Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Chocolatey VS Vcpkg

Compare Chocolatey VS Vcpkg and see what are their differences

Chocolatey logo Chocolatey

The sane way to manage software on Windows.

Vcpkg logo Vcpkg

C++ Library Manager for Windows, Linux, and macOS
  • Chocolatey Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-22
  • Vcpkg Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-23

Chocolatey features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Chocolatey simplifies software installation with easy-to-use commands. You can quickly install, update, and uninstall software packages using simple commands in the command line.
  • Wide Range of Packages
    Chocolatey has a large repository of software packages, making it easier to find and install a wide range of applications without having to navigate through individual installer websites.
  • Automation and Scripting
    Chocolatey allows for the automation of software management tasks through scripting, which can save a lot of time, especially in enterprise environments where multiple machines need to be managed.
  • Integration with Configuration Management Tools
    Chocolatey integrates smoothly with popular configuration management tools like Ansible, Puppet, and Chef, making it a good choice for infrastructure as code (IaC) approaches.
  • Version Control
    Chocolatey provides version control options, allowing users to specify which version of a software package they wish to install.

Possible disadvantages of Chocolatey

  • Potential Security Risks
    Since Chocolatey packages can be created by anyone, there is a potential security risk if you're not careful about which packages you install. It is recommended to only use trusted sources.
  • Limited GUI
    Chocolatey is primarily a command-line based tool, which might not be user-friendly for those who prefer graphical user interfaces.
  • Commercial Licensing Costs
    While Chocolatey is free for personal use, advanced features and commercial use require a paid license, which might be a constraint for some organizations.
  • Dependency Issues
    Sometimes, packages may have dependency issues that need to be manually resolved, which can complicate what is otherwise a straightforward process.
  • Learning Curve
    For users unfamiliar with command-line tools or package managers, there may be a steep learning curve initially in understanding how to use Chocolatey effectively.

Vcpkg features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    Vcpkg supports multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This ensures developers can maintain consistency across different environments.
  • Wide Range of Packages
    Vcpkg has a large collection of libraries and tools that can be easily integrated into projects, saving developers time in managing and building dependencies.
  • Ease of Use
    The tool is designed to be straightforward, simplifying the process of installing and managing libraries with simple commands.
  • Integration with CMake
    Vcpkg integrates well with CMake, one of the most popular build systems, which helps streamline the development process.
  • Continuous Updates
    Being backed by Microsoft, Vcpkg receives regular updates and improvements, ensuring it stays current with the latest library versions.

Possible disadvantages of Vcpkg

  • Windows-Centric Origins
    Although it has been extended to support other platforms, Vcpkg was initially designed for Windows, which might lead to some complications when used on other operating systems.
  • Overhead in Setup
    Initial setup and understanding of Vcpkg can be a bit cumbersome, especially for those unfamiliar with command-line tools.
  • Limited Non-C++ Support
    Vcpkg is primarily focused on C++ libraries, which limits its use for projects that rely heavily on non-C++ dependencies.
  • Dependency Conflicts
    Managing multiple packages and dependencies can occasionally lead to conflicts, especially if different projects require different versions of the same library.
  • Lack of Native IDE Integration
    While Vcpkg can be integrated into various development environments, it lacks deep, native integration with popular IDEs, which might require additional configuration.

Chocolatey videos

Chocolatey - The Package Manager For Windows Review

More videos:

  • Review - Chocolatey: A Windows Package Manager?
  • Review - Chocolatey Review

Vcpkg videos

No Vcpkg videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Chocolatey and Vcpkg)
Windows Tools
96 96%
4% 4
Package Manager
89 89%
11% 11
Front End Package Manager
OS & Utilities
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Chocolatey and Vcpkg. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

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

Chocolatey Reviews

Comparing Package Managers
Chocolatey is more established and easier to host a custom repository (plus it runs in the system context). The deployment of applications and especially updating is not as easy as some of the other options, but if cost is an issue, it’s always a safe bet (I tend to include it as standard on an AVD build and then use Azure Runbooks to deploy and update applications by...
5 Best Windows package manager to use via command line
Chocolatey works for both Windows 10 and 7, it released in 2011, thus it has been around for quite some time now. This makes it one of the largest online repository to download and install various open source and closed source software packages for Windows OS. It offers both community and enterprise solutions. The best thing, one can easily visit the official website of...
6 Best Windows Package Manager to Auto-Update Apps (2020)
The name sounds amusing but you better take this app seriously. Chocolatey has the largest app repository and it supports PowerShell, command line, and even GUI. You name it and Chocolatey has that app. To install, you just need to type the following in command prompt and hit enter.
Source: techwiser.com

Vcpkg Reviews

We have no reviews of Vcpkg yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Chocolatey seems to be a lot more popular than Vcpkg. While we know about 253 links to Chocolatey, we've tracked only 24 mentions of Vcpkg. 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.

Chocolatey mentions (253)

  • 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 / about 1 month ago
  • Let’s build AI-tools with the help of AI and Typescript!
    Chocolatey Windows software management solution, we use this for installing Python and Deno. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Giving Kyma a little spin ... a SpinKube
    Authenticating with Kyma is a (in my opinion) unnecessary challenge as it leverages the OIDC-login plugin for kubectl. You find a description of the setup here. This works fine when on a Mac but can give you some headaches on a Windows and on Linux machine especially when combined with restrictive setups in corporate environments. For Windows I can only recommend installing krew via chocolatey and then install the... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Effective Neovim Setup. A Beginner’s Guide
    On a Windows machine, you can use Chocolatey by running the command. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Need Help with getting Haskell onto my Windows Laptop
    I've used WSL2 and GHC/Nix--worked without any issues. However, there is Chocolatey: https://chocolatey.org/. Source: about 1 year ago
View more

Vcpkg mentions (24)

  • Xmake: A modern C/C++ build tool
    Re: C/C++ development: anybody using conda/pixi for dependency management? Here's an example of compiling a C++ SDL program using pixi and the SDL dependency from conda-forge [1]. Seems viable as a replacement for things like vckpg [2] which only builds from source. I'm still researching this but it seems like rattler [3] is the tool to use to build/publish packages. The supported repos are: prefix.dev's own... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Ideas for project in C++ language use object-oriented programming
    Plenty of raw information should be available here, the actual vcpkg repo: https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Why isn't there a Central C/C++ repository for distributions?
    Actually, there is: C++ Library Manager for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Cleanup my dependency management with vcpkg
    The installation is described in the readme of vcpkg on github and is straightforward: clone the project, execute the installation script and you are ready to go! - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Transitioning from Java to C++
    You didn't ask about this, but I think its worth mentioning Conan and vcpkg. Of the two I have found vcpkg easier to work with, but both can be good solutions. Combining one of these package managers with CMake presets can make getting a project setup on a new machine almost trivial (great for CI or onboarding new devs). Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Chocolatey and Vcpkg, you can also consider the following products

Ninite - Ninite is the easiest way to install software.

Conan - Conan is an Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash and Single-player video game developed by Nihilistic Software and published by THQ.

Scoop - A command-line installer for Windows

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

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

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