APT vs Homebrew:Which is more popular?
In September 2026, Homebrew had more branded searches than APT among package managers worldwide. Homebrew had about 27,100 branded searches, while APT had 5,700. Homebrew made up 5.3% of all package manager searches we track, and APT accounted for 1.1%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about package managers, Homebrew appeared in four of the five answers and APT in two. Homebrew was mentioned before APT in three out of four answers that named either.
Who do people search for more?
Homebrew, about 5 searches for every 1 for APT
Who does AI mention more?
Homebrew, mentioned in 4 of 5 answers, APT in 2
Who does AI recommend more?
Homebrew, named ahead of APT in 3 of 4 answers
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Top package managers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews
In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Homebrew was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. APT was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Homebrew was listed before APT in three out of four answers that named either.
Most recommended by AI
Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.
Mentioned by AI
Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.
npm4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
pnpm4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
uv4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers- Homebrew4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
Yarn4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers- Conda3 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
Cargo3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers- APT2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
NuGet1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
See every answer about package managers
5 answers
Asked ChatGPT
“Which package manager should I use?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What are the best package managers?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What's the best package manager for software dependencies?”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“package managers”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“python package manager”
Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 21, 2026.
Is APT or Homebrew more popular in search?
This chart shows how often people search Google for APT and Homebrew by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine package managers we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.
Share of searches by month for Homebrew, APT. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of searches table
| Month | npm | pnpm | uv | Conda | NuGet | Homebrew | APT | Cargo | Yarn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 48.7% | 12% | 13.5% | 9.8% | 9.8% | 3.6% | 1.6% | 0.87% | 0.26% |
| Nov 2025 | 50.9% | 12.5% | 11.5% | 8.4% | 10.2% | 3.8% | 1.6% | 0.74% | 0.27% |
| Dec 2025 | 51% | 12.5% | 11.6% | 8.4% | 10.2% | 3.8% | 1.3% | 0.91% | 0.27% |
| Jan 2026 | 50.1% | 12.3% | 12% | 8.2% | 10.1% | 4.5% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 0.27% |
| Feb 2026 | 50.2% | 12.4% | 12.1% | 8.3% | 10.1% | 4.5% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.22% |
| Mar 2026 | 53.1% | 13.1% | 11% | 7.1% | 8.7% | 4.8% | 1.1% | 0.78% | 0.19% |
| Apr 2026 | 53.9% | 13.3% | 10.6% | 7.2% | 8.9% | 4% | 1.2% | 0.79% | 0.19% |
| May 2026 | 49.2% | 18% | 10.4% | 6.6% | 8.1% | 5.4% | 1.1% | 0.88% | 0.21% |
| Jun 2026 | 46.3% | 13.9% | 11.7% | 11.4% | 9.3% | 5.1% | 1.3% | 0.83% | 0.19% |
| Jul 2026 | 47.8% | 14.4% | 10.1% | 11.7% | 9.6% | 4.3% | 1.1% | 0.85% | 0.19% |
| Aug 2026 | 46.1% | 13.9% | 9.7% | 13.9% | 9.3% | 5.1% | 1.1% | 0.82% | 0.24% |
| Sep 2026 | 48.3% | 14.5% | 10.2% | 9.7% | 9.7% | 5.3% | 1.1% | 0.86% | 0.17% |
How has the APT and Homebrew comparison changed over the last 12 months?
3 findings
- Homebrew was ahead of APT in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, APT’s share of searches among package managers worldwide moved from 1.6% to 1.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 10K to 5.7K.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Homebrew’s share of searches among package managers worldwide moved from 3.6% to 5.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 22.2K to 27.1K.
How did search popularity change for package managers worldwide in September 2026?
2 changes
How are branded searches counted?
3 search terms
Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using APT’s and Homebrew’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.
Other head-to-heads among package managers
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