Vue.js vs React.js

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Vue.js vs React.js

Vue.js and React.js, as you know, are two popular JavaScript frameworks positioned at the top of the software development market. Both frameworks offer powerful and easy-to-use features. Even though Vue.js and React.js share the same use cases and strive for similar outcomes, their structures and approaches are noticeably different. They also have an active and supportive community of developers.

Ultimately, it’s up to the developer to decide which framework is best for their needs. In this article, you can learn the critical differences between them and decide which one to choose according to your project requirements. Here are some factors you can use for the comparison:

  • Performance
  • Competition
  • Flexibility
  • Scalability
  • Mobile Application Development
  • Community Support
  • Size of Application

1. Performance

When performance is considered a comparison factor, it does not differ much. JavaScript frameworks use the Document Object Model (DOM), and its organisation and performance determine its efficiency. The frameworks can function quickly if the DOMs can be generated and processed quickly and intuitively.

Both React and Vue use a virtual DOM, which is a standalone object model that is independent of a browser. It means the frameworks can automatically render HTML pages. Both of them have similar structural principles, too. So you will not have to worry about speed or performance quality.

  • However, when it comes to component creation and updates, Vue is faster.
  • In React, you have to re-optimise a component whenever you make a change. Then, each component ought to be identified using specific commands.
  • When the project begins to scale, managing hundreds of components becomes a task that may result in tech debt.
  • On the other hand, Vue automatically tracks components without the need to identify each one of them with a specific component.
  • It also eliminates the need for additional optimisation and extensive commands, contributing to the framework’s performance and speed.

2. Competition

Before deciding on a framework to use, it is normal for you to check its position in the market. It’s about whether other companies are using the same technology as you are and how. Knowing what other successful companies and websites use these frameworks can help you understand them better.

  • Xiaomi, Nintendo, Grammarly, Facebook, Trivago, and GitLab are among the companies that have chosen Vue. 
  • Atlassian, Netflix, Dropbox, the New York Times, Skype, and Airbnb are among the companies that use React.

3. Flexibility

The React.js framework allows you to install any third-party components of your choice, while Vue.js suggests particular components to choose from to implement app features. Experienced developers enjoy the flexibility of selecting the components they want. However, it becomes a limitation when it offers extensive flexibility, leading to code management complexities and errors, especially for newbie developers.

The greater developer community that React possesses in comparison to Vue can help resolve this issue. They can provide solutions for development needs in addition to a long list of components. Therefore, because of its active open-source community and references, React.js wins out over Vue.js when flexibility is considered.

4. Scalability

React.js is more scalable than Vue.js because it allows the developers to write template code in JavaScript rather than using regular-old HTML for templating like Vue. Thus, both take distinct approaches to integrating HTML into the code, which affects their learning curves as well. Vue JS is more beginner-friendly than React because it allows developers to use CSS and HTML in standard forms freely.

In contrast, React uses a syntax extension (JSX) that makes it possible to combine JavaScript and HTML code. The procedure may appear challenging at first, but the code performs better because it is more concise, which results in scalable app performance.

5. Mobile Application Development

With React Native App Development, developers can easily create native apps for iOS and Android devices, while Vue and NativeScript work together to develop cross-platform applications. Facebook introduced React Native with a strong emphasis on mobile app development. With up to 90% of the code shared across operating systems, developers frequently rank it as one of the best cross-platform frameworks.

  • As an alternative to React Native, however, Vue is hardly a good fit. 
  • Even though Vue makes developing mobile apps much easier, it is still far from producing as robust an app as React.
  • It is also compatible with some mobile app frameworks, such as Weex or NativeScript, but its recognition is not as great as that of Facebook’s creation.

6. Community Support

The framework’s community support and popularity benefit any framework or language developers use. Here, in the case of React.js and Vue.js, the first one has a larger community of developers than the latter. Vue has an active community of passionate developers, and it is a rapidly growing front-end framework with a bright future.

  • React.js has over 189k stars on GitHub, and over 331,000 #reactjs questions are answered on StackOverflow.
  • Vue has over 74,000 questions on StackOverflow and over 196k stars on GitHub.

7. Size of Application 

When comparing React and Vue JS, basic React apps tend to be larger (1-2 MB), whereas Vue apps are typically smaller (50-100 KB). React does not create smaller apps, although it is a library rather than a comprehensive framework. But the React team has been working on it, and in the most recent version, they were able to reduce the app’s size by 30% successfully.

On the other hand, because of how lightweight the framework is, Vue apps are incredibly small. By using lazy loading components, developers can reduce the code size and improve load times.

So, the article discussed several factors that may affect your choice of a front-end framework for your development project. Choosing one among the many JavaScript frameworks, let alone between Vue.js and React.js, is pretty challenging. Other than the factors mentioned here, there are many other factors, like your project needs, framework features, developer’s availability, etc., that can affect your choice. It’s crucial to weigh all these factors carefully before making your decision. In the end, the best framework for you is the one that meets all your needs and goals.

Interesting Links:

What is React?

Getting started with Vue

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