Quick Summary:
Out of the available tech stacks in the market for your front-end development, choosing one has always been a tricky question. But, the choice becomes even more complicated when the dilemma is between the two most renowned ones, React and Angular. This blog post has comprehensively compare two popular front end frameworks React vs Angular 2023 to help you gain conviction and decide on the ideal choice for your web application development.
Overview on React vs Angular 2023
React Angular have received a lot of praise from product owners worldwide, and both possess a decent community readily available for assistance. But, choosing one of the two between React vs Angular is more of a choice of requirement rather than a choice of superiority. To help you better understand this statement, let us first have a look at React and Angular individually for front end web apps.
What is React?
React is an open-source JavaScript library for front-end development and UI designing. It presents declarative traits which help the product owners to create complicated and interactive user interfaces within a limited timeframe. React follows a ‘Learn once, write anywhere’ concept managed by Facebook
Features of React
- JSX
- Virtual DOM
- One-Way Data Binding
- Component-Based Architecture
What is Angular?
Angular is an open-source JavaScript framework built on TypeScript. It is a development platform that is ideal to build scalable, interactive, and fascinating web apps.
Angular presents a wide range of well-grounded and well-integrated feature libraries like Angular Routing, client-server communication, etc. It also maintains many developer tools to help you build extensive projects. Additionally, Angular is led by Google Angular Team, who contributes towards the advanced development within the Angular update.
Features of Angular
- MVC Architecture
- Two-Way Data Binding
- Virtual Scrolling
React vs Angular Comparison Table
React is a JavaScript library while Angular is a full-fledged framework, React is beneficial for creating dynamic front-ends and possesses a component-based structure along with a learn once, write anywhere approach. Angular is a structural framework for building single-phase apps or business apps and uses MVC. Before, moving forward with the React and Angular differences, let us have a circumferential comparison between the React vs Angular and then get a thorough understanding of both technical stacks.
Area |
Angular |
React |
GitHub Stars |
83.9k |
195k |
Forks |
22.2k |
40.3k |
Type |
Framework |
Library |
Use of Libraries |
Angular is a complete solution in itself. |
React js can be packaged with other libraries. |
Backward Compatibility |
Backward compatible but not for AngularJS |
Fully compatible between all versions |
Model |
Based on Virtual DOM |
Based on MVC (Model View Controller) |
Programming Language |
TypeScript |
JavaScript |
Data Binding |
Two-Way/One-Way |
One-Way |
Component Architecture |
Component-based |
Component-based |
Learning Curve |
Not beginner-friendly |
Easier to understand with all basic requirements |
Community Support |
Good Community Support but lesser than React though new developers are inclining towards Angular |
It has better community support than Angular on GitHub and GitLab |
Installation Time |
It is easy to set up but may lead to an increase in coding time which also results in delayed project deliveries. |
Takes longer to set up. But, it is really fast for delivering projects and building apps. |
Updates And Migration |
Introduce planned updates every six months |
Easy because scripts help to update |
Testing And Debugging |
The single page tool performs both testings and debugging |
Requires a range of tools to perform various tests |
Use |
Developing mobile apps and SPA |
Developing web, native, and hybrid apps |
Both React and Angular are powerful solutions for app development. However, your choice should depend on the type of app you are developing.
Book a 30 min call With us to Make a Confident Decision About the Best Frontend Framework.
Difference Between React JS and Angular
Now, that we know of the circumferential difference between React vs Angular 2023 let us now jump to the detailed comparison between Reactjs vs Angular on various aspects like Popularity, Performance, Data Binding, State Management, Server Rendering, Testing, DI, and others.
Popularity
Starting with the React vs Angular popularity comparison in terms of popularity, both React and Angular are significantly popular among product owners and CXOs. And this React vs Angular popularity can be realized with the latest Stack Overflow Survey 2022, which states that React is the second most popular technological stack among the developer community with 42.62% votes, while Angular is the fifth most popular technological stack in the same list with 20.39% votes.
Similarly, referring to the past 5 Years’ stats of both React vs Angular, we can observe that the two have seen a great upsurge in the popularity graph but React it seems that presently React outperforms Angular since the beginning.
