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pnpm vs Bun: catalog facts
pnpm	Bun
Best for: JavaScript developers with many projects or large monorepos	Best for: Replacing Node, npm, a bundler and a test runner with a single faster tool
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source. The runtime core is MIT licensed with some bundled components under other licences including… Full pricing details for Bun Free and open source. The runtime core is MIT licensed with some bundled components under other licences including GPL-2.0.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
One copy of each package version on disk across projects Fast parallel installs All 4 strengths for pnpm One copy of each package version on disk across projects Fast parallel installs Strong monorepo and workspace features Strict dependency layout catches undeclared imports	Runtime, bundler, test runner and package manager in one executable Much faster startup and installs than the Node and npm equivalents All 4 strengths for Bun Runtime, bundler, test runner and package manager in one executable Much faster startup and installs than the Node and npm equivalents Runs TypeScript directly with no build step Designed as a drop-in for Node.js, so existing projects often work unchanged
Strict layout can break tools that assume npm's flat node_modules	Node compatibility is good but not complete; packages using deep internals can break Younger than Node, so fewer production deployments to learn from All 4 limitations for Bun Node compatibility is good but not complete; packages using deep internals can break Younger than Node, so fewer production deployments to learn from Linux kernel 5.6 or later is strongly recommended, with 5.1 the minimum Older x64 CPUs can hit illegal instruction errors without a baseline build
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for pnpm pnpm.io Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Bun github.com/oven-sh/bun Catalog checked September 21, 2026

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