Free Homebrew AlternativesTop Package Managers & Software Installers like Homebrew

The best free alternative to Homebrew is Chocolatey, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Homebrew and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Homebrew are Ninite, Scoop, Flatpak and Flathub.

filter to find the best alternatives

Homebrew alternatives are mainly Package Managers, but if you're looking for Software Installers or Software Updaters you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows and Mac. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Homebrew.
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Homebrew alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Chocolatey icon
     351 likes

    Command-line application for installing, updating, and removing Windows software without registration, featuring centralized audits, automatic package creation, offline packages, disk space optimization, real-time deployment, inventory tracking, and multi-installer support.

    76 Chocolatey alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
  2. Ninite icon
     683 likes

    Ninite is the easiest way to install software. Pick the apps you want, and the Ninite installer will download and install all of your selected apps at once, automatically. It is 100% hands-free; Ninite automatically rejects browser toolbars and other prepackaged junk.

    79 Ninite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    |
    1
  3. Flatpak icon
     73 likes

    Distributing applications on Linux is a pain: different distributions in multiple versions, each with their own versions of libraries and packaging formats. Flatpak is here to change all that. It allows the same app to be installed on different Linux distributions, including...

    33 Flatpak alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
  4. Flathub icon
     55 likes

    Flathub is the place to get and distribute apps for all of desktop Linux. It is powered by Flatpak, allowing Flathub apps to run on almost any Linux distribution.

    26 Flathub alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
     
  5. WinGet icon
     54 likes

    Open-source CLI enables installing, upgrading, removing, and configuring Windows software from a curated repository, supports YAML configuration files, automates device setup with PowerShell DSC, and serves developers, enterprises, and software vendors.

    17 WinGet alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  6. Patch My PC icon
     128 likes

    Patch My PC Home Updater is a free, user-friendly software designed to keep over 300 applications on your computer up-to-date. It automates the process of updating and installing apps, ensuring your system is secure and running smoothly without the hassle of manual updates1.

    71 Patch My PC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  7. Nix is a powerful package manager for macOS, Linux and other Unix systems that makes package management reliable and reproducible. It provides atomic upgrades and rollbacks, side-by-side installation of multiple versions of a package, multi-user package management and easy setup...

    57 Nix Package Manager alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  8. The pacman package manager is one of the major distinguishing features of Arch Linux . It combines a simple binary package format with an easy-to-use build system. The goal of pacman is to make it possible to easily manage packages, whether...

    45 pacman (package manager) alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Arch Linux
     
    |
    1
12 of 60 Homebrew alternatives