Vue vs React: Choosing the Best Framework for Your Next Project

These leading JavaScript frameworks have become go-to tools for developers seeking efficiency, flexibility, and scalability. Vue.js, celebrated for its simplicity and progressive design, is often favored by smaller teams and startups looking for quick onboarding and straightforward integration. Meanwhile, React.js, backed by Meta (formerly Facebook), has solidified its position as an industry heavyweight with its robust ecosystem and widespread adoption among enterprises. So, why compare Vue.js and React? What makes this React vs Vue 2024 comparison more relevant than ever?

The answer lies in the details, specifically, the time. Both frameworks can accomplish similar results, are popular in the community, and are used by successful businesses. However, the rivalry between the two frameworks is more relevant than ever due to evolving front-end development needs and market trends. Both have seen significant updates in recent years, with React focusing on server-side rendering (SSR) optimizations and concurrent rendering, while Vue 3 has enhanced its composition API and performance features. The rise of edge computing, micro-frontends, and the need for highly interactive user experiences has heightened the competition. Additionally, developers and businesses must choose frameworks based on scalability, ecosystem support, and team expertise, making the choice a critical factor for long-term project success. This year also sees growing interest in sustainability and developer experience, which both frameworks approach differently, further fueling the debate.

If you are a developer, you know that it takes a lot of effort to master technology. You won't become a jack-of-all-trades with hollow knowledge by smartly picking a few technologies to focus on. Similarly, if you are a tech leader or business owner, you want to pick the most appropriate technology for your project to minimize risks in the future. 

In 2014, Evan You, a former Google engineer, built and released Vue.js, an open-source frontend framework designed to improve upon the existing JavaScript tools of the time. His goal was to create a framework that combined the best elements from Angular, Ember, and React while making it faster, easier, and more enjoyable for Vue.js developers. The framework quickly gained popularity for its simplicity and flexibility.

In February 2022, Vue.js 3.0 became the new default version, and many companies seeking Vue.js development services adopted this version to take advantage of its new features and improved performance. This shift reignited conversations around Vue 3 vs React, as Vue brought innovative updates to the table.

Starting with Vue.js 3.0, the framework fully integrated TypeScript, providing a more reliable and maintainable foundation for application development. This integration ensures stronger type safety for businesses looking to hire a Vue.js company or developers, reducing bugs and streamlining the development process. All official Vue packages now include bundled type declarations, ensuring that Vue.js development services deliver seamless functionality from the start.

Moreover, including TypeScript in Vue.js 3 enhances project stability, minimizes debugging time, and improves code safety—key benefits that any Vue.js company can leverage to build robust applications. Developers also enjoy an enhanced experience thanks to features like IDE autocompletion, which accelerates development.

Vue.js 3 also introduced the Composition API, a new, function-based approach to writing code inspired by React Hooks. This feature enables Vue.js developers to create more modular and maintainable codebases, making it easier for companies to scale their projects.

If you're considering upgrading from Vue 2 to Vue 3, be sure to check out our 2023 Vue.js migration Cheat Sheet for detailed guidance. This can help your team transition smoothly and take full advantage of the new features in Vue.js development.

The story of how React.js was created begins in 2011 at Facebook, where engineers faced growing challenges with building dynamic, high-performance user interfaces as the platform scaled. One of these engineers, Jordan Walke, came up with an idea that would eventually lead to React.

At the time, Facebook struggled to keep its interface responsive and efficient. Walke experimented with a concept that allowed developers to build user interfaces using a "virtual DOM," which could track changes and update only the parts of the web page that needed refreshing rather than the entire page. This was a breakthrough in improving performance and user experience.

The first version of React was used internally on Facebook’s newsfeed feature. Its success led the company to decide to share the innovation with the wider developer community. In 2013, React was officially open-sourced, allowing developers worldwide to adopt and contribute to the library. Today, React Frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby are maintained by Facebook and a community of developers, constantly evolving to meet modern web development needs.

Vue.js and React are two of the most popular frontend frameworks widely adopted by Web app development companies around the world. While each has unique strengths, their shared features contribute significantly to their demand in the developer landscape. Before diving deeper into their distinctive features, let’s explore the key similarities that make both frameworks a preferred choice for many businesses:

Both Vue.js and React utilize a Virtual DOM, which allows for efficient updates of only the specific components that have changed. This process saves time and computing resources, which is particularly important for complex user interface applications. Businesses looking for React or Vue.js development services receive faster load times and a smoother user experience.

