PNPM vs Yarn vs NPM: Which Node Package Manager is Best?

Recently, I was searching for a Next.js boilerplate to build a Chrome extension for tracking crypto scams. But I quickly realized that Next.js isn’t ideal for Chrome extensions—its architecture and bundling system aren’t optimized for that use case. After some research, I discovered that Vite + React was a better fit, and I found a great boilerplate that used PNPM as its package manager. That got me thinking: Why PNPM? Why not Yarn or NPM, which I’ve used before? So, I dug deeper into the differences between these package managers. Here’s what I learned—and which one you should choose.

May 9, 2025 - 13:21

PNPM vs Yarn vs NPM: Which Node Package Manager is Best?

Recently, I was searching for a Next.js boilerplate to build a Chrome extension for tracking crypto scams. But I quickly realized that Next.js isn’t ideal for Chrome extensions—its architecture and bundling system aren’t optimized for that use case.

After some research, I discovered that Vite + React was a better fit, and I found a great boilerplate that used PNPM as its package manager. That got me thinking: Why PNPM? Why not Yarn or NPM, which I’ve used before?

So, I dug deeper into the differences between these package managers. Here’s what I learned—and which one you should choose.