JavaScript Framework Comparison: React vs Vue vs Svelte vs Angular

Choosing a JavaScript framework is a significant decision that affects your project’s development speed, performance, and long-term maintainability. This comparison uses objective data from benchmarks, surveys, and official documentation.

Overview

Framework	Initial Release	Maintained By	GitHub Stars	npm Weekly Downloads
React	2013	Meta (Facebook)	220k+	23M+
Vue	2014	Evan You & community	45k+	4.5M+
Svelte	2016	Rich Harris & community	75k+	600k+
Angular	2016	Google	94k+	3M+

Data as of January 2025 from GitHub and npm

Developer Satisfaction and Usage

State of JavaScript 2023 Survey

The State of JS survey asks developers about their experience with frameworks:¹

Retention (would use again):

Framework	Retention Rate
Solid	90%
Svelte	89%
React	83%
Vue	79%
Angular	51%

Interest (want to learn):

Framework	Interest Rate
Solid	69%
Svelte	60%
React	47%
Vue	45%
Angular	22%

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024

Professional developer usage from the Stack Overflow survey:²

Framework	% of Developers
React	39.5%
Angular	17.1%
Vue.js	15.4%
Svelte	5.6%

Performance Benchmarks

JS Framework Benchmark

The JS Framework Benchmark by Stefan Krause measures real DOM performance:³

Benchmark Categories (lower is better):

Operation	React 18	Vue 3	Svelte 4	Angular 17
Create 1000 rows	1.04	1.02	1.00	1.06
Replace 1000 rows	1.04	1.02	1.00	1.07
Partial update	1.09	1.04	1.00	1.07
Select row	1.15	1.03	1.00	1.05
Swap rows	1.04	1.01	1.00	1.05
Remove row	1.04	1.02	1.00	1.04
Startup time	1.05	1.01	1.00	1.13

Scores normalized to best performer (Svelte = 1.00)

Key Takeaway: Svelte consistently performs best due to its compile-time approach. React, Vue, and Angular perform similarly, with Angular slightly slower on startup.

Bundle Size

Bundle sizes matter for initial load time. Measured with modern build tools:⁴

Framework	Min+Gzip (core only)	Typical App Bundle
Svelte	~2 KB	15-30 KB
Vue 3	~16 KB	40-80 KB
React 18	~6 KB (+ ReactDOM ~40 KB)	50-100 KB
Angular	~65 KB	100-200 KB

Svelte’s small size is because it compiles away the framework—only the code you use ships to the browser.

Learning Curve

Time to Productivity

Based on documentation complexity and required concepts:

React

• Concepts to learn: JSX, components, props, state, hooks, effects
• Estimated time: 2-4 weeks for basics, months for advanced patterns
• Challenge: Many ways to do things, ecosystem decisions required

Vue

• Concepts to learn: Templates, components, props, reactivity, composition API
• Estimated time: 1-3 weeks for basics
• Challenge: Options API vs Composition API choice

Svelte

• Concepts to learn: Components, reactivity, stores
• Estimated time: 1-2 weeks for basics
• Challenge: Fewer resources and examples than React/Vue

Angular

• Concepts to learn: TypeScript, modules, components, services, dependency injection, RxJS
• Estimated time: 4-8 weeks for basics
• Challenge: Many mandatory concepts, steep initial curve

Documentation Quality

All four frameworks have official documentation:

Framework	Documentation	TypeScript Support
React	Good (react.dev redesign 2023)	Excellent (DefinitelyTyped)
Vue	Excellent (often praised)	Excellent (built-in)
Svelte	Good (clear, concise)	Good (built-in)
Angular	Comprehensive (verbose)	Required (built-in)

Ecosystem and Community

Package Ecosystem

Framework	UI Component Libraries	State Management	Meta-Frameworks
React	MUI, Chakra, Radix, shadcn	Redux, Zustand, Jotai, Recoil	Next.js, Remix, Gatsby
Vue	Vuetify, Quasar, PrimeVue	Pinia (official), Vuex	Nuxt
Svelte	Skeleton, Flowbite Svelte	Stores (built-in)	SvelteKit
Angular	Angular Material, PrimeNG	NgRx, NGXS	Angular Universal

Job Market

Based on LinkedIn and Indeed job postings (US, January 2025):

Framework	Relative Job Postings
React	100% (baseline)
Angular	~45%
Vue	~25%
Svelte	~5%

React dominates the job market, but Vue and Svelte jobs often overlap with general “frontend” roles.

Framework Deep Dives

React

Philosophy: UI as a function of state. React is a library, not a framework—it handles the view layer and leaves other decisions to you.⁵

Reactivity Model: Explicit state updates via useState hook. Re-renders when state changes.

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  return (
    <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>
      Count: {count}
    </button>
  );
}

Key Characteristics:

• Virtual DOM for efficient updates
• One-way data flow
• Hooks for state and lifecycle
• JSX syntax (HTML in JavaScript)
• Large ecosystem requires decisions

When to Choose React:

• Large team with varied experience levels
• Need for React Native mobile development
• Enterprise projects requiring long-term support
• Projects where hiring is a priority

Vue

Philosophy: Progressive framework—use what you need. Approachable for beginners, powerful for experts.⁶

Reactivity Model: Automatic dependency tracking. Variables become reactive automatically with Composition API.

