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Why pnpm is Faster than npm

Why pnpm is Faster than npm

Ankit Kumar / June 24, 2025

⚑ Why is pnpm Faster than npm?

Both are package managers, but pnpm wins in speed and efficiency due to how it stores and links packages.


🧠 Key Differences

1. πŸ“¦ Shared Global Store with Hard Links

  • pnpm doesn’t duplicate packages across projects.
  • Uses a global content-addressable store.
  • Projects receive hard links to the global packages.

βœ… Less disk space
βœ… Faster install times


2. πŸ”’ Immutable Package Store

  • Packages are read-only once installed.
  • Guarantees safe, reliable caching.

3. 🧬 Strict Dependency Resolution

  • Enforces that each package only accesses what it explicitly depends on.
  • Helps avoid hidden bugs.

4. 🏎️ Faster Repeated Installs

  • Cached packages make reinstalling almost instant.
  • No need to re-download or re-copy files.

πŸ†š Quick Comparison Table

πŸ” Feature🧰 npm⚑ pnpm
Disk UsageπŸ”Ί High (copies files)πŸ”» Low (shared via links)
Speed🐒 SlowerπŸš€ Much faster
Dependency Isolation❌ Flatβœ… Strict & clean
Global Cache⚠️ Limitedβœ… Smart and efficient
Monorepo Support⚠️ Okayβœ… Excellent

βœ… Summary

Use pnpm if you want:

  • πŸš€ Faster installs
  • πŸ’Ύ Less disk usage
  • πŸ”’ Safer dependency resolution
  • πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦ Better monorepo support

To get started:

npm install -g pnpm
pnpm install