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npm

Package manager for JavaScript

As of 30 August 2026, npm has a free plan and paid plans start at $7/month. npm is the world's largest software registry and package manager for JavaScript. Softwr lists it under Web Development. npm is made by GitHub (Microsoft), launched in 2010, available on Windows, macOS, Linux.

Overview

What npm does

npm is the world's largest software registry and package manager for JavaScript. It's used to share and borrow packages, and to manage private development. npm consists of three distinct components: the website, CLI, and registry.

What people use it for

  • Package management
  • Dependency installation
  • Project scaffolding
  • Build automation
  • Package publishing
  • Version control

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about npm.

  • Private packages require a paid user or organization account; the free registry publishes publicly only

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of npm

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

  • npm logo
    npm
    vs
    MySQL logo
    MySQL

    MySQL: The world's most popular open source database

  • npm logo
    npm
    vs
    Django logo
    Django

    Django: The web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

  • npm logo
    npm
    vs
    Flask logo
    Flask

    Flask: A lightweight WSGI web application framework

Pricing

What npm costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Free

Free

  • Unlimited public packages
  • Package discovery
  • npm CLI
  • Community support

Pro

$7 /mo

  • Unlimited private packages
  • Package analytics
  • Support
  • Advanced security

Teams

$7 /mo

  • Team management
  • Organization packages
  • Audit logs
  • Security scanning

Capabilities

Features

  • Package installation

  • Dependency management

  • Version management

  • Script running

  • Package publishing

  • Security auditing

  • Package discovery

  • CLI interface

  • Node.js

    Integration with Node.js

  • GitHub

    Integration with GitHub

  • Visual Studio Code

    Integration with Visual Studio Code

  • WebStorm

    Integration with WebStorm

Behind it

Who makes npm

Company
GitHub (Microsoft)
Based in
San Francisco, CA
Founders
Isaac Z. Schlueter

Timeline

npm over time

  1. Acquisition2020-03-16

    GitHub signs agreement to acquire npm

    Source
  2. Founded2014-01-01

    npm, Inc. established

    Source
  3. Launch2010-01-12

    First release of npm

    Source
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Keep looking

Where to go from npm

Best Web Development software for

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for npm, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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