Artifact and container registries · November 2026 Edition
GitHub Packages vs Cloudsmith
Two of fourteen models named GitHub Packages first on the direct prompt; two named Cloudsmith. GitHub Packages was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Cloudsmith by twelve and GitHub Packages carries 64 labels and Cloudsmith 26, so the shares are not directly comparable.
GitHub Packages
accepted challengerNamed in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share5%3%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate9%4%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#8A position in a field of 15; printed, not drawn.
Labels6426A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, GitHub Packages reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.JFrog Artifactory was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Sonatype Nexus Repository vs GitHub Packages · Sonatype Nexus Repository vs Cloudsmith · JFrog Artifactory vs GitHub Packages
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the artifact and container registries page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
GitHub PackagesFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCloudsmith
Direct221 against GitHub Packages
Paraphrase10
Comparative00
Budget-constrained001 against Cloudsmith
Scale-constrained00
Negative005 against GitHub Packages
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, GitHub Packages and Cloudsmith were named in the same answer fifty-seven times, of the 163 answers naming GitHub Packages and the 72 naming Cloudsmith. In those answers Cloudsmith took the first choice four times and GitHub Packages twenty-one.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where GitHub Packages and Cloudsmith stood in it.
| Model | DirectGP | ParaphraseGP | ComparativeGP | Budget-constrainedGP | Scale-constrainedGP | NegativeGP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | GP | GP | | GP | ||
| GPT-5.4 mini | GP | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | GP | GP | GP | GP | ||
| Perplexity Sonar | GP | GP | GP | GP | ||
| Grok 4.20 | GP | GP | GP | GP | ||
| Mistral Small | | GP | GP | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | GP | GP | GP | GP | GP | GP |
| Llama 4 Maverick | GP | GP | GP | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | GP | GP | GP | |||
| Kimi K2 | GP | GP | GP | GP | | GP |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | GP | | GP | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | GP | GP | GP | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | GP | GP | GP | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | GP | GP |
GP GitHub Packages CloudsmithGP first choiceGP named as an alternativeGP argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, GitHub Packages on the left and Cloudsmith on the right.
CloudsmithGP first choiceGP named as an alternativeGP argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, GitHub Packages on the left and Cloudsmith on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where GitHub Packages and Cloudsmith stood in it.
GitHub Packages first, Cloudsmith an alternative
2 of 14 modelsCloudsmith was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashGitHub Packages, GitLab Package Registry alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, Azure Artifacts, Cloudsmith, ECR, JFrog Artifactory, Sonatype Nexus Repository
DeepSeek V4 FlashGitHub Packages, JFrog Artifactory alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, Azure Artifacts, Cloudsmith, Google Artifact Registry, Sonatype Nexus Repository
Cloudsmith first, GitHub Packages an alternative
2 of 14 modelsGitHub Packages was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Perplexity SonarCloudsmith alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, GitHub Packages, JFrog Artifactory, Sonatype Nexus Repository
GPT-6 LunaCloudsmith alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, JFrog Artifactory, Sonatype Nexus Repository
Neither was the first choice, one was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Artifactory, Nexus Repository alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, GitHub Packages, GitLab Package Registry
Grok 4.20JFrog Artifactory alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, Azure Artifacts, Cloudsmith, GHCR, GitHub Packages, Harbor, ProGet, Sonatype Lifecycle
Mistral SmallJFrog Artifactory alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, Azure Artifacts, Cloudsmith, Google Artifact Registry, Harbor, Sonatype Nexus Repository
Llama 4 MaverickJFrog Artifactory alternatives: Amazon Elastic Container Registry, GitHub Packages, Google Artifact Registry, Sonatype Nexus Repository
Kimi K2Sonatype Nexus Repository alternatives: Cloudsmith, GitHub Packages
MiniMax M2.5Sonatype Nexus Repository alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, GitHub Packages, Google Artifact Registry, JFrog Artifactory
Muse Glimmer 30BJFrog Artifactory alternatives: Cloudsmith, Sonatype Nexus Repository
Neither was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniSonatype Nexus Repository alternatives: AWS CodeArtifact, JFrog Artifactory
Qwen 3.7 FlashJFrog Artifactory alternatives: AWS ECR, Azure Container Registry, GitLab Package Registry, Google Artifact Registry, Sonatype Lifecycle
GLM 4.7 FlashXSonatype Nexus Repository alternatives: Harbor, JFrog Artifactory
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
GitHub Packages leads by forty-five points.
GitHub Packages50%#1 of 13
Cloudsmith5%#4 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
GitHub Packages leads by two points.
GitHub Packages5%#4 of 15
Cloudsmith3%#8 of 15Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
GitHub Packages0%#15 of 16
Cloudsmith0%#9 of 16What the models said about GitHub Packages
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“public registries like Docker Hub, GitHub Container Registry (GHCR), or Google Artifact Registry are convenient, they pose high risks” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“only if you're very GitHub-centric and your package format needs are modest, since it is narrower in scope” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · soft negative
“you should still: Ensure they are properly configured and not publicly exposed unless necessary.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“start with GitHub Packages (free with your plan) and migrate to JFrog Artifactory once you outgrow it” DeepSeek V4 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Top Recommendation: Azure Container Registry (ACR) or GitHub Container Registry (GHCR)” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Start with GitHub Packages / GitLab if your stack is standard.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Cloudsmith
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Managed SaaS with a free tier, but paid plans begin around $149/month.” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · soft negative
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Cloudsmith is the best default” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · first choice
“Cloudsmith is my default pick for a mid-market B2B company” GPT-6 Luna · direct prompt · first choice
“Self-hosted control, lighter footprint, strong proxy & caching, growing team | Sonatype Nexus (Pro) or Cloudsmith (Enterprise)” GLM 4.7 FlashX · scale prompt · alternative
Also compared
Sonatype Nexus Repository vs GitHub PackagesSonatype Nexus Repository vs CloudsmithJFrog Artifactory vs GitHub PackagesJFrog Artifactory vs CloudsmithAmazon ECR vs GitHub PackagesAmazon ECR vs CloudsmithGitHub Packages vs HarborGitHub Packages vs Azure Container RegistryGitHub Packages vs Google Artifact RegistryHarbor vs CloudsmithAzure Container Registry vs CloudsmithGoogle Artifact Registry vs CloudsmithAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full artifact registries standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.