Software Alternatives & Reviews

pacman (package manager) VS Homebrew

Compare pacman (package manager) VS Homebrew and see what are their differences

pacman (package manager) logo pacman (package manager)

The pacman package manager is one of the major distinguishing features of ...

Homebrew logo Homebrew

The missing package manager for macOS
  • pacman (package manager) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-07
  • Homebrew Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-29

pacman (package manager) videos

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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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to pacman (package manager) and Homebrew)
Front End Package Manager
Package Manager
10 10%
90% 90
Windows Tools
9 9%
91% 91
Work Music
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Homebrew seems to be a lot more popular than pacman (package manager). While we know about 877 links to Homebrew, we've tracked only 39 mentions of pacman (package manager). 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.

pacman (package manager) mentions (39)

  • Been thinking of switching to linux but I am a noob
    However, that "pacman -S" command has lots of switches (see section 1.1.1 ==> https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/pacman ). Source: 5 months ago
  • Project on GitHub - Customizable Arch Linux Podman images based on the official Arch Linux Docker image
    Automatic installation of packages during building utilizes pacman and aurman with the supported "package sources" being:. Source: 9 months ago
  • A response to the Fedora 40 Privacy-Preserving Telemetry Proposal
    * Package management and DNF syntax usage are big topics. Follow the Arch Wiki example for the "pacman" package management tool ==> https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/pacman. Source: 10 months ago
  • Could someone make a Decky plugin that automates installing common dependencies?
    Should be possible as the Arch distro SteamOS is built on includes pacman. Source: 10 months ago
  • How to install optional dependencies
    All of this is explained in the wiki page. Source: 11 months ago
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Homebrew mentions (877)

  • 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: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • Tools for Linux Distro Hoppers
    Hopping from one distro to another with a different package manager might require some time to adapt. Using a package manager that can be installed on most distro is one way to help you get to work faster. Flatpak is one of them; other alternative are Snap, Nix or Homebrew. Flatpak is a good starter, and if you have a bunch of free time, I suggest trying Nix. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • SQLite Schema Diagram Generator
    Are you using SQLite that ships with macOS, or SQLite installed from homebrew? I had a different problem in the past with the SQLite that ships with macOS, and have been using SQLite from homebrew since. So if it’s the one that comes with macOS that gives you this problem that you are having, try using SQLite from homebrew instead. https://brew.sh/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • How to install (Ubuntu 22.10 VM) vagrant on Mac M1 ship using QEMU
    Before we begin, make sure you have Homebrew installed on your Mac. Homebrew is a package manager that makes it easy to install software and dependencies. You can install Homebrew by following the instructions on their website: https://brew.sh/. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Perfect Elixir: Environment Setup
    I’m on MacOS and erlang.org, elixir-lang.org, and postgresql.org all suggest installation via Homebrew, which is a very popular package manager for MacOS. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing pacman (package manager) and Homebrew, you can also consider the following products

Synaptic - Please take a minute to watch our video, it gives an overview of Synaptic's role in financial services.

Chocolatey - The sane way to manage software on Windows.

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

Pamac - Graphical Package Manager for Manjaro Linux (based on libalpm).

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

paru - An AUR helper written in Rust and based on the design of yay. It aims to be your standard pacman wrapping AUR helper with minimal interaction.