The front-end development world has several tools for programmers to have more power when creating their interfaces. In this sense, there are several options to create powerful and, of course, beautiful projects.
But there are 3 frameworks that stand out in this area. Vue, React and Angular are the exponents of the field and draw thousands of developers — and their communities — into a recurrent discussion: what is the best front-end framework on the market?
Knowing this, we have prepared a content comparing the 3 possibilities so that you have enough information to make your choice. For this, we will use 3 items during the comparison: popularity, learning curve and performance.
So, check out our guide to the best front-end framework on the market. Good reading!
Vue
Popularity
Vue.js is the second most popular framework on the market. Second only to React, the front-end development toolbox was created by Evan You to be a lightweight and easy option to work with in the developers’ daily lives.
The first version of Vue.Js was released in 2014 in open-source format and quickly fell in favor of developers, who were able to embrace the tool and thus help in its popularization.
Source: Download statistics for package vue
Learning curve
Vue’s easy learning curve is possibly what helped the tool become one of the best front-end frameworks on the market. And when we talk about ease, we mean that the framework was designed to act that way.
The first point that eases the learning curve is the lack of need for any special setup. Just import the library and add some JavaScript code snippets to start using its features right away.
The second thing that makes Vue developer-friendly is the syntax. All features of the tool are based on JS and HTML code. In other words, what is natural for the developer of these languages will continue to happen with Vue.
Performance
Lastly, we have Vue’s performance, one of the best in its category. This is because of the way the framework was conceived, in addition to its size that reaches — only — 80KB.
So, in addition to being extremely simple to use, Vue also stands out as one of the best JavaScript frameworks for its light weight and power to create high quality resources for websites and systems.
React
Popularity
React was introduced to the public in 2013 by Facebook as a framework for front-end developers, and since then it has been leading the search for the most used framework and the best front-end framework on the market.
Its popularity is such that, in some surveys, React has 5 times more downloads than Vue and up to 13 times more downloads than Angular.
Source: Download statistics for package react
Learning curve
Despite its popularity, we can say that React is not the most user-friendly front-end framework. Unlike Vue, it requires in-depth knowledge of JSX and JavaScript syntax.
Furthermore, projects created with React have a more complex configuration step, even with the help of features like create-react-app. Lastly, the Redux library, a tool for state management, adds a layer of complexity to the React package — but nothing, of course, impossible to learn.
Performance
In terms of performance, React has an immense prominence to appear in the list of the best front-end frameworks on the market. Its library is very close to the size of Vue.js, with 100KB, which helps in high performance during execution.
Angular
Popularity
Angular was originally conceived as a framework designed to simplify web application development. Misko Hevery, a Google employee, released the first version in mid-2010 under the name AngularJS.
However, as JavaScript evolved, AngularJS had to be rewritten from scratch and was renamed Angular — without JS. So, it continued to gain popularity, but not enough to stand out from the Vue.js and React.js we showed you earlier.
Thus, it appears as the third most downloaded library on the market, which makes it appear in our list of best front-end frameworks.
Source: Download statistics for package angular
Learning curve
Possibly, part of Angular’s low popularity comes from its learning curve, which is higher than its competitors Vue and React. Whether due to the need to master TypeScript, or the complex configuration of projects, Angular is not a very friendly library for developers.
Performance
Angular’s performance is also a downside of the framework. Compared to Vue and React, Google’s library is a little slower, possibly due to the size — which is around 500KB.
Still, Angular is one of the best JavaScript frameworks on the market, offering amazing and powerful features for single page applications and robust systems on the market.
After all, what is the best front-end framework on the market?
In fact, there is no better front-end framework just for its features, as many variables need to be considered. Of course, some points interfere in the choice, but it is the project’s need that will define the ideal framework for the work.
Angular, for example, is used on the Google Ads platform and by giant companies such as Lego, Nike, and PayPal. Vue, on the other hand, appears in famous brands such as Nintendo, GitLab, and Grammarly. React, in turn, can be found on Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and WordPress.
So, as we can see, we have the best JavaScript frameworks operating in big companies and, consequently, big products in the virtual world. So, consider your need and ability to make the best choice of front-end framework.
Till next time!
