diff --git a/toolsrc/include/PackageSpec.h b/toolsrc/include/PackageSpec.h
index 4c3b473656..0d69ac89cf 100644
--- a/toolsrc/include/PackageSpec.h
+++ b/toolsrc/include/PackageSpec.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ namespace vcpkg
     };
 
     bool operator==(const PackageSpec& left, const PackageSpec& right);
+    bool operator!=(const PackageSpec& left, const PackageSpec& right);
 } //namespace vcpkg
 
 namespace std
diff --git a/toolsrc/src/PackageSpec.cpp b/toolsrc/src/PackageSpec.cpp
index bf1c7380c7..2a7f4506cf 100644
--- a/toolsrc/src/PackageSpec.cpp
+++ b/toolsrc/src/PackageSpec.cpp
@@ -64,4 +64,9 @@ namespace vcpkg
     {
         return left.name() == right.name() && left.triplet() == right.triplet();
     }
+
+    bool operator!=(const PackageSpec& left, const PackageSpec& right)
+    {
+        return !(left == right);
+    }
 }