webpack vs esbuild
Real installs, week by week
- webpack
- esbuild
- npm downloads (same color, dashed)
The 12-month chart is drawn in the browser from the npm API.
webpack vs esbuild: which is more popular?
| package | npm / week | real installs / week | noise | confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| webpack | 74,575,681 | 74.6M | under 1% | high |
| esbuild | 408,587,740 | 409M | under 1% | high |
Noise: the share of npm's count that mirror spikes and crawlers account for. What remains still includes CI and dependency installs.
Snapshot from the daily build of Nov 6, 2026, last 7 days of npm data. With JavaScript on, this page recomputes it live with a 12-month chart.
By real installs, esbuild is ahead of webpack by about 5.5×: about 409M vs 74.6M a week. npm's raw counts are 74,575,681 for webpack and 408,587,740 for esbuild, which include mirrors, scanners and crawlers. Mirror spikes and crawlers removed. CI and dependency installs still count, so this is not a head count.
How the estimate works
- Cut the spike every new version gets from mirrors in its first days.
- Subtract the flat floor robots download from every version each week.
- Show what is left as a range, with a confidence level. It still includes CI and dependency installs, so it is not a count of people.