<script setup>
import { ref } from 'vue'
const count = ref(0)
</script>

<template>
  <button @click="count++">Count: {{ count }}</button>
</template>

Key Characteristics:

• Single-file components (.vue files)
• Template syntax with directives
• Official solutions for routing and state
• Two API styles (Options and Composition)

When to Choose Vue:

• Team with HTML/jQuery background
• Preference for conventions over configuration
• Need for gradual adoption into existing projects
• Want official solutions without decision fatigue

Svelte

Philosophy: Shift work from runtime to compile time. Write less code, ship smaller bundles.⁷

Reactivity Model: Compile-time reactivity. Assignments trigger updates automatically.

<script>
  let count = 0;
</script>

<button on:click={() => count++}>
  Count: {count}
</button>

Key Characteristics:

• Compiles to vanilla JavaScript
• No virtual DOM
• True reactivity with simple assignments
• Minimal boilerplate
• Built-in animations and transitions

When to Choose Svelte:

• Performance-critical applications
• Developers who prefer minimal syntax
• Projects where bundle size matters
• Smaller teams or solo developers

Angular

Philosophy: Complete, opinionated framework for enterprise applications. Everything included.⁸

Reactivity Model: Zone.js for change detection, signals being introduced in Angular 16+.

@Component({
  selector: 'app-counter',
  template: `<button (click)="increment()">Count: {{count}}</button>`
})
export class CounterComponent {
  count = 0;
  increment() { this.count++; }
}

Key Characteristics:

• Full framework (routing, forms, HTTP, etc.)
• TypeScript required
• Dependency injection built-in
• RxJS for reactive programming
• Strong conventions and structure

When to Choose Angular:

• Large enterprise applications
• Teams that want strict conventions
• Projects requiring dependency injection
• Organizations with Angular expertise

Meta-Frameworks

Modern development often uses meta-frameworks that add routing, server-side rendering, and more.

Next.js (React)

The most popular React meta-framework:⁹

• Server-side rendering and static generation
• App Router with React Server Components
• API routes
• Image optimization
• Maintained by Vercel

Nuxt (Vue)

The Vue meta-framework:¹⁰

• Auto-imported components
• File-based routing
• Server-side rendering
• Modules ecosystem

SvelteKit (Svelte)

The official Svelte meta-framework:¹¹

• File-based routing
• Server-side rendering
• Adapters for various platforms
• Form actions

Angular Universal

Server-side rendering for Angular, now built into Angular CLI.

Comparison Summary

Criteria	React	Vue	Svelte	Angular
Learning Curve	Medium	Easy	Easy	Hard
Performance	Good	Good	Excellent	Good
Bundle Size	Medium	Medium	Small	Large
Ecosystem	Largest	Large	Growing	Large
Job Market	Highest	Medium	Low	High
TypeScript	Optional	Optional	Optional	Required
Opinionated	Low	Medium	Low	High
Best For	Flexibility	Balance	Performance	Enterprise

Decision Matrix

Choose React if:

• You need the largest ecosystem and community
• Hiring React developers is a priority
• You want React Native for mobile
• You prefer flexibility over conventions

Choose Vue if:

• Your team is newer to JavaScript frameworks
• You want official solutions without research
• You prefer templates over JSX
• You’re migrating from jQuery/traditional web

Choose Svelte if:

• Performance and bundle size are critical
• You prefer minimal boilerplate
• You’re building content-focused sites
• You’re comfortable with a smaller ecosystem

Choose Angular if:

• You’re building enterprise-scale applications
• Your team prefers strict conventions
• You need comprehensive built-in solutions
• Long-term Google support matters

The Right Choice

There’s no universally “best” framework. The right choice depends on:

1. Your team’s experience - Use what you know
2. Project requirements - Match complexity to needs
3. Hiring plans - Consider talent availability
4. Performance needs - All are fast enough for most apps
5. Long-term maintenance - Consider ecosystem stability

For most projects, any of these frameworks will work well. The differences matter most at the extremes—very large enterprise apps (Angular’s conventions help) or very performance-sensitive apps (Svelte’s compilation helps).

Further Reading

• Related: Modern Tech Stack Guide
• Related: Hosting Platform Comparison
• React Documentation
• Vue Documentation
• Svelte Documentation
• Angular Documentation

---

References

Footnotes

1. State of JS. “State of JavaScript 2023 - Front-end Frameworks.” https://2023.stateofjs.com/en-US/libraries/front-end-frameworks/ ↩

2. Stack Overflow. “2024 Developer Survey - Web Frameworks.” https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/technology#most-popular-technologies-webframe ↩

3. Krause, Stefan. “JS Framework Benchmark.” https://krausest.github.io/js-framework-benchmark/ ↩

4. Bundlephobia and framework documentation for bundle size analysis ↩

5. React Documentation. “Thinking in React.” https://react.dev/learn/thinking-in-react ↩

6. Vue Documentation. “Introduction.” https://vuejs.org/guide/introduction.html ↩

7. Svelte Documentation. “Introduction.” https://svelte.dev/docs/introduction ↩

8. Angular Documentation. “Introduction to Angular.” https://angular.io/guide/what-is-angular ↩

9. Next.js Documentation. https://nextjs.org/docs ↩

10. Nuxt Documentation. https://nuxt.com/docs ↩

11. SvelteKit Documentation. https://kit.svelte.dev/docs ↩