diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.dockerignore b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.dockerignore
index 2f9109b..5485f54 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.dockerignore	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.dockerignore	
@@ -126,8 +126,7 @@ dmypy.json
 .pydocstyle
 Makefile
 mex.bat
-pdm.lock
-poetry.lock
+*.lock
 poetry.toml
 pytest.ini
 requirements.txt
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index ce30b2d..f6b3559 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.pre-commit-config.yaml	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/.pre-commit-config.yaml	
@@ -26,16 +26,16 @@ repos:
         name: whitespaces
       - id: fix-byte-order-marker
         name: byte-order
-  - repo: https://github.com/python-poetry/poetry
-    rev: 1.8.2
+  - repo: https://github.com/pdm-project/pdm
+    rev: 2.12.4
     hooks:
-      - id: poetry-check
-        name: poetry
+      - id: pdm-lock-check
+        name: pdm
   - repo: local
     hooks:
     - id: mypy
       name: mypy
-      entry: poetry run dmypy run --timeout 7200 -- mex
+      entry: pdm run dmypy run --timeout 7200 -- mex
       files: ^mex/
       language: system
       pass_filenames: false
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/Makefile b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/Makefile
index ab1fea9..48d875a 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/Makefile	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/Makefile	
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ hooks:
 install: setup hooks
 	# install packages from lock file in local virtual environment
 	@ echo installing package; \
-	poetry install --no-interaction --sync; \
+	pdm sync --clean --group dev; \
 
 linter:
 	# run the linter hooks from pre-commit on all files
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ linter:
 pytest:
 	# run the pytest test suite with all unit tests
 	@ echo running unit tests; \
-	poetry run pytest -m "not integration"; \
+	pdm run pytest -m "not integration"; \
 
 wheel:
 	# build the python package
 	@ echo building wheel; \
-	poetry build --no-interaction --format wheel; \
+	pdm build --no-sdist; \
 
 container:
 	# build the docker image
@@ -61,5 +61,5 @@ start: container
 docs:
 	# use sphinx to auto-generate html docs from code
 	@ echo generating api docs; \
-	poetry run sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs/source mex; \
-	poetry run sphinx-build -aE -b dirhtml docs docs/dist; \
+	pdm run sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs/source mex; \
+	pdm run sphinx-build -aE -b dirhtml docs docs/dist; \
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/README.md b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/README.md
index c757f47..34c11ba 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/README.md	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/README.md	
@@ -64,16 +64,15 @@ components of the MEx project are open-sourced under the same license as well.
 - on windows run `.\mex.bat test`
 - or run manually
   - linter checks via `pre-commit run --all-files`
-  - all tests via `poetry run pytest`
-  - just unit tests via `poetry run pytest -m "not integration"`
+  - all tests via `pdm run pytest`
+  - just unit tests via `pdm run pytest -m "not integration"`
 
 ### updating dependencies
 
 - update boilerplate files with `cruft update`
 - update global requirements in `requirements.txt` manually
 - update git hooks with `pre-commit autoupdate`
-- show outdated dependencies with `poetry show --outdated`
-- update dependencies in poetry using `poetry update --lock`
+- update package dependencies using `pdm autoupdate`
 - update github actions in `.github/workflows/*.yml` manually
 
 ### creating release
@@ -91,8 +90,8 @@ components of the MEx project are open-sourced under the same license as well.
 
 ## commands
 
-- run `poetry run {command} --help` to print instructions
-- run `poetry run {command} --debug` for interactive debugging
+- run `pdm run {command} --help` to print instructions
+- run `pdm run {command} --debug` for interactive debugging
 
 ### {{ cookiecutter.project_name }}
 
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/mex.bat b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/mex.bat
index 858e7f6..2d8e8be 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/mex.bat	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/mex.bat	
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ if "%CI%"=="" (
 
 @REM install packages from lock file in local virtual environment
 echo installing package
-poetry install --no-interaction --sync
+pdm sync --clean --group dev
 exit /b %errorlevel%
 
 
@@ -34,14 +34,14 @@ if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b %errorlevel%
 
 @REM run the pytest test suite with unit and integration tests
 echo running all tests
-poetry run pytest
+pdm run pytest
 exit /b %errorlevel%
 
 
 :docs
 @REM use sphinx to auto-generate html docs from code
 echo generating api docs
-poetry run sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs\source mex
+pdm run sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs\source mex
 if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b %errorlevel%
-poetry run sphinx-build -aE -b dirhtml docs docs\dist
+pdm run sphinx-build -aE -b dirhtml docs docs\dist
 exit /b %errorlevel%
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/poetry.toml b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/poetry.toml
deleted file mode 100644
index ab1033b..0000000
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/poetry.toml	
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-[virtualenvs]
-in-project = true
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/pyproject.toml b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/pyproject.toml
index 9cc7ec7..c19fd61 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/pyproject.toml	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/pyproject.toml	
@@ -1,27 +1,25 @@
-[tool.poetry]
+[project]
 name = "mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}"
 version = "0.1.0"
 description = "{{ cookiecutter.short_summary }}"
-authors = ["RKI MEx Team <mex@rki.de>"]
-readme = "README.md"
-license = "MIT"
-repository = "https://github.com/robert-koch-institut/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}"
-packages = [{ include = "mex" }]
-
-[tool.poetry.dependencies]
-python = "^3.11"
-
-[tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
-black = "^24.2.0"
-ipdb = "^0.13.13"
-mypy = "^1.9.0"
-pytest = "^8.1.1"
-pytest-cov = "^4.1.0"
-pytest-random-order = "^1.1.1"
-ruff = "^0.3.2"
-sphinx = "^7.2.6"
+authors = [{ name = "MEx Team", email = "mex@rki.de" }]
+readme = { file = "README.md", content-type = "text/markdown" }
+license = { file = "LICENSE" }
+urls = { Repository = "https://github.com/robert-koch-institut/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}" }
+requires-python = ">=3.11"
+dependencies = []
+optional-dependencies.dev = [
+    "black>=24.2.0",
+    "ipdb>=0.13.13",
+    "mypy>=1.9.0",
+    "pytest>=8.1.1",
+    "pytest-cov>=4.1.0",
+    "pytest-random-order>=1.1.1",
+    "ruff>=0.3.2",
+    "sphinx>=7.2.6",
+]
 
-[tool.poetry.scripts]
+[project.scripts]
 {{ cookiecutter.project_name }} = "mex.{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}.main:main"
 
 [tool.cruft]
@@ -37,6 +35,14 @@ show_error_codes = true
 strict = true
 plugins = ["pydantic.mypy"]
 
+[tool.pdm]
+distribution = true
+
+[tool.pdm.scripts]
+autoupdate = { cmd = "pdm update --group :all --update-eager --save-minimum" }
+lint = { cmd = "pre-commit run --all-files" }
+test = { cmd = "pdm run pytest --numprocesses=auto --dist=worksteal" }
+
 [tool.pydantic-mypy]
 warn_untyped_fields = true
 
@@ -109,5 +115,5 @@ known-first-party = ["mex", "tests"]
 convention = "google"
 
 [build-system]
-requires = ["poetry-core>=1.9.0"]
-build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
+requires = ["pdm-backend>=2.1.8"]
+build-backend = "pdm.backend"
diff --git a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/requirements.txt b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/requirements.txt
index 9e1127d..279088b 100644
--- a/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/requirements.txt	
+++ b/mex-{{ cookiecutter.project_name }}/requirements.txt	
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 cruft==2.15.0
-poetry==1.8.2
+pdm==2.12.4
 pre-commit==3.6.2
 wheel==0.43.0