npm vs pnpm vs Yarn 2023

Package managers have evolved significantly. npm, pnpm, and Yarn each offer distinct advantages. At ZIRA Software, we evaluate package managers based on speed, disk efficiency, and monorepo support for each project.

2023 Benchmarks

Installation Speed (1000 packages, clean install)
┌────────────┬──────────┬────────────────┐
│ Manager    │ Time     │ Relative       │
├────────────┼──────────┼────────────────┤
│ pnpm       │ 15.2s    │ Fastest        │
│ Yarn       │ 22.8s    │ 1.5x slower    │
│ npm        │ 35.4s    │ 2.3x slower    │
└────────────┴──────────┴────────────────┘

Cached Install (subsequent runs)
┌────────────┬──────────┬────────────────┐
│ pnpm       │ 3.1s     │ Fastest        │
│ Yarn       │ 5.2s     │ 1.7x slower    │
│ npm        │ 12.8s    │ 4.1x slower    │
└────────────┴──────────┴────────────────┘

Disk Usage (10 projects, same dependencies)
┌────────────┬──────────┬────────────────┐
│ pnpm       │ 850MB    │ Most efficient │
│ npm        │ 4.2GB    │ 5x more        │
│ Yarn       │ 4.0GB    │ 4.7x more      │
└────────────┴──────────┴────────────────┘

npm (Node Package Manager)

Current version: npm 10.x

# Installation (comes with Node.js)
node -v && npm -v

# Basic commands
npm install
npm add react
npm remove lodash
npm update
npm run build

Pros:

• Ships with Node.js
• Largest ecosystem familiarity
• npm workspaces for monorepos
• package-lock.json v3 improvements

Cons:

• Slowest installation
• Highest disk usage
• Flat node_modules can cause issues

// package.json workspaces
{
  "workspaces": [
    "packages/*",
    "apps/*"
  ]
}

pnpm

Current version: pnpm 8.x

# Installation
npm install -g pnpm
# or
corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate

# Basic commands
pnpm install
pnpm add react
pnpm remove lodash
pnpm update
pnpm run build

# Workspace commands
pnpm --filter app add react
pnpm -r build

Pros:

• Fastest installation
• Minimal disk usage (hard links)
• Strict dependency resolution
• Excellent monorepo support

Cons:

• Some packages incompatible with strict mode
• Smaller community (growing)

# pnpm-workspace.yaml
packages:
  - 'packages/*'
  - 'apps/*'

Yarn (Berry/v4)

Current version: Yarn 4.x

# Installation
corepack enable
yarn set version stable

# Basic commands
yarn install
yarn add react
yarn remove lodash
yarn up
yarn run build

# Workspace commands
yarn workspace app add react
yarn workspaces foreach run build

Pros:

• Plug'n'Play (PnP) for zero-installs
• Strong monorepo tooling
• Offline cache
• Plugin system

Cons:

• PnP compatibility issues
• Learning curve for Berry
• Migration complexity

# .yarnrc.yml
nodeLinker: pnp
# or for compatibility
nodeLinker: node-modules

Feature Comparison

| Feature | npm | pnpm | Yarn | |---------|-----|------|------| | Speed | Slowest | Fastest | Fast | | Disk Usage | High | Lowest | High | | Monorepo | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | | Strictness | Loose | Strict | Configurable | | Plug'n'Play | No | No | Yes | | Offline | Basic | Yes | Yes | | Peer deps | Auto-install | Strict | Configurable |

Monorepo Support

# pnpm - Best for most monorepos
pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── Filtering: pnpm --filter <package>
├── Parallel: pnpm -r --parallel build
└── Topological: pnpm -r build

# Yarn workspaces
yarn workspace <name> <command>
yarn workspaces foreach <command>

# npm workspaces
npm -w <name> <command>
npm -ws <command>

Security Features

# npm audit
npm audit
npm audit fix

# pnpm audit
pnpm audit
pnpm audit --fix

# Yarn audit
yarn npm audit

CI/CD Considerations

# GitHub Actions with pnpm
- uses: pnpm/action-setup@v2
  with:
    version: 8

- uses: actions/setup-node@v3
  with:
    node-version: '20'
    cache: 'pnpm'

- run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
- run: pnpm build
- run: pnpm test

# Caching strategies
# npm - cache ~/.npm
# pnpm - cache ~/.pnpm-store
# Yarn - cache .yarn/cache (with PnP)

Migration Guide

# npm to pnpm
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
pnpm import  # Optional: import existing lock
pnpm install

# npm to Yarn
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
yarn install

# pnpm to npm
rm -rf node_modules pnpm-lock.yaml
npm install

Recommendation Summary

Choose npm if:

• Simple projects
• Team familiarity matters
• No monorepo needs

Choose pnpm if:

• Disk space matters
• Speed is priority
• Monorepo projects
• CI/CD optimization

Choose Yarn if:

• Need Plug'n'Play
• Complex monorepo tooling
• Plugin ecosystem

Conclusion

pnpm leads in performance and efficiency for 2023. npm remains the safe default, while Yarn offers advanced features. Choose based on project needs and team preferences.

Need build optimization? Contact ZIRA Software for frontend tooling consultation.