#angular vs. reactjs vs. vuejs

The popularity of front-end frameworks is rapidly increasing as they allow developers to build more complex and reliable applications in a minimum time and effort. The web development industry has been transformed by these innovative technologies.

Choosing the right front-end development framework that meets your unique business needs- is a challenging task for every business owner. There are tons of reasons for the pros and cons of each framework, and you'll probably end up back at square one if you try to weigh the pros and cons of each.

Being the oldest front-end framework, Angular is considered the most comprehensive. Or, should you opt for React because React is the most loved framework by many people, and they cannot be wrong at all? Talking about Vue.js, it is younger in the market and going to appear better than the other two. 

Well, in this article, we will be talking about the three most popular front-end technologies: Angular, ReactJS, and Vue.js, and we will cover each framework so that you can determine which one best suits your needs.

Let’s get started!

What is Angular?

Angular, developed by Google, was released in 2010 and is a TypeScript-based JavaScript framework. In 2016, Angular 2 (the first release of Angular 2 without the “JS” in its name – AngularJS) represented a shift in positioning and direction from the original AngularJS. 

Version 2+ of Angular is just Angular, and although AngularJS (1 version) continues to get updates, we'll talk mainly about Angular, and the most recent version is Angular 13, which was released on November 03, 2021.

There are many top-notch features available with the Angular framework, including control of the user interface, handling user input, validating forms, routing, state management, testing, PWA capabilities, and more. Unlike React, Angular offers a complete collection of framework capabilities.

What is Vue.js?

In 2014, Evan You developed Vue, especially after leaving his job at Google. Although no large company has endorsed Vue, it has seen substantial growth over the past three years. 

Contributors for Vue are supported by Patreon, and Vue 3 is currently located in its own GitHub repository; it is run using TypeScript. The current stable version of Vue is 3.0, released in September 2020 (with a few smaller incremental releases since then).

There are more tools in Vue compared to React, but fewer than Angular. It comes with state management and a router but does not offer HTTP client functionality or form validation features. 

It makes use of the virtual DOM to ensure faster and bug-free performance. Vue mainly focuses on creating user interfaces and reusable components compared to the other two. 

What is React?

Facebook developed React in 2013; React is heavily used by Facebook's products such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. The most current stable version is 17.0.2, released in March 2021 and the latest one is also on the headline.

In React, you can create components and subcomponents, which you can think of as UI pieces on a website. One key functionality is building components and subcomponents.

You can also use React to define how your components are rendered and to build SPAs that don't need to refresh the browser, thanks to third-party packages like React Router, a dynamic, non-refreshing routing library.

Overview of Advantages and Limitations

It can be difficult to decide what technology framework to use. The fact is, you cannot pick the best. Each framework has different strengths and weaknesses, so ultimately it depends on your business needs. 

There are many factors to consider when choosing a framework, which we will discuss here. However, the most important thing is to choose the framework that you love the most seeing your business's profitability. 

Advantages of React JS

A lightweight JS framework with a simple syntax that combines HTML and JavaScript, making it easy to learn. Documentation is readily available, which is a plus for beginners.

Provides excellent support for PWA (progressive web app) especially when you create-react-app templates.  

It offers Virtual DOM implementation and rendering optimizations which makes it extremely fast. 

Using functional programming with components, react creates modularized code that can be reused, resulting in easier maintenance and scaling. Apps can be developed more easily and scaled with more scalable infrastructure.

Limitations

There have been constant changes in React technology, which makes it a bit challenging to keep up with the latest documentation. 

Developers can make design choices freely since React technology is unopinionated. 

React utilizes JSX, which creates a learning barrier for some developers, despite its benefits.

Advantages of Angular

Angular makes use of TypeScript, which provides great support for type checking and other external tooling.

Google provides support for Angular, so it can be said that it is a trustworthy framework. 

They offer detailed documentation with a huge community, which makes it easier to learn. 

Autocomplete is supported inside external HTML templates for components in Angular, allowing for faster development times.

Limitations

There is a slowdown in performance due to the real DOM used, but this can be remedied with the use of ChangeDetectionStrategy, which assists in writing manual code.

Angular offers a comprehensive range of structures including various modules, components, pipes, etc., which makes it hard to learn this framework compared to React and Vue, which mainly rely on the components.

Advantages of Vue.js

Vue comes with detailed documentation, which helps developers overcome their learning curve. With just a basic knowledge of HTML and JavaScript, developers can construct powerful single-page applications. 

Vue is used to design robust single-page web applications.

Vue has a smaller footprint, so its speed and flexibility are optimal, which gives better performance compared to other frameworks. 

It can be integrated easily with existing infrastructure without having any impact on the system. 

Vue uses virtual DOM, which makes it faster than Angular.

Limitations

As a relatively new technology with a tiny market share, Vue has fewer resources than React and Angular, meaning that support and knowledge sharing are less common.

How to Choose the Right Javascript Framework for your Project?

It remains to be answered - when are the three frameworks to be chosen? Which benefits should be exploited to the maximum? We have listed the following criteria that can help you make the right decision regarding the most appropriate platform for your project based on the major advantages and disadvantages of each framework:

Choose Angular:

When you want to create a large and complex project such as building enterprise applications with Angular

When you are looking for simplicity

When you want great reliability and scalability

When you have Angular developers on your team

When you can afford some time to learn TypeScript before the project starts

Choose React:

When your project can accept reusable components

When your project’s front end is not too complex

When your performance and scalability are important 

When you are having tight deadlines

When you are looking for relevant experience in React.js development.

