Front-end frameworks are an essential part of the web development tech stack. Today we will compare the most popular JavaScript library and the developer community darling, React vs Svelte. But which one to choose?
React is a front-end framework created in 2011 by Facebook, used by giants like Facebook and Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Dropbox, Airbnb, and others. Comparing ReactJS vs Svelte, React is the one that is majorly viewed as an auto-pick in the front-end community. It has been on the scene for a decade and had the time to grow in popularity and earn significant trust as reliable and well-performing software.
Svelte is a front-end framework, a newer software compared to React, as it was established in 2016 by Rich Harris. Such companies used it as The New York Times, IBM, Philips, Avast, Rakuten, and others.
Comparing the Svelte framework vs React, Svelte may not be as widely used, but it doesn’t mean it has less to offer — only that it is difficult not to be trapped in the shadow a giant like React casts on the community. Svelte has specific perks and certain features that make it outperform other frameworks.
Let’s look at the difference between Svelte and React in the examples of several essential features.
React has a specific syntax based on JavaScript — JSX and CSS-in-JS. It’s a complex thing and is unique to React. The fact that Svelte is a compiler makes it produce JavaScript as a result. The syntax is much more readable and intuitive, so as an outcome — easier and more enjoyable to work with.
A major difference between Svelte js vs React is that React uses functions, while Svelte uses classes. These significant influence operations and, as an outcome, make Svelte lighter and smoother for overall performance.
Check out how the simplest message would look in React.
And how much cleaner the same looks in Svelte.
Svelte is unique. React framework vs Svelte contraposes in the way most frameworks do against Svelte. It’s in the way that virtual DOM is commonly used to introduce changes to the webpage. DOM is a Document Object Model, so an actual structure of a page with nodes and their relative placement is basically the way HTML sees your webpage. So think of a virtual DOM, or VDOM, as a virtual representation of a webpage stored in memory. This way, you do not have to re-render the whole page to incorporate changes into the UI. It is a common belief among developers that this way works easier and faster than working with an actual DOM. Or does it?
Svelte argues otherwise and, judging by its speed — proves a solid point. Svelte works like a compiler, skipping the diffing part necessary to sync the virtual DOM and DOM — the “reconciliation” process. By excluding virtual DOM entirely, Svelte doesn’t need to incorporate changes during the run time. Instead, it handles everything during compilation, with no crutch that is virtual DOM at all. And what does it mean for SvelteJS vs React? It means Svelte achieves an incredibly fast loading time, allowing developers to produce compact and reactive web apps swiftly. Not something every other framework can boast about.
If you check the benchmark test results provided by GitHub, Svelte just seems to outperform other front-end frameworks in this regard. Svelte is extremely fast and responsive due to its small bundle size and focus on the compilation stage instead of virtual DOM, as mentioned before.
React is a good framework, too, showing an overall stable and fast enough performance. But Svelte shows us that it can be better.
In the Svelte vs React comparison, Svelte is certainly easier.
React has a steeper learning curve due to its specific syntax, requiring more detailed knowledge and involved learning of JSX and CCS-in-JS. So even to create a primary interface with React, a developer needs to possess more advanced programming skills, then they would need to work with Svelte.
Speaking of which. With Javascript, HTML, and CSS, Svelte is easily more intuitive and beginner-friendly. It keeps things simple, elegant, and devoid of the convoluted busy code that other frameworks are sometimes guilty of delving into.
React is more scalable since there are more tools and libraries available. Not to say Svelte is not scalable, but its main strength lies in building concise, fast, and reactive web apps.
Here’s the noteworthy difference contrasting ReactJS vs Svelte. It’s one of the strong suits of Svelte and gives it a notable advantage in performance. The React .gzip bundle weighs 42.2 kb, including ReactDOM. The Svelte bundle size is much tinier: only 1.6 kb! It allows Svelte to pump up the loading time and UI rendering speed significantly, which is great news for user satisfaction level when it comes to your web app.
React has a lot to offer when it comes to available assets. Many libraries and tools accumulated due to React’s popularity over the years. It allows them to speed up the process for the developers since many components are available for use.
Compared to React, the library of Svelte is more lightweight, and there is a bit less to offer. However, third-party integrations are a possible option if you need to create an application with a wider functionality that is more robust.
It is an important part of any development since it allows running written code in a test mode to check its operational performance. You wouldn’t want the app to live for users to catch bugs left and right, right? What a nightmare.
React provides end-to-end tests. The code is tested in a realistic browser environment, which allows for the reduction of the TTM of an app: Time To Market. The quicker you get your app, the higher its value gets — nothing to sneeze at!
As for Svelte, there is a library for unit testing. It’s more modest than that React and provides simpler operations. It allows developers to keep code clean, concise, and purely functional.
There is no sugarcoating on this part: React is beating Svelte on this easily.
According to StackOverflow’s survey of 2021, React wins the popularity contest among web frameworks: React is the most commonly used framework with an overwhelming 40,14% of votes, as well as the most wanted. Svelte drags behind with only 2,75% of votes. We can also make a comparison of Svelte.js vs React.js in Google Trends to see that in this regard, the situation remains quite stable.
React has a large and active community, so there’s much more help on forums. The Reddit community for React is 327k, while for Svelte, it is only 18,7k. If you are having a problem, chances are somebody has already solved that.
Svelte has a much smaller community, but it is very active, welcoming, and helpful and continues to grow. Although not as ridiculous a rate as React: Svelte is still more like an underground wave. So there are fewer resources available and not as many developers to hire for Svelte. But, to be fair, Svelte does have the upper hand in overall satisfaction level, according to the same StackOverflow: Svelte wins the most loved framework with 71,47%, while React is a bit behind with 69,28%. To have developers who enjoy their job never hurts.
To sum it up, here’s the shortcut version.
At this point, how to choose between React and Svelte when each framework has its pros and cons? Well, that is the whole point of it. You need to be choosing according to your goals.
So what’s the verdict? What is better: Svelte or React? Well, there is no wrong answer. We hope that by this point, you have concluded that it entirely depends on your project. Each of the frameworks provides an excellent service, but also each of them serves slightly different needs.
Suppose you are looking for developers to build a quality web app for your business at realistic deadlines and an affordable cost, or you are just in dire need of advice and consultation on the matter. In that case, WarmDevs is here to help you. We use Svelte to build fast and responsive web apps for companies of all sizes in various industries. You can find some of our work in the Case Study.
Aside from Svelte, we specialize in incorporating low-code and no-code solutions to provide our clients with more suitable products for their day-to-day professional use. Please take a look at our other solutions, such as Webflow development service.
So tell us, what’s your next project going to be?
Depends on the goals of your project. React is a reliable and versatile tool for building complex web apps, and its popularity makes it easy to find React developers. But Svelte is the fastest-performing framework with an incredibly small bundle size and high satisfaction among the developers. Whether you choose Svelte or React, define the results, you want to achieve first.
Comparing Svelte vs React, the latter is more popular, with the Reddit community at 327k, while the one for Svelte is at 18,7k. However, the Svelte community is very active and keeps growing.
Both Svelte and React are great frameworks for different reasons. What makes Svelte stand out is the fantastic speed of the website performance and loading time. The Svelte framework does not use VDOM and works as a compiler, which allows it to cut corners and achieve incredible results.
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