Modern JavaScript Frameworks Comparedh1

Hello! I’m Ahmet Zeybek, a full stack developer with over 5 years of experience building scalable web applications. Choosing the right JavaScript framework can make or break your project’s success. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll compare React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte across multiple dimensions to help you make an informed decision.

Why Framework Choice Mattersh2

The JavaScript ecosystem evolves rapidly, but the choice of framework impacts:

Development velocity and team productivity
Application performance and user experience
Maintainability and long-term project health
Ecosystem maturity and community support
Learning curve and hiring considerations

Framework Overviewh2

Let’s start with a high-level overview of each framework:

React (Meta/Facebook)h3

Release Year: 2013
License: MIT
Stars on GitHub: 220k+
Weekly Downloads: 20M+
Philosophy: Component-based UI library

Vue.js (Evan You)h3

Release Year: 2014
License: MIT
Stars on GitHub: 205k+
Weekly Downloads: 3M+
Philosophy: Progressive framework

Angular (Google)h3

Release Year: 2010 (as AngularJS), 2016 (Angular 2+)
License: MIT
Stars on GitHub: 95k+
Weekly Downloads: 2M+
Philosophy: Full-featured framework

Svelte (Rich Harris)h3

Release Year: 2016
License: MIT
Stars on GitHub: 75k+
Weekly Downloads: 400k+
Philosophy: Compile-time optimizations

Performance Comparisonh2

Performance is crucial for user experience. Let’s examine bundle sizes and runtime performance:

Bundle Size Analysish3

// React + React DOM (production build)
import React from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom'

// Vue (runtime only)
import Vue from 'vue'

// Angular (core only)
import { Component } from '@angular/core'

// Svelte (compiled output - example)
const app = new App({ target: document.body })

Bundle Size Comparison (gzipped, KB):

React + ReactDOM: ~40KB
Vue Runtime: ~20KB
Angular Core: ~60KB
Svelte (compiled): ~3-5KB

Runtime Performanceh3

Based on js-framework-benchmark:

# Results (operations per second, higher is better)
React 18:      45,231 ops/sec
Vue 3:         52,143 ops/sec
Angular 17:    38,921 ops/sec
Svelte 4:      68,432 ops/sec

Development Experienceh2

Learning Curveh3

React Learning Path:

JavaScript fundamentals
JSX syntax
Component lifecycle
Hooks (useState, useEffect)
State management (Redux/Context)

Vue Learning Path:

HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Vue directives (v-if, v-for)
Component composition
Vue Router & Pinia

Angular Learning Path:

TypeScript fundamentals
Modules and components
Services and dependency injection
RxJS observables

Svelte Learning Path:

HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Svelte reactivity ($:)
Component composition
Stores (writable, readable)

Developer Toolsh3

React Ecosystemh4

Create React App: Zero-config setup
Next.js: Full-stack React framework
React DevTools: Excellent debugging
React Query: Server state management

Vue Ecosystemh4

Vue CLI: Project scaffolding
Nuxt.js: Full-stack Vue framework
Vue DevTools: Visual component tree
Pinia: Intuitive state management

Angular Ecosystemh4

Angular CLI: Enterprise-ready tooling
Angular Universal: Server-side rendering
Angular DevTools: Performance profiling
NgRx: Reactive state management

Svelte Ecosystemh4

SvelteKit: Full-stack framework
Svelte DevTools: Component inspection
Svelte stores: Built-in state management
Vite integration: Lightning-fast builds

Real-World Code Examplesh2

Todo App Comparisonh3

Let’s implement a simple todo app in each framework:

React Implementationh4

import { useState } from 'react'

function TodoApp() {
  const [todos, setTodos] = useState([])
  const [input, setInput] = useState('')

  const addTodo = () => {
    if (input.trim()) {
      setTodos([...todos, { id: Date.now(), text: input, completed: false }])
      setInput('')
    }
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <input value={input} onChange={(e) => setInput(e.target.value)} />
      <button onClick={addTodo}>Add Todo</button>
      <ul>
        {todos.map((todo) => (
          <li key={todo.id}>{todo.text}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  )
}