One key reason we, the Vue.js company, favor these frameworks is their component-based architecture. Both Vue and React break down the UI into reusable, self-contained components. This modularity improves productivity and speeds up the development process, which is especially valuable for Vue.js agencies since they can help businesses bring their products to market faster.

Both frameworks primarily focus on the view layer, which means they handle only the UI and require external libraries or additional tools for managing things like routing or state management. For instance, Vue.js developers often utilize Vue Router for routing and Vuex for state management, while React developers might use React Router and Redux. This modular approach allows a Vue.js agency to choose the best tools for the job, ensuring customized, efficient solutions for their clients.

Both Vue.js and React are built around JavaScript. For Vue.js developers, the familiarity with JS shortens the learning curve and increases the adoption rate, allowing them to get up to speed quickly and start delivering results. Companies seeking React and Vue.js development services benefit from this ease of learning, as developers can jump into projects and deliver high-quality code in a shorter timeframe.

Understanding their core differences is essential when deciding between Vue and React for your next project. Both frameworks are powerful but approach web development differently, making them better suited for different teams, projects, and goals. Let’s take a closer look at the key areas where Vue and React differ: their syntax and learning curve, the flexibility of their architectures, the strength of their ecosystems and libraries, their popularity and community support, and how they stack up in terms of performance, scalability, and documentation. By comparing these aspects, you’ll gain a clearer perspective on each framework.

React’s JSX and Vue’s template syntax are two different approaches to building user interfaces, making vue js vs react comparisons interesting. By default, Vue uses HTML templates, but there’s an option to write in JSX. In React, on the other hand, there’s solely JSX. Vue’s traditional separation of concerns into HTML, CSS, and JS makes it easier even for beginner front-end developers to learn how to create Web applications. This js vs jsx distinction significantly affects the learning curve for developers.

HTML templates are also familiar to most Web designers, thus improving collaboration between developers and designers. React’s JavaScript Expressions (JSX) combine HTML and CSS into JavaScript. This XML-like syntax lets developers build self-contained UI components with view-rendering instructions included. We’ll discuss what that means later in the article.

Vue is generally considered easier for beginners, especially those with limited JavaScript experience or those from an HTML/CSS background. The separation of concerns, straightforward template syntax, and built-in directives make it simpler to get started and build functional UIs without diving deeply into JavaScript. On the other hand, React has a steeper learning curve because it demands a solid understanding of JavaScript from the outset. While JSX offers much flexibility and power, it can feel complex for beginners unfamiliar with JavaScript concepts.

When evaluating vue.js vs react, performance is often a key consideration. Many companies look to Vue.js development services because of Vue’s exceptional performance in smaller or less complex projects. This is no surprise, as it's an important decision-making factor for companies aiming to build large-scale applications with React or Vue.js agency. Vue.js developers appreciate its exceptional performance in smaller or less complex projects. Let's have a look at the raw numbers published by Stefan Krause.

The most recent tests were conducted using Chrome on a Razer Blade 15 Advanced (i7-8750H, 64GB RAM, Fedora 36). These tests include key metrics like rendering time, row creation speed, and memory usage across operations like updating and clearing large tables. When we compare the results, React utilizes a virtual DOM to manage UI updates efficiently. It demonstrates solid performance in the benchmarks, particularly in scenarios involving dynamic content rendering and updates. Vue.js also employs a virtual DOM and offers a reactive data-binding system. Vue.js consistently shows competitive performance, often matching or surpassing React in various test scenarios. Vue performs well in raw performance tests, especially when rendering large datasets.

Vue.js is purpose-built to create interactive multi-page applications, making it an ideal choice for businesses seeking efficient and flexible solutions. Companies offering Vue.js development services can seamlessly integrate Vue's library into existing applications, enhancing functionality without needing major overhauls.

The framework excels at adding interactivity to static elements while ensuring robust performance. Businesses leveraging Vue.js services benefit from ongoing updates and reliable functionality, making it ideal for those building fast, scalable, and efficient applications. For organizations seeking rapid, scalable solutions, partnering with Vue.js agencies offers a trusted path to delivering top-tier web products.