Performance
Above given are a few Reactjs & Angular Performance benchmark comparisons; with this, we can observe that React is better than Angular in almost all parameters. The reason behind this is that React uses VDOM, which reduces the load on the browser, as the VDOM trees are lightweight and are built on the server. Whereas Angular also possesses a VDOM far smaller than React’s VDOM.
In React, the data bindings are not assigned watchers as React follows a unidirectional data binding, which generates no extra workloads. However, in Angular, every data binding is assigned watchers as Angular follows a bi-directional data flow which hampers the performance of the Angular applications.
However, considering the latest update of Angular 15 and the other Angular version updates, the framework has observed great performance improvements. Hence, we can infer that Angular to React in terms of performance but referring to the present benchmarks, React has the upper hand over the same.
Server-Side Rendering or SSR
React vs Angular, both the technological stacks support the Server Side Rendering, allowing them to offer a breath-taking User experience. SSR in React contributes to making the application React SEO friendly. React possess a few functions that allow it to do the same easily by calling the RenderToString function instead of calling Render. It doesn’t restrain you from getting the benefits of React features.
However, Angular also supports SSR; it facilitates web crawlers by generating a static version of the applications, allowing the crawler to search and like easily. Angular initially creates a static view before it becomes completely interactive.
Testing
React offers Testing efficacy via a set of third-party tools which help find errors during the development process. React also continuously executes test suites along with test runners like Ava, Jest, and Mocha, which allows running tests simultaneously during the development process.
However, Angular possesses testing and debugging with a single tool. The codes written in Angular are written keeping the testability concern in mind. One can easily pass component dependencies and mock them using the dependency injection feature. The best way to use the Angular testing framework is to write tests before writing any code. Once you write tests, the development process becomes far more predictable and is much easier to maintain.
State Management
Another major difference between React and Angular is State Management. React enables the components to have their own state enabling the developers to hold the state of the whole application or a part of it, thus, creating a few special components. The core issue is that the global state must be stored in different sections of your app, with data passed manually around different component tree levels.
On the other hand, Angular stores the component data within the component properties. The parent components pass the data to the children components. Any change in the state can be identified and recalculated but only for the larger applications, which causes a multi-directional tree series of updates that makes it complex to track. Hence, the state management libraries like NgRx or RxJS can make the data flow unidirectional making it easier to track.
Dependency Injection (DI)
For React vs Angular, Dependency Injection or DI is a material design pattern where a class asks for permission externally instead of creating itself. The DI within Angular also offers to adapt flexibility in both testing and debugging. Another great use of dependency injection is the re-usability of a class. So, you don’t have to change any code in the Computer class.
For Example,
import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
@Injectable({
providedIn: 'root',
})
export class HeroService {
constructor() { }
}
Though, Dependency Injection is not a necessity within React but having DI within React is beneficial to remove redundancy. React offers an inbuilt facility for DI in JSX. The DI here takes place through props and children.
For Example,
const name = 'Josh Perez';
const element =Hello, {name};
ReactDOM.render(
element,
document.getElementById('root')
);
Angular vs React Bundle-file Optimization
For comparison between Angular vs React js bundle-file optimization size does matter, as the smaller the bundle size, the faster it loads and hence better the ranking and rate of conversion. A significant reason to optimize the bundle file is that it is the first thing the search engine downloads upon landing at your website. Let us compare Angular vs Reactjs to understand how it affects the bundle size.
Angular does not include the whole bundle of Angular frameworks in the user app. As a part of the build process, it leaves the development utilities and unused modules. Post that, it performs additional optimizations via compressions and minifications, reducing the bundle size to a great extent. When developing your SPA with Angular, you get to use a compiler to speed up the compiling of the bundle file. Hence, ranking your Angular application using the CLI production mode is possible.
Regarding React, you don’t get such options to optimize the bundle file. You get hints for components. However, you must always check the size of your bundle. You can also use:
- Webpack, which splits your code into smaller parts,
- Tree Shaking eliminates the unused modules from the bundle during the build process
- Dynamic Imports loads the code required first, and after that, the other codes demand.
Code Maintainability
Having a standard practice of overall code maintainability is the purest deed in the bible of developers. Organizing the complexity of code structures in different program files and managing the naming conventions is a lot of precision. Let us Compare Angular vs React in terms of Code Maintainability.