Choose Vue.js:

When your project scope is on the small side

When you want superior performance

When you have experienced front-end developers but have team members with JavaScript knowledge

When you are not experienced in learning a new technology

Angular, React, and Vue.js are by no means the only front-end frameworks available. There are a lot of exciting tools that will suit projects of different sizes and complexity.

It shouldn't be hard to put together the right technology stack and deliver a great software solution with the right approach and common sense.

JavaScript-based tools are available along with front-end development frameworks. You can always count on us for any development team you need to hire, such as a React.js developer team for example.

Let’s make a detailed comparison between Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs one by one: 

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Framework Size

Size matters for development frameworks since size influences application performance. Angular is one of the heaviest in size, with 143k. A framework and its application must be downloaded before an application can be used.

The second most popular framework is React, with a size of 43k, and the lightest framework is Vue.js, with only 23k. Therefore, if your application is not more complex and doesn’t have many sophisticated components, choosing the smaller framework would be the best option. 

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Performance

It is important to know that Web application performance directly depends on the Document Object Model, or DOM, which represents a web page in both the browser and in the source code. The DOM is what allows web pages to be modified during an update process. 

When only one item is changed on a web page, Angular updates the entire page and re-renders the whole web page. Regular DOM, particularly in single-page applications, affects performance, making it its Achilles' heel.

As both React and Vue.js make use of virtual DOM, they leave Angular in the dust. Changes can be made in a copy of the DOM without affecting the actual DOM. In addition, just the modified components of the virtual DOM are rerendered, and the updated virtual DOM is compared to a snapshot of the regular DOM. The performance of the application is greatly improved by this approach.

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Community

React was rated the most popular framework for developers in the 2017 Stack Overflow Developer Survey. The app enjoyed unparalleled popularity and support because it was constructed by the Facebook team. With more than thirty thousand developer members now contributing to React's development, its developer community has now exceeded thirty thousand members.

Traditional users have appreciated the advantages of Angular and the community has been quite supportive. Even with the statistics by Bestof.js showing AngularJS still has a lot more followers than its later versions, the first version of Angular still has many more followers.

Although Vue.js has many advantages, it doesn't appear to be popular with developers despite its advantages. Collaboration on framework functionality improves the framework's functionality and, more importantly, its library collection expands.

The components in React are sure to be reusable since they have been contributed by peers. In other words, React might be your best option if you are looking for community support and ready-made components.

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Popularity

Google Trends provides little insight into the popularity of "angular" and "react" since they are frequently used terms. However, the number of stars they receive on their GitHub repo is a good barometer of their popularity. 

Recently, Vue has been up there with React among the top frameworks. After a sudden drop in stars in mid-2016, it is back on top. Your development team will be able to overcome the shortcomings of these frameworks, regardless of which business framework you use. 

If the team is in the right hands, it can be assured that this will happen. Moreover, your developers are experts and understand these frameworks inside and out, so you can always rely on them to deliver the solutions you need. 

Or you can hire dedicated developers who are proficient in Vue.js, React, and Angular from a reputable company. 

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Scalability

The ability to maintain an expanding functionality is the essence of scalability as it applies to front-end development. A development platform should be able to support the growth of applications as they grow in size and complexity.

Both Angular and React are easily scalable when it comes to building scalable applications, according to developers almost unanimously. Modular development with Angular provides scalability, while component-based development with React yields excellent results.

Because it uses template-based syntax, Vue.js has a disastrous record when it comes to scalability. It becomes increasingly difficult to reuse templates within a large application, compared with JavaScript components.

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Learning Curve

It is very subjective that for some people technology A may be easier to learn than technology B; while others may find it difficult to learn. Having mastered JavaScript and understanding its concepts is the first step to learning the front end, so all three should be equally easy for you. 

Because Typescript is good to know when writing Angular apps (despite it not being required), it may cause more problems with Angular. React.js and VueJS appear to be more accessible to beginners than other frameworks, according to my research. However, individual preferences play a large role here.

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: User Friendliness

Angular, React, and Vue.js are the three most difficult technologies in that order. As a result, Vue.js has an advantage. It is easy for organizations to hire and onboard experienced JS developers, and also want to make them work seamlessly with Vue.js.

Angular Vs. ReactJs Vs VueJs: Popular Projects

Now we would like to sum up this article with this final point, describing some well-known projects that have utilized each of these frameworks, illustrating that you can accomplish big things no matter what the technology is. 

Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram are some of the most popular websites using Angular. React.js powers more popular websites including Forbes, BMW Price calculator, Santander Bank, etc. Some of the leading names like Alibaba, 9GAG, and FontAwesome are powered by Vue.js. 

Final thoughts

The major components of these frameworks are under continuous development, and new versions are released regularly as well as maintenance of existing ones. Since all of these frameworks have a high level of support, you can use them all safely. In contrast, Vue - which started more recently but is still growing quickly - is not growing as fast as Angular.

It is impossible to say which frameworks will be relevant in the long run, but each project is backed by a great community, and each is continually evolving. It's important to take a few things into account before jumping into a new framework. First, the expertise of your team can play a big role in choosing a new technology.