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Cygwin vs Strawberry Perl: catalog facts
Cygwin	Strawberry Perl
Free Free and open source.	Free Free of charge.
Windows, Command line	Windows, Command line
Large package collection of GNU and Unix tools POSIX API layer for porting Unix software to Windows	Includes gcc so CPAN modules with C code build on Windows Bundles common libraries and database clients
Cannot run native Linux binaries; software must be rebuilt Requires Windows 8.1 or later for current versions	Windows only Large download compared with a bare Perl interpreter
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL and LGPL (varies by package)	License: Artistic-1.0-Perl OR GPL-1.0-or-later
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.