Decision Workspace
postcard2 vs serde_json vs serde
Side-by-side comparison of Rust crates
54
postcard2
experimentalv0.2.1
A no_std + serde compatible message library for Rust
77
serde_json
stablev1.0.149
A JSON serialization file format
76
serde
growingv1.0.228
A generic serialization/deserialization framework
Core Metrics
| postcard2 | serde_json | serde | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Score | 54 | 77 | 76 |
| Total Downloads | 13.4K | 800.0M | 893.6M |
| 30d Downloads | 12.4K | 51.2M | 52.7M |
| Dependents | 2 | 673.2K | 897.9K |
| Releases | 3 | 181 | 315 |
| Last Updated | 90d ago | 80d ago | 181d ago |
| Age | 9m | 10y 7m | 11y 3m |
Health Breakdown
postcard2
Maintenance
14
Quality
16
Community
6
Popularity
5
Documentation
13
serde_json
Maintenance
15
Quality
19
Community
20
Popularity
8
Documentation
15
serde
Maintenance
11
Quality
22
Community
20
Popularity
8
Documentation
15
Technical Details
| postcard2 | serde_json | serde | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | 0.2.1 | 1.0.149 | 1.0.228 |
| Stable (≥1.0) | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| License | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 |
| Dependencies | 6 | 15 | 2 |
| Crate Size | 22KB | 156KB | 84KB |
| Features | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Yanked % | 0.0% | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Edition | 2024 | 2021 | 2021 |
| MSRV | — | 1.68 | 1.56 |
| Owners | 1 | 2 (team) | 2 (team) |
Links
Quick Verdict
- •serde_json leads with a health score of 77/100, but none of the options score above 80.
- •serde has the most downloads (893.6M), suggesting wider adoption.
- •serde is depended on by 897.9K crates — strongest ecosystem trust.
- •postcard2 is pre-1.0 — API may change.