Side by side
Cabal vs NuGet
Both stand on package managers. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacWindows
Choose Cabal for Haskell package management and build workflows that benefit from dependency resolution, offline installation, and configurable builds. Look elsewhere if your work depends on guaranteed portability or a promise of complete future-proof interface stability.
Visit Cabal
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
NuGet combines package creation, hosting, and consumption for .NET, with several client tools and support for private feeds. Its dependency restoration and vulnerability checks are useful considerations for projects shared across machines or build systems.
Visit NuGetThe facts
| Cabal | NuGet | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Not published |
| Plans published | 1 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | haskell.org | nuget.org |
| On package managers | #26 of 93 | #22 of 93 |
Cabal: what it does well
- Installs packages and their dependencies from Hackage or other suitable archives
- Supports dependency resolution, lockfiles, workspaces, and offline installation
- Builds local packages and generates documentation
- Runs test suites, benchmarks, and single-file Haskell scripts
- Allows optimized or profiling-enabled builds and custom build systems
What to know first
- Packages are not guaranteed to be portable across platforms or Haskell implementations
- Future-proof interface stability is not guaranteed during ongoing development
NuGet: what it does well
- Free, with no free-trial requirement.
- Resolves dependencies and supports lockfiles.
- Supports offline installation and private registry authentication.
- Restore can report warnings for known vulnerabilities.
- Available through Visual Studio and command-line tools.
What to know first
- nuget.exe has limitations on macOS and Linux with Mono.
- Published packages generally cannot be deleted.
- nuget.org uploads are limited to 250 MB.