Vue.js calls itself the progressive framework and it's designed to be incrementally adoptable. Users can start with a minimum setup and only choose to adopt complex building tools after finding the actual necessity

Scalability is the thing that Vue.js does best. It supports all levels of users and grows together with them.

Haoqun Jiang,

Vue.js Core Team Member

Because of its impressive community, React also has a lot to offer. It’s lightweight enough to build multi-page apps easily but also good with single-page ones. React is immensely useful for building scalable web apps (look at Facebook). Unlike Vue, React doesn't provide ready-made solutions, e.g., routing, so you need to use third-party libraries (Flux/Redux and create-react-app scaffolding tool).

Vue vs React's popularity remains a key factor when businesses and developers choose between these two powerful frameworks. Both have grown significantly over the years and are supported by passionate developer communities, active contributors, and extensive usage across the web. The vue vs react popularity debate is fueled by metrics from platforms like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and live website usage. 

GitHub Popularity:

• React: React has over 230k stars on GitHub, demonstrating its broad community and usage.

• Vue: Vue has around 208k stars, which is impressive for a framework focusing more on simplicity and ease of use. 

Stack Overflow’s threads:

• React: As of October 2024, more than 481k questions are tagged with "reactjs" on Stack Overflow, reflecting a large developer base and high demand for support.

• Vue: Vue has approximately 108k questions, which is smaller but still represents a significant and growing community.

Usage on Live Websites:

• React is used by about 49 million websites globally that implement JavaScript libraries

• Vue is used by around 3.6 million websites, reflecting its steady growth.

Community support plays a significant role in the react vs vue 2024 debate, as both frameworks provide ample resources and active developer communities to aid teams in troubleshooting and scaling their projects.

React’s larger community ensures ample tutorials, libraries, and third-party tools are always available for nearly any use case. The widespread adoption of react frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby further strengthens its ecosystem, making it an appealing choice for large-scale, complex applications. Vue’s community, while smaller, is known for being highly engaged and supportive. Its focus on simplicity and progressive design ensures developers of all experience levels feel welcomed. Vue also benefits from a tightly knit community where contributors and developers actively participate in forums, GitHub issues, and social media, making it easy to find help or feedback.

As of 2024, Vue.js maintains its reputation for having highly organized and well-maintained documentation, which remains one of its key strengths and reasons why Vue.js services are so popular among businesses. It significantly simplifies the learning process and troubleshooting for Vue.js developers. This strong emphasis on documentation has been further reinforced with the overhaul introduced in Vue 3, providing developers with clearer, more comprehensive resources to help them quickly resolve issues and onboard new features.

We’ve just shipped our brand new documentation in February 2022 which essentially marked the completion of the soft launch process. When Vue 3 was released it was really just the core, but Vue as a whole has grown into the full ecosystem over time.

Evan You - The Creator of Vue.js

React’s documentation regarding accessibility and structure remains far behind Vue’s. It covers the basics and advanced uses, but navigating all the material isn’t nearly as smooth as with Vue. However, there has been some change recently. The new React.js documentation was officially launched in March 2023, following a public beta phase that started in 2022. This updated version of the documentation focuses on improved accessibility, clearer examples, and better explanations to make it easier for developers to learn React and adopt best practices.

Staying on top of trends and understanding the popularity of tools like Vue.js and React.js is essential when deciding which framework to adopt. Both have proven their worth over the years, but in 2024, their competition remains as fierce as ever. React and Vue continue to dominate the JavaScript ecosystem, but their popularity differs depending on metrics like job demand, GitHub activity, and community engagement.

Both frameworks remain relevant, but they cater to slightly different segments of the market. React is increasingly used for large-scale applications that demand high performance and scalability. With trends like server-side rendering (SSR), edge computing, and frameworks like Next.js, React continues to dominate in enterprise-level projects and high-traffic web applications. Popular industries using React include e-commerce (Shopify), streaming (Netflix), and social media (Instagram). The rise of React Server Components has made React even more appealing for developers looking to improve rendering speed and reduce client-side overhead.

