ! Command -v docker &> /dev/null; then echo "⚙️ Installing Docker..." brew install --cask docker fi if ! Command -v php &> /dev/null; then echo "🐘 Installing PHP..." brew install php@8.3 fi. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Open Source Developer Patronage Programs: A Sustainable Future for FOSS
    Projects like curl and Homebrew have successfully leveraged patronage programs to achieve financial sustainability. These examples highlight the potential for other projects to follow suit and secure the funding necessary for continued innovation. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
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Scoop mentions (161)

  • Configuring LazyVim and Python on Windows with WSL
    You can use Scoop package manager to install various packages. If you want to skip this step, you can install WezTerm manually. Open a PowerShell terminal and type. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Microsoft to force Windows 11 24H2 on Home and Pro users
    I don’t know about winget, but you may be able to install the portable build of Terminal via scoop: https://scoop.sh/#/apps?q=Terminal&id=269082ead77af63e0e77c98c80bef9429504ac23. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Create Your Custom WSL from any Linux Distribution (Part-1)
    While the ArchWSL and Fedora WSL at MS Store may seem great at first before installing, these distros have often showed compatibility issues and sometimes very weird bugs; even conflicts with scoop or chocolatey apps. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Git Bash Is My Preferred Windows Shell
    My favourite shell environment for windows thus far is combining Git For Windows with scoop[1]. A simple "scoop install git" will get the environment installed, and give you a bash shell and full access to all sorts of windows-native utilities from scoop. Some would say I'd be better off with msys2 or cygwin, but the former is meant more as a development environment and lacks misc utilities, and the latter has... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Show HN: Transcribe YouTube Videos
    On Windows, I use scoop.sh: https://scoop.sh/#/apps?q=whisper. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Homebrew and Scoop, you can also consider the following products

Chocolatey - The sane way to manage software on Windows.

iTerm2 - A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.

Ninite - Ninite is the easiest way to install software.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Just Install - just-install - The stupid package installer for Windows.

Rectangle - Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.