All three install the same jq 1.8.2 133,477 from the same GitHub 29 release, and all three check its hash. They differ in who they serve and what they need from the machine.
| winget 26,463 | Chocolatey 15,799 | Scoop 195,554 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First release | 2020 | 2011 | 2013 |
| Admin rights | Per installer | Required | Never |
| Catalog | About 15,000 packages | 11,779 packages | 1,658 in main |
| Package holds | Link to vendor installer | Install script | Link and hash |
| Installed with Windows | Yes | No | No |
| Paid tier | None | Chocolatey for Business | None |
winget is the default: preinstalled, and its catalog (about 15,000 packages by independent counts of winget-pkgs in September 2026) has overtaken Chocolatey's.
Chocolatey suits organizations already built on it; the paid Chocolatey for Business adds package internalizing (copying installers inside your network) and central management.
Scoop suits developers without administrator rights, keeping tools out of Program Files and the registry.
Whichever you use, script it: a winget import file, a Chocolatey packages.config or a Scoop export turns a new laptop into a working machine in one command, the OS-level equivalent of a lockfile, with one difference: none of them pins versions unless you ask.