Vue remains a favorite for small to medium-sized projects, where its simplicity and rapid development cycle shine. In 2024, Vue’s ecosystem has expanded with tools like Nuxt 3 (for server-side rendering and static site generation) and better TypeScript integration, making it a strong contender for projects that require modern development practices. Vue is particularly popular in industries like fintech (Alibaba), content management systems, and projects where a smooth learning curve is a priority. The rise of Vue 3 and its Composition API has made it more versatile, allowing it to compete with React in terms of scalability and flexibility. Popular industries using React include e-commerce (Shopify), streaming (Netflix), and social media (Instagram). The rise of React Server Components has made React even more appealing for developers looking to improve rendering speed and reduce client-side overhead.

React’s Role in Modern Development Trends:

• Enterprise Adoption: React remains the go-to framework for large-scale, complex applications due to its flexibility, scalability, and robust ecosystem.

• Edge Computing: React's compatibility with frameworks like Next.js aligns with modern trends such as edge rendering and server-side rendering.

• Server Components: The rise of React Server Components has improved React’s performance and appeal for developers working on high-traffic applications.

Vue.js Role in Modern Development Trends:

• Rapid Prototyping: Vue’s simplicity and developer-friendly features make it an ideal choice for projects that prioritize fast delivery, such as e-commerce platforms and dashboards.

• Nuxt Adoption: Nuxt 3 has positioned Vue as a serious competitor to React in SSR and SSG development.

• Global Markets: Vue’s growing popularity in regions like Asia and Europe is helping it maintain a steady upward trajectory in adoption.

When choosing between Vue.js services and React.js services, the decision should be driven by the type of application you're building and your business goals. If you focus on quick delivery, lower development costs, and simplicity, Vue.js services are a strong choice, especially for building interactive apps with minimal complexity. Vue.js companies often advise Vue for a diverse array of projects, but here are some key use cases where Vue.js excels:

Small to Medium-Sized Projects: Vue.js is often preferred for smaller projects or startups where ease of use, rapid development, and low learning curves are important. Vue’s intuitive design allows for quick integration, making it ideal for companies looking to launch fast and iterate quickly.

MVPs and Startups: With an easy learning curve and tools such as Vue CLI 3 and Vue UI, Vue is excellent for the quick delivery of MVPs and startup ideas. Because of those, Vue is also a cost-effective solution for small to medium apps.

Single-Page Applications (SPAs): Vue excels in creating dynamic single-page applications (SPAs) with built-in tools for state management (Vuex) and routing (Vue Router), reducing the need for third-party libraries.

Mobile and desktop applications: Beyond traditional web applications, Vue.js services can be utilized to create cross-platform mobile and desktop applications with frameworks such as Ionic Vue and Electron. 

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: Vue.js’s component-based architecture makes it an ideal framework for building ERP systems. By enabling developers to craft reusable UI components, Vue.js promotes modular and maintainable code, which is essential for managing the complexities of ERP applications. Its fast performance and minimal footprint are well-suited to handling the heavy data loads and intensive operations commonly associated with ERP systems.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): Vue.js is also highly effective for creating Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), which provide native-like functionality while being accessible via web browsers. With its lightweight design and quick performance, Vue.js helps enterprises improve user engagement without the need for developing separate mobile apps, offering a seamless experience across devices.

What about React.js?

Since React was created with large-scale Web projects in mind, choosing it for small and simple apps might be overkill. Although it requires a lot of boilerplate code to set up a working project, React’s architecture ultimately pays off in the long run.

Unlike Vue, React doesn’t have official routing or state management packages. To build complex apps, you have to use third-party solutions for pretty much everything. But the choice is vast. Experienced Vue.js developers tasked with delivering advanced projects will know which of the numerous libraries will be the best choice to meet the business demands of a particular Web application.

In summary, while React.js might be more flexible for large-scale applications, Vue.js is often the better choice for businesses focused on rapid development, simplicity, and cohesive tooling. It offers both efficiency and a smoother development experience. Here are the top use cases for React:

Enterprise Applications: React's scalability allows developers to break large applications into reusable components, making it ideal for enterprise-scale systems that need to grow with business demands. React integrates with modern technologies like GraphQL and TypeScript, enhancing robustness and maintainability.  

E-commerce Platforms: React’s virtual DOM enables fast and efficient updates, perfect for e-commerce sites where product listings and filters must change dynamically. Reusable components streamline development and maintain design consistency across pages. With frameworks like Next.js, React enhances SEO and page load times, which is critical for online stores.

