Which is more popular - React or Vue?

There is no doubt that React is more popular than Vue since it is backed by Meta (formerly Facebook). However, Vue is still under development and gaining much popularity.

Is React harder to learn than Vue?

When it comes to React, it is pretty challenging to find updated documentation since it evolves continuously. On the flip side, Vue has comprehensive documentation.

Why is Vue easier than React?

Though there is an option to write JSX, Vue leverages HTML templates. Meanwhile, React solely depends on JSX that some novices may find difficult.

Which is faster - React or Vue?

Vue is faster than React because of the smart optimizations it is doing.

React vs Vue - A Detailed Comparison [Updated 2024]

JavaScript offers a plethora of frameworks and libraries that help web developers to create intuitive and feature-rich web apps. However, as the options are too many, several developers and companies often struggle to find the right JavaScript framework or library for their projects.

Nonetheless, React and Vue are among the two most popular frameworks and libraries that many developers find suitable for a wide variety of projects. However, often, it becomes difficult for developers to make a choice between these two web development technologies. As a result, this gives rise to the React vs Vue debate.

To start with, React and Vue are both popular front-end development technologies among JavaScript developers. While React is a JavaScript library, Vue is a JavaScript framework. Both React and Vue help in simplifying the process of web development. They are best in their own way, and choosing any one over the other would be extremely challenging.

This article provides a detailed head-to-head comparison of React and Vue web development technologies to help you decide which one best suits your project. However, before comparing them side by side, let us first understand React and Vue and their pros and cons individually.

What is React?

React, also known as ReactJS or React.js, is an open-source front-end Javascript library for developing user interfaces. We can use React for developing mobile as well as web applications.

However, this library is only concerned with the state management and rendering that state to the Document Object Model (DOM). Therefore, the React library alone is not sufficient for developing full-fledged web applications. We need other JavaScript libraries for various purposes, like routing or adding some client-side functionality.

History

Jordan Walke, a software engineer at Meta (formerly Facebook), first released an early prototype of React called “FaxJS”. He got inspired by XPH, an HTML component library for PHP, and created React.

In 2011, Jordan deployed React for the first time on Meta’s News Feed and later used it for Instagram in the following year. The latest version of React is React 17.0.2, which was released in March 2021.

Pros of React

The following are significant advantages of React:

Easy to Learn and Use: Any developer having sound knowledge of JavaScript can easily learn React. In addition, there are several learning resources for React, including official documentation and video tutorials that are readily available on the web.
Facilitates Development of Dynamic Web Applications: Creating dynamic applications with HTML strings is challenging and tricky since it requires a lot of coding. React has made it easier to create dynamic applications. It uses JSX (JavaScript Extension), which is a syntax extension to JavaScript used to structure component rendering.
Reusable Components: A ReactJS application is composed of multiple components, where each component has its own logic and controls. React gives developers the flexibility to use any component at different parts of a web app or even in other React applications. This ultimately saves a lot of time as developers do not have to write the same code again and again to implement common functionality.
SEO-friendly: It becomes difficult for search engines to read the traditional JavaScript-heavy websites. However, websites developed using React are readable by Google and other search engines and are thus more SEO-friendly.

Cons of React

Here are some of the main downsides of React:

Development Pace: The development speed of React is too fast that many developers find it difficult to adopt all the new changes and updates. Also, they need to learn constantly to work well with the new updates and changes made to the React library.
Documentation: Since React is a constantly evolving technology, it becomes challenging to get documentation that covers the latest updates and changes.
JSX: JSX is a syntax extension to JavaScript. Some developers feel uncomfortable and complain about its steep learning curve.

What is Vue?

Vue is an open-source front-end JavaScript framework for developing single-page web applications and user interfaces. It follows the model-view-viewmodel (MVVM) architectural pattern. This framework has an adaptable architecture that concentrates on declarative rendering and component composition.

The official packages and libraries of Vue offer various features, such as routing, build tooling, and build management, to make it easy to create complex web applications. In addition, it allows us to extend HTML with HTML attributes called directives. We can also use the Vue framework for developing mobile and desktop applications by integrating the Electron framework.

History

Evan You created Vue after he worked on multiple projects using AngularJS at Google. He thought of developing something that has all the good parts of AngularJS and should be lightweight, and in 2014, Vue was released. The latest stable version of Vue is Vue 3.2.20.

