Nowadays developers have many options when it is about choosing a particular front end framework. But often how programmers define which one is the best for the project, is the easiest to learn, and provides you with many job opportunities. In this article, we will compare three popular front end technologies Angular vs React vs Vue in order to make the choice easier for you. Let’s have a look at the results.

Brief Introduction

Angular is a framework that has been developed as well as maintained by Google. It has been the most mature technology from the three. This framework has been existing since 2010. Angular makes use of TypeScript, which is an advanced version of JavaScript. The framework has been very comprehensive, so when you start working on it, you will not require any additional libraries or tools. This is a perfect choice of technology especially if you are working on large scale comprehensive as well as complex projects that need rich functionality.

React was created by the Facebook development team in 2013 as a cross-platform software that utilizes JavaScript. React is not a typical framework, but it is a library, so this solution is not as complex and self-sufficient as Angular is. However, React is made to be more flexible, as developers can choose themselves which tools and libraries should be supplementing it with.

Moreover, the mobile solution that React provides, the React Native is one of the major leading technologies for Android and iOS apps, that surpasses NativeScript for Angular and VueNative by a considerable margin. React can be used for building solutions of any type or scope, but it is mostly used for complex web development and native apps.

Vue, on the other hand, is related to Google, that is it was developed by the company’s ex-employee Evan You and was initially released in 2014. This is an open-source JavaScript framework that is used for building user interfaces. This solution is relatively new compared to others. The stable release was put out for the public on February 12, 2019. Vue is lightweight, however it is not as complex as Angular, developers need to set up some additional tools for customizing it. Vue is apt for building small and medium-sized web solutions as well as single-page applications.

Angular vs React vs Vue: Which framework has the highest popularity?

When you compare the stars that each of these technology has, React was a leader among the IT fans for about 5 years, until Vue recently surpassed it in September 2018. We are unable to tell if Vue will be able to hold this position in the future, but the current trend looks like the following:

However, Github shows only a single part of the story that is the most favored technology among developers at a particular time. In order to check which topic is the most trending among the general public, you can have a look at Google Trends Graph:

We used VueJS instead of Vue to prevent conflicts with the famous Cinema chains having the name “Vue”. VueJS has got a significantly lower interest in the past 5 years compared to  Angular and React. Angular was a leader for search queries until Feb 2018, when it got surpassed by React. Both these technologies have similar graphs that indicate the interest in them is somehow positively correlated.

Another interesting source that can be considered is the StackOverFlow Developer Survey for 2018 that sums up the insights for about 100000 programmers. This report indicates that the top 12 frameworks, libraries and tools that are the most popular. Interestingly Angular and React hold 2nd and 3rd place in the rankings respectively. The two technologies lost to NodeJS. VueJS did not manage to be in the top rankings here.

Which one has the strongest community support for users?

Because Angular and React are backed by technology giants such as Google and Facebook, they have strong support for increased growth, Both these companies are working constantly for providing continued support as well as incremental updates and improvements, thus ensuring the sound development of these technologies.

Vue’s team is not so well known compared to these two, however, they are also making regular releases and well-maintained migrations.

When we talk about the most famous and high profile users of these technologies. Angular is widely used and is popular among developers in Google, Forbs, WhatsApp, Instagram, and others. React has been used by Facebook, Uber, Netflix, Twitter and PayPal and many more. Vue is a tool used by popular companies like Alibaba, GitLab, Baidu, and others.

When we take a look at the GitHub community, we are able to see that React is a favorite technology here, with 1282 contributions, Second place goes to Angular with 849 contributions and followed by Vue with 260 contributors.

Read also: AngularJS VS Node JS

Where are more Job Opportunities?

When we compare these frameworks with the Job Opportunities that it provides, a popular developer skills organization, HackerRank compares these frameworks in their recent HackerRank Developer Skills Report 2019. Angular has been the most popular framework that developers know about. However, the percentage of respondents that indicated the knowledge of React increased by 6% compared to last year thus making it the 3rd most known framework. Vue.js holds the ranking in the 9th place which is not a bad result. It also means that there are not many developers that know and have the skills to use this tool and those successful in mastering this tool will have a competitive advantage over the others.