Vue Implementationh4

<template>
  <div>
    <input v-model="input" @keyup.enter="addTodo" />
    <button @click="addTodo">Add Todo</button>
    <ul>
      <li v-for="todo in todos" :key="todo.id">{{ todo.text }}</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</template>

<script setup>
import { ref } from 'vue'

const todos = ref([])
const input = ref('')

const addTodo = () => {
  if (input.value.trim()) {
    todos.value.push({ id: Date.now(), text: input.value, completed: false })
    input.value = ''
  }
}
</script>

Angular Implementationh4

import { Component } from '@angular/core'
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common'
import { FormsModule } from '@angular/forms'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-todo',
  standalone: true,
  imports: [CommonModule, FormsModule],
  template: `
    <div>
      <input [(ngModel)]="input" (keyup.enter)="addTodo()" />
      <button (click)="addTodo()">Add Todo</button>
      <ul>
        <li *ngFor="let todo of todos">{{ todo.text }}</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  `,
})
export class TodoComponent {
  todos: any[] = []
  input = ''

  addTodo() {
    if (this.input.trim()) {
      this.todos.push({ id: Date.now(), text: this.input, completed: false })
      this.input = ''
    }
  }
}

Svelte Implementationh4

<script>
  let todos = []
  let input = ''

  function addTodo() {
    if (input.trim()) {
      todos = [...todos, { id: Date.now(), text: input, completed: false }]
      input = ''
    }
  }
</script>

<div>
  <input bind:value={input} on:keyup={addTodo} />
  <button on:click={addTodo}>Add Todo</button>
  <ul>
    {#each todos as todo (todo.id)}
      <li>{todo.text}</li>
    {/each}
  </ul>
</div>

State Managementh2

React State Management Optionsh3

useState/useReducer: Local component state
Context API: Simple app-wide state
Redux Toolkit: Complex state management
Zustand: Lightweight alternative to Redux
React Query: Server state management

Vue State Management Optionsh3

ref/reactive: Built-in reactivity
Pinia: Official state management
Vuex: Legacy but still used
Composables: Logic reuse pattern

Angular State Management Optionsh3

Component state: Local component state
Services: Singleton services
NgRx: Redux-inspired state management
Akita: Alternative state management

Svelte State Management Optionsh3

Stores: Built-in reactive stores
Context: Component context
Custom stores: Advanced state patterns

When to Choose What?h2

Choose React When:h3

✅ Building component libraries
✅ Large teams with React experience
✅ Need maximum ecosystem flexibility
✅ Mobile development (React Native)

Choose Vue When:h3

✅ Progressive enhancement approach
✅ Smaller teams or solo developers
✅ Gradual adoption strategy
✅ Chinese development ecosystem

Choose Angular When:h3

✅ Enterprise applications
✅ Large-scale applications
✅ Google ecosystem integration
✅ Strong typing requirements

Choose Svelte When:h3

✅ Performance-critical applications
✅ Smaller bundle sizes needed
✅ Developer experience priority
✅ Modern toolchain preferences

My Recommendation Frameworkh2

Here’s my decision framework for choosing frameworks:

interface ProjectRequirements {
  teamSize: number
  projectScale: 'small' | 'medium' | 'large' | 'enterprise'
  timeline: 'fast' | 'moderate' | 'extended'
  performance: 'critical' | 'important' | 'standard'
  ecosystem: 'flexible' | 'batteries-included' | 'minimal'
}

function recommendFramework(requirements: ProjectRequirements): string {
  if (requirements.performance === 'critical') return 'Svelte'
  if (requirements.projectScale === 'enterprise') return 'Angular'
  if (requirements.teamSize < 3) return 'Vue'
  if (requirements.ecosystem === 'flexible') return 'React'

  return 'React' // Default choice
}

Conclusionh2

Each framework has its strengths:

React: Ecosystem dominance and flexibility
Vue: Developer experience and progressive adoption
Angular: Enterprise-grade tooling and structure
Svelte: Performance and modern development experience

The “best” framework doesn’t exist - it depends on your specific needs, team composition, and project requirements. I recommend starting with hands-on experimentation through small projects to find what resonates with your development style.

What framework are you currently using, and what challenges are you facing? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!