The best replacement for wpa_supplicant is hostapd.

The best alternatives to wpa_supplicant are rated as following:
★★★★★  hostapd
★★★  network manager
★★  wicd
★  iwconfig

Your alternative for wpa_supplicant is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about wpa_supplicant, one probably shouldn't forget about wpa2.

Other search terms related to wpa_supplicant and their ratings are:
★★★★★ wpa2
★★★ ralink
★★ madwifi
You have in mind a companion for wpa_supplicant and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of wpa_supplicant in all years. Click on graph for more.
wpa_supplicant
hostapd
network manager