Another interesting insight from this report is that React has been able to show the biggest gap in the demand and supply of the developers that know this tool. While the amount of developers that are skilled in Angular is high, the demand for them is just slightly higher than leaves not much space for newcomers. On the other hand, Vue shows the biggest gap in the demand and supply correlation that there is a big unsatisfied demand for coders working with this tool.

If we compare the learning curves for these technologies, then we come to know that Angular is a steep one, which means that it is quite hard to learn. React is a bit simpler, yet complicated to learn, while Vue is considered to have the smallest learning curve, it is the easiest tool from the mentioned three.

Also Read: Which Technology is Better- React JS or Vue JS?

Conclusion: So which Framework is the best? (Angular vs React vs Vue)

The answer to this question depends on the type as well as the scope of your project, the skills of your team, the budget as well as your personal preferences. Angular is more self-sufficient whereas React is more Flexible. Vue is easier to learn and shows a deficit in developer supply. If you prefer TypeScript, opt for Angular or if your need is to build a single page application the opt for Vue.

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One of the two most popular frameworks that use JavaScript is to React  JS and Vue JS. There have been many blog topics that describe the benefits offered by React JS and Vue JS. As such, both frameworks are comparatively viable options when one is looking to advance in JavaScript technologies.

Nevertheless, learning any of the two technologies can easily demand time and effort. Therefore when programmers are required to make a choice, which of the two frameworks fills the void gap, that is essential.

So before, we can decide which one should be given preference over the other. Let’s have a brief introduction to both these frameworks.

React JS:

React JS was initially released in May 2013. The framework is used for Front End Development. Even though React JS is considered as a leading JS framework. It is not essentially a framework. It is a front end library that is developed and maintained by Facebook, for creating User Interfaces. Nevertheless, it is considered as an excellent option for developing dynamic and full-scale applications.

One of the features truly appreciated by many developers is the concept of a virtual DOM. The virtual DOM is capable of being rendered from both sides, the client-side as well as the server-side. React JS provides a high-performance rendering of complicated user interfaces. Many companies such as BBC, PayPal, and Netflix uses React JS other than Facebook, and Instagram.

Vue JS:

Vue JS was initially released on February 2014. It is used majorly for Front End Development. Vue JS was developed by Evan You.  Vue JS is an open-source JavaScript framework that has immense potential which is presently being exploited by web developers from all across the globe. Some of the companies that use Vue JS are Adobe, Grammarly, Xiaomi, Euro-news, Alibaba.

From all the JavaScript frameworks that were developed, when it comes to simplicity, nothing can beat Vue JS. Moreover, it is one of the fastest-growing JS frameworks that enables updating models and view via two way data binding.

Vue.JS draws inspiration from a variety of different frameworks including Knockout JS, Angular JS,  Rivets JS and especially React JS. Because of this, there are several similarities between React JS and Vue JS including server-side rendering as well as usage of a virtual DOM.

Know more: Angular 5 Vs React JS

React JS or Vue JS: Which is learner-friendly?

So now we have got familiarized with React JS and Vue JS Frameworks, it is essential to decide which one to grasp first. Honestly, it depends on the personal preference of the programmer, what things he or she needs to achieve by using the framework. To ease the decision-making process, we are going to discuss some important differences between the two frameworks.

1) Resources available and community support:

Of course, being supported by the world’s biggest social media giants namely Facebook and Instagram, it is not something trivial. Throughout its phase of over 5 years, React JS has gained huge popularity as well as support from a wide community, which has been constantly expanding. All thanks go to the strong community backing, React JS developers receive instant help from other senior developers all around the world. Moreover, there are plentiful resources and libraries available for the leading JavaScript framework React JS.

Even though Vue JS was released a couple of months after React JS was released, its popularity rose quickly in China. It took some time for the framework to become popular in the Western World. It has a relatively small but very active community.

Since the framework has a comparatively small community, fewer libraries are available in order to extend the functionality of the Vue.js framework. It might take time for the Vue.js community to expand and provide support similar to React.JS’s community or the Angular Community. You can find a good number of Vue.js tutorials that are available online.

2) Data Binding:

Vue JS has the ability to automatically synchronize the complete model with the DOM. The synchronization data can flow in both directions. Hence two-way binding is fully supported. React JS, on the contrary, provides support for only one-way data binding, in this way the view reacts to changes made to the model, but the view cannot affect the model. Data can only flow in a single direction, because of one-way data binding.

