Package managers rarely get the attention they deserve, but choosing the right one impacts every aspect of your development workflow—from install times to disk usage to CI/CD costs. In 2026, three options dominate: npm, pnpm, and Bun.
| Feature | npm | pnpm | Bun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install Speed | Baseline | 2-3x faster | 4-6x faster |
| Disk Usage | High (duplicates) | Low (symlinks) | Low (links) |
| Monorepo Support | Workspaces | Excellent | Workspaces |
| Node Compatibility | Native | Native | High (95%+) |
| Lockfile | package-lock.json | pnpm-lock.yaml | bun.lockb |
npm comes bundled with Node.js, making it the path of least resistance. It's improved significantly with npm 10+, but still lags behind alternatives in performance.
npm install npm install express npm run build
pnpm (performant npm) addresses npm's fundamental architecture issues with a content-addressable store and symlinked node_modules.
Instead of copying packages into each project's node_modules, pnpm stores packages once in a global store and creates symlinks. This means:
Speed: 2-3x faster than npm for most operations. CI pipelines see significant time savings.
Disk Usage: A single project might use 500MB with npm vs 100MB with pnpm after accounting for the shared store.
Strict by Default: Dependencies must be explicitly declared. No more "it works on my machine" issues from phantom dependencies.
Monorepo Excellence: pnpm workspaces are more capable than npm's, with filtering, parallel execution, and change detection.
# Install pnpm corepack enable corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate # Or via npm npm install -g pnpm # Usage is identical to npm pnpm install pnpm add express pnpm run build
# pnpm-workspace.yaml packages: - 'apps/*' - 'packages/*'
# Run command in all packages pnpm -r build # Run only in changed packages pnpm -r --filter "...[main]" build
Bun isn't just a package manager—it's a complete JavaScript runtime that happens to include the fastest package manager available.
Real-world benchmarks show Bun's package manager is 4-6x faster than npm and roughly 2x faster than pnpm. For a typical project with 1000 dependencies:
bun.lockb# Install Bun curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash # As a package manager bun install bun add express bun run build # Bun as a runtime (bonus) bun run server.ts # Direct TS execution
Compatibility: While Bun supports 95%+ of npm packages, edge cases exist. Native modules and some complex packages may need troubleshooting.
Runtime vs Package Manager: You can use Bun purely for package management while running Node normally, or go all-in on the Bun runtime.
Maturity: Bun 2.0 is production-ready but newer than the alternatives. Large enterprises may prefer the battle-tested npm/pnpm.
| Manager | Cold Cache | Warm Cache |
|---|---|---|
| npm | 45s | 25s |
| pnpm | 18s | 8s |
| Bun | 7s | 3s |
| Manager | Time Saved | Cost Saved* |
|---|---|---|
| npm → pnpm | ~45 min | ~$10 |
| npm → Bun | ~65 min | ~$15 |
*Based on typical CI pricing
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json pnpm import # Converts package-lock.json to pnpm-lock.yaml pnpm install
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json bun install # Creates bun.lockb automatically
pnpm is the pragmatic choice for most teams in 2026—significantly faster than npm, excellent monorepo support, and battle-tested stability.
Bun is ideal for greenfield projects and CI-optimized workflows where raw speed matters most.
npm remains viable for simple projects or teams prioritizing zero setup, but there's little reason to choose it for new projects when pnpm offers pure upside.
Our recommendation: Start with pnpm. It's a drop-in improvement over npm with no downsides for most projects.