Real-time Applications: React excels in real-time applications by efficiently managing frequent UI updates and ensuring responsiveness during rapid data changes. It works seamlessly with WebSockets and real-time APIs for instant server-client communication, making React ideal for chat applications, live streaming platforms, and collaborative tools requiring instantaneous feedback.

When deciding between Vue and React for your next project, nothing is more valuable than learning from real-world examples. Both frameworks have been used to power some of the most successful and innovative applications across industries, from e-commerce and social media to fintech and enterprise software. These case studies showcase how top companies and development teams leverage Vue and React to solve unique challenges, improve performance, and create exceptional user experiences. Let’s explore the standout examples of how Vue and React have been implemented in real-world scenarios, highlighting the reasons behind each framework’s selection.

• Facebook: It may be surprising to see Facebook on this list as it was created at Facebook and is now maintained by Meta, but its former employee confirmed that Facebook's News Feed uses Vue.

• Alibaba: Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com is a giant eCommerce focused on wholesale trade offering hundreds of millions of products to more than 190 countries and regions. Daily, users exchange hundreds of thousands of messages with suppliers using the platform, according to their website.

• Google Careers: This HR portal by google is built in Vue, hosting a map of job opportunities, interactive content, and more.

• Behance: Part of Adobe, Behance is a leading platform to showcase creative work and portfolios, helping individual talents and companies across the world connect.

• Netflix: This platform doesn't require an introduction, but just if you haven't heard about it: it's a streaming giant with a vast range of series and movies you can watch on-demand. The usage of Vue was confirmed by one of its developers a few years ago.

• Euronews: Multilingual news portal that reaches over 100 million users a month, hosting both text and multimedia content.

• Upwork: This online platform connects freelancers and businesses via thousands of project offers covering all aspects of work, from content writing to admin help.

• Nintendo: The video game mammoth uses Vue.js in selected European regional websites, including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK. Their reward system for game accounts, My Nintendo, also uses the framework.

• Wizz Air: The page for this Hungary-based low-cost airline is made with Vue, allowing for the purchase of plane tickets and services for hundreds of destinations.

• Give Directly: GiveDirectly is the first and largest nonprofit that lets donors send money directly to the people most affected by poverty. To achieve the project goals quickly and effectively, Vue.js was chosen for frontend development as the engineering team was already familiar with Vue.

React also has some widely-recognized companies among its users. Here’s the list of top examples:

• Instagram: With its 2 billion active users worldwide and Meta ownership, Instagram is one of the most popular social apps using React. The framework was introduced by a team of developers who wanted to make Instagram faster for both OS and Android. The implementation wasn’t easy at that time, and it started with rebuilding the Push notifications feature.

• Reddit: React was implemented fairly late on Reddit, with the switch confirmed in June 2021. The new app's UI was rebuilt entirely in React. 

• Facebook: As I’ve mentioned above, Facebook was behind the development of React as a framework and obviously, this technology is still used by its engineers. Their codebase includes over 30,000 components and React is heavily used in both its web and mobile applications.

• Netflix: Netflix is one of the companies that use both React and Vue in its applications. The company started using Vanilla JS as its frontend framework in 2018, but they still use React to create initial HTML on the server side. 

• Uber Eats: Uber Eats was launched by its parent company, Uber in 2014, and React Native was its go-to technology right from start. The goal was to create a flawless flow between customers ordering food and the restaurants and with the support of React components and the Uber team's detailed knowledge of how this flow should work, the application operates as planned.

Vue.js and React are both great tools for building interactive user interfaces. To choose which is better for your next project, you have to consider several factors, including your specific use case, your business needs, environment, developer availability, budget, and the timeframe you’re working with. For smaller projects or teams seeking simplicity and rapid development, Vue.js shines with its beginner-friendly syntax and streamlined architecture. On the other hand, React.js, with its robust ecosystem and enterprise-grade scalability, is better suited for complex, high-performance applications. 

Deciding between React or Vue isn’t about choosing the “better” framework but the one that aligns best with your needs. Ultimately, the question of React vs Vue comes down to understanding your unique requirements and the strengths of your development team. If you’re unsure whether to go with Vue or React, consulting professionals can help you make an informed decision and ensure your project’s success. If in doubt, don't hesitate to reach out to an experienced agency.