3) Documentation:

The amount of documentation that exists for React JS is gigantic. Moreover, as many individuals contribute to it, it can get difficult for users to search for what they are looking for.

On the other hand, Documentation guides, as well as any API references that point to Vue JS, are simpler, and the navigation is easy, so it becomes easy to locate any information. It also becomes easy to implement things, provided you have some experience with JS and HTML.

4) Further Development:

React JS is one of the most rapidly leading frameworks available out there. Maintenance and further development rest on the reliable hands of Facebook and a team of volunteers.

On the other hand, Vue JS is an Open source framework that is constantly expanding. The maintenance and further development are controlled by the original developer and contributor Evan You and the community.

5) Learn-ability:

Another major difference between React JS and Vue JS is the learning curve. React JS is an Elaborate framework that requires some decent amount of time to learn and implement. There is a variety of concepts that are semi-advanced to advanced, helper libraries, and coding practices that can intimidate beginner developers.

Comparatively, Vue JS is a lightweight framework that uses a minimalist approach. Its major feature is that it is easy to implement, this framework is easy to understand also.

6) Dependency on third-party technologies:

Because React JS is a JavaScript library, the possibility that a developer can have while working on this framework is limited. It often becomes mandatory for developers to use third-party technologies to extend the functionality of React JS, for this the reliance of developers on third-party libraries and modules becomes mandatory.

Comparatively, Vue.js, on the other hand, is a full-fledged JavaScript framework that is complete and provides several standalone functionalities. Because of this, it offers a wide variety of opportunities. Not only this, there are many third-party modules and libraries that one can use to extend functionality for Vue.js. However, it is not a compulsion to use them.

Read More: ReactJS Vs React Native

7) Templates:

Vue JS uses declarative templates. These templates are coded completely in HTML. Hence it is completely readable without the use of any other programming language.

Unlike Vue JS, React JS does not use any templates. Instead of this, it depends on something called as a component model. Although many frameworks now use the component model, it was React who introduced this concept into the market.

The component logic is purely written in JavaScript. This permits for better flexibility, and enables rich data to pass through an application with ease, and hence keeps the state out of the DOM.

These were some of the differences between React JS and Vue JS. Now it should become easier for you to decide which framework to pick up for learning provided you have only a single choice to make for the two leading frameworks. To help you further to decide, the following section highlights the type of applications preferred to build using the two frameworks.

When to use React JS?

• Dynamic applications: React JS is an apt framework for building applications that require to be re-rendered swiftly. This is due to the JS framework’s ability to instantly reflect data changes in the view.

• Native Mobile applications: React Native, a framework that was built for building native apps using React, enables developing mobile apps that are almost similar to the ones developed using Java or Objective-C.

• SPAs: Since React JS is capable of displaying changes in the content on the existing page. It is best suited for developing single-page applications.

When to use Vue JS?

• Dynamic Performant applications: Similar to React JS, Vue JS is also a great option when it comes to developing dynamic applications. Because it offers better performance than React, it is ideal when it comes to developing high-performance applications that need to be dynamic.

• SPAs: Vue JS allows applications to change content quickly without reloading the page. Hence it is ideal for developing single-page applications. Note that SPAs developed using Vue JS perform slightly better than those developed using React JS

Which JavaScript Framework should I learn first?

Vue JS is simple and easy to learn while React JS takes much more time and effort. Hence it all depends on your comfort level. These two JavaScript frameworks share basic similarities. So learning one framework will also assist in learning the other.

Different JavaScript frameworks are developed to meet a certain predefined set of requirements. For a JavaScript developer, it is apt to know the working knowledge of several different frameworks.

The field of JavaScript has or the other that comes up every now and then. Hence it is recommended to keep a close watch on the latest JavaScript news and happenings in order to stay relevant in the continuously transforming IT industry.

Conclusion:

React JS and Vue JS are two of the leading JavaScript frameworks. Learning either of them will boost your knowledge and marketability as a JavaScript Developer. Learning both of them is an even better option if you get the time to master them both.

If you’re looking to hire React JS developers or looking to hire Vue JS developers then contact us enquiry@nimapinfotech.com. We have professional developers who have great experience and knowledge in developing applications using React JS and Vue.jS