diff --git a/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs b/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs
index 88a808e3a..40bf14d1c 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-cli/src/commands/pip_sync.rs
@@ -149,16 +149,16 @@ pub(crate) async fn sync_requirements(
             .with_reporter(DownloadReporter::from(printer).with_length(remote.len() as u64));
 
         let downloads = downloader
-            .download(&remote, cache.unwrap_or(staging.path()))
+            .download(remote, cache.unwrap_or(staging.path()))
             .await?;
 
-        let s = if remote.len() == 1 { "" } else { "s" };
+        let s = if downloads.len() == 1 { "" } else { "s" };
         writeln!(
             printer,
             "{}",
             format!(
                 "Downloaded {} in {}",
-                format!("{} package{}", remote.len(), s).bold(),
+                format!("{} package{}", downloads.len(), s).bold(),
                 elapsed(start.elapsed())
             )
             .dimmed()
diff --git a/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs b/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs
index e91592cf5..33a0e3f4b 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-dispatch/src/lib.rs
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ impl BuildContext for BuildDispatch {
                     remote.iter().map(ToString::to_string).join(", ")
                 );
                 Downloader::new(&self.client, self.cache.as_deref())
-                    .download(&remote, self.cache.as_deref().unwrap_or(staging.path()))
+                    .download(remote, self.cache.as_deref().unwrap_or(staging.path()))
                     .await
                     .context("Failed to download build dependencies")?
             };
diff --git a/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs b/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs
index d36d2968c..961a6f414 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-installer/src/downloader.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+use std::cmp::Reverse;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 use anyhow::Result;
@@ -42,13 +43,17 @@ impl<'a> Downloader<'a> {
     /// Install a set of wheels into a Python virtual environment.
     pub async fn download(
         &'a self,
-        wheels: &'a [RemoteDistribution],
+        wheels: Vec<RemoteDistribution>,
         target: &'a Path,
     ) -> Result<Vec<InMemoryDistribution>> {
         // Create the wheel cache subdirectory, if necessary.
         let wheel_cache = WheelCache::new(target);
         wheel_cache.init()?;
 
+        // Sort the wheels by size.
+        let mut wheels = wheels;
+        wheels.sort_unstable_by_key(|wheel| Reverse(wheel.file().size));
+
         // Phase 1: Fetch the wheels in parallel.
         let mut fetches = JoinSet::new();
         let mut downloads = Vec::with_capacity(wheels.len());
diff --git a/crates/puffin-installer/src/unzipper.rs b/crates/puffin-installer/src/unzipper.rs
index 746ed575b..b1dff00d0 100644
--- a/crates/puffin-installer/src/unzipper.rs
+++ b/crates/puffin-installer/src/unzipper.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+use std::cmp::Reverse;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 use anyhow::Result;
@@ -38,6 +39,10 @@ impl Unzipper {
         let wheel_cache = WheelCache::new(target);
         wheel_cache.init()?;
 
+        // Sort the wheels by size.
+        let mut downloads = downloads;
+        downloads.sort_unstable_by_key(|wheel| Reverse(wheel.buffer.len()));
+
         let staging = tempfile::tempdir_in(wheel_cache.root())?;
 
         // Unpack the wheels into the cache.