Pros of Vue

The following are the benefits of Vue:

Tools and libraries: Vue offers a rich set of tools and libraries, such as command-line interface (CLI), development tools, loader, and router.
- Vue.js official CLI: We can use Vue CLI to install core libraries and third-party plugins.
- Development tools: They are available for debugging applications built using Vue.
- Vue Loader: It allows other webpack loaders for each part of a Vue component.
- Vue Router: It is useful for mapping and routing.
Lightweight: Vue is a lightweight JavaScript framework. The downloaded zip file is of 18 KB size.
Simple to Learn: Developers who have experience working with JavaScript can easily learn Vue since it has an easy-to-learn syntax. The syntax of Vue is ideal for those looking to upscale string template syntax and minimize errors within code.
Component-Based Architecture (CBA): Vue follows the component-based architecture, meaning that we can divide an application’s front-end code into independent components. These independent components, including templates, logic, and styles, can be bound together to form a web application. Moreover, the Vue framework automatically divides JavaScript, HTML, and CSS code into separate files.
Detailed Documentation: Documentation is a crucial aspect of any framework or library since it helps developers to learn about that particular framework or library effectively. Vue provides extremely detailed documentation. Moreover, it provides information about the working of the framework, along with an introductory guide. We can also find a simple installation process and comparison of Vue with other frameworks in the documentation.

Cons of Vue

Below are some drawbacks of Vue:

Language Barriers: As Vue is a new framework, it is not as popular as React and Angular. Since it was developed by a Chinese-American developer, many tutorials and code pieces are available in Chinese. Therefore, English-speaking developers find it difficult to grasp those tutorials and code pieces written in Chinese.
Limited Plugins: As Vue is a framework that is still under development, the number of plugins available is less than its alternatives, such as Angular and React.
Lack of Scalability: Vue is not as scalable as Angular or React, and it is not ideal for developing large-scale applications.

React vs Vue - A Head-to-Head Comparison

The following table highlights the key differences between React and Vue:

Parameters	React	Vue
Type	React is a JavaScript library for developing user interfaces. It also serves as a base for mobile and desktop applications.	Vue is a JavaScript framework for developing single-page applications and user interfaces.
Architecture Pattern	It does not have a built-in architecture pattern.	It follows the model-view-viewmodel (MVVM) architectural pattern.
Size	The size of React is about 100KB, which is more than Vue.	The size of Vue is only 20KB.
When to Use	It is ideal for developing community-based platforms, such as forums.	It is ideal for developing fast and lightweight single-page apps.
Platforms	We can employ React in multifaceted platforms, having rich mobile and web functionality.	We can employ Vue in content delivery platforms since this framework is fast and works well in low latency.
Documentation	Since React is a constantly changing technology, the documentation cannot entirely cover the recent upgrades and changes.	Vue provides detailed, high-quality, and excellent documentation.
Community Support	Since Meta (formerly Facebook) maintains React, it has plenty of ongoing support and an active community.	Since Vue is a new technology and is still developing, it does not have an active community like React.
Users	Some popular companies that use React are Meta, Airbnb, PayPal, Instagram, Netflix, Twitter, WhatsApp.	Some popular companies that use Vue are Vice, Alibaba, Behance, GutLabs, Euronews, Adobe Portfolio, Trustpilot.
Security	Ensuring the security of React applications is quite difficult.	Vue applications are quite easier to secure than React apps.

React vs Vue - Which One to Choose?

Many web developers get perplexed in choosing between React and Vue since both are popular and have exceptional capabilities. Each of these technologies has its own use cases. We shall discuss the use cases of React and Vue below, which can help you make a better choice.

React

Use React if you want to:

Develop single-page complex applications.
Create a high-performing video streaming platform or media site.
Build a highly-scalable application with easy testing and debugging .
Use JSX and HTML for building enterprise-grade applications.

Vue

Use Vue if you want to:

Build a single-page application or progressive application.
Start developing applications immediately.
Use HTML for creating single-page applications.

Conclusion

To sum up, React is more popular among web developers. It has a large and active community that offers active support to developers. Also, it is ideal for developing complex and enterprise-grade web applications. On the flip side, Vue is still pretty much under development and is gaining popularity due to its ease of use. It is ideal for developing single-page applications or progressive web applications.

Hopefully, you have understood all the major differences between React and Vue that can help you make a sound choice.

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React vs Vue - A Detailed Comparison