Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Homebrew VS pacman (package manager)

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

Homebrew logo Homebrew

The missing package manager for macOS

pacman (package manager) logo pacman (package manager)

The pacman package manager is one of the major distinguishing features of ...
  • Homebrew Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-29
  • pacman (package manager) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-07

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.

pacman (package manager) features and specs

  • Speed
    Pacman is known for its fast performance in handling package operations such as installation, updates, and removal.
  • Dependency Resolution
    Pacman handles dependencies automatically, ensuring that all required libraries and software are installed and up to date.
  • Simple Syntax
    It features a straightforward and easy-to-remember syntax for commands, making it user-friendly for both new and experienced users.
  • Rolling Release Model
    Pacman supports Arch Linux's rolling release model, providing users with the latest software versions without needing to upgrade to a new OS version.
  • AUR Support
    Pacman works well with the Arch User Repository (AUR) through tools like `yay` or `aurman`, giving users access to a vast collection of community-maintained packages.
  • Customizability
    The package manager is highly customizable, allowing users to configure it according to their preferences and needs.

Possible disadvantages of pacman (package manager)

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users might find Pacman difficult to use initially, especially if they are not familiar with command-line interfaces.
  • Less Handholding
    Unlike some other package managers, Pacman assumes a certain level of knowledge about the system, which can be daunting for beginners.
  • Manual Interventions
    Occasionally, updates might require manual interventions, which can be complex and require a good understanding of the underlying system.
  • No Graphical Interface
    Pacman lacks an official graphical user interface (GUI), which some users may find inconvenient.
  • Limited Official Repositories
    Although AUR provides an extensive range of packages, the official repositories are not as vast compared to some other distributions, potentially requiring users to rely on community packages.

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

pacman (package manager) videos

No pacman (package manager) videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Homebrew and pacman (package manager))
Front End Package Manager
Package Manager
84 84%
16% 16
Windows Tools
87 87%
13% 13
Developer Tools
86 86%
14% 14

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 pacman (package manager)

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

pacman (package manager) Reviews

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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 906 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.

Homebrew mentions (906)

  • Setting Up a Mac for Development: A Comprehensive Guide 🧑🏻‍💻 ‍
    Homebrew is a must-have package manager for macOS, simplifying the installation of software. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Getting familiar with Git/GitHub
    It is advised that you install Git using https://brew.sh/ instead, and that you utilize Homebrew tools to maintain Git's updates. Installing and controlling open source development tools on a Mac via the command line is made easy with Homebrew. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • How to Create Custom Plans with “plan.md” in Goose
    Step2: Install Homebrew — Visit brew.sh and follow the installation steps, or run:. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Installing Rust on macOS with Homebrew
    While Rust’s official installation tool, rustup, is excellent and versatile, I prefer using Homebrew whenever possible. It is simple, familiar, and keeps everything neatly managed in one place. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Testing the startup time for your Fire OS app
    If you’re on a Mac, use Homebrew to install it by running brew install maven in the terminal. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
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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: about 1 year ago
  • How to build Software as a Service (SaaS) Notes application with mySQL/MariaDB and Apache in 300 lines of code
    Install Vely - you can use standard packaging tools such as apt, dnf, pacman or zypper. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year 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: over 1 year 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: over 1 year 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: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Homebrew and pacman (package manager), 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.

Conda - Binary package manager with support for environments.

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

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

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