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Strawberry Perl vs MSYS2: catalog facts
Strawberry Perl	MSYS2
Free Free of charge.	Free Free to download and use.
Windows, Command line	Windows, Command line
Includes gcc so CPAN modules with C code build on Windows Bundles common libraries and database clients	Pacman package manager with dependency resolution and updates Up-to-date native builds of GCC, CMake, Python, Rust and more
Windows only Large download compared with a bare Perl interpreter	Windows only Several environments to choose between can confuse newcomers
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Artistic-1.0-Perl OR GPL-1.0-or-later	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Not stated if it 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.