React developers, by default, wish to write clean code, but the process hampers the production time. In any which way, React enables them to write precisely correct code that works for the smaller modules. ReactJs developers can split up their code in a way that computers can use. React enables developers to write reusable components, which, in aid, promotes code re-usability. It allows developers to create custom ReactJS components with unique names that are easy to render.
On the other hand, Angular supports developers from falling prey to mismanaged and disparate code by providing Maintainable Javascript. Angular developers save massive development time using these HTML extensions and component re-usability.
Application Logic and State
When comparing React Angular, Angular offers services for the application logic. However, services are fundamental to an Angular app though they are not defined. A Service is a class with a specific purpose. Angular does not bind you to use services for app logic but does help you to make the services accessible to components via dependency injection.
React have no built-in implementation for state management, but multiple implementations exist; the most common are Flux and Redux. Redux evolves the idea from Flux and is a predictable state container for JS apps. The main principle of Redux is that all the app models have a single source of truth, the Redux store, which is a JS object tree.
Tip: Redux makes it easier to implement browser history with the back button. You just set the store state with the previous state, and the application is updated.
Self-Sufficiency
React is a JS library preferable for user interfaces development. This makes it essential to involve additional libraries in the development process, depending on the needs and requirements like Redux, React Router, or Helmet, to optimize the state management process, routing, and interaction with the API. Additional modules or libraries should be installed for data binding, routing, project generation, form validation, or dependency injection.
However, Angular is a full-fledged software development framework that usually does not require additional libraries. All the functions mentioned above, like data binding, project generation, form validation, and dependency injection – can be implemented with the Angular package.
App Structure Comparison
When considering Angular JS vs React JS. In React, you can choose as no single structure fits all of the React apps. But, you can define the structure at the inception of your development process, though sometimes it is a complex task that leads to unnecessary delay in the development process. Besides, React only presents the View layer, whereas the Model and Controller are added by using the other libraries. React supports a component-based architecture; the codes are made in the React components, rendered with the React DOM library, and are directed in two ways:
Functional (with a function that returns JSX)
function HelloWorld(props){
return Hello World {props.name}
}
and class-based (with ES6 classes).
class HelloWorld extends React.Component {
render() {
return Hello World, {this.props.name};
}
However, Angular trails a fixed and complex The Angular structure is static and difficult, suitable for experienced developers. It has three layers Model, Controller, and View. An object responsible for the Model is initialized by the Controller and displayed with the View. The application code has different Angular components, each being written in four separate files a TypeScript for implementing the component, an HTML file for defining the View, a CSS file for describing the stylistic features, and a special file for testing purposes.
Links to these files are written in the app directive, which displays the structural logic of the app. So, we can say that the Angular components are also reusable.
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
@Component({
selector: 'my-app',
templateUrl: './app.component.html',
styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent { }
React JS vs Angular 2023 - Which one is Better and Why?
We often come across a question What React have over Angular or vice versa. Well! whether we take Angular or React, both have their unique specialties and similarities, which are preferred by the product owners depending n their needs and requirements. Below are the types of points stating when you should choose between React and Angular, depending on their strengths.
Use React For Front-End Web Development When;
React will be ideal for your applications, provided that you use it in the following cases listed below. Choose React:
- When you are willing to build shareable components in your application project
- When you require an application with multiple events
- When you are looking forward to a personalized application solution
- When your development team holds expertise in CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
Get your skilled dream team that can help you build a performance-obsessed high-quality app catering to your specific business needs.
Hire React developer to build quality-rich frontend application in minimal time with 100% satisfactory results.
Use Angular For Front-End Web Development When;
Angular is an excellent framework that will be ideal for you if you consider the following cases. Choose Angular:
- If you are seeking ready-to-use solutions
- If you wish to facilitate higher productivity
- When your development team has the expertise of C#, Java, and initial/older versions of Angular
- When you wish to build a large scale feature-rich app
- If you want the application complexity to stay low to medium.
React vs Angular Use Cases
Comparing React JS vs Angular; Both technological stacks are equally efficient regarding front-end development. On the one hand, you can use React to develop a custom application with its niche specifications. On the other front, Angular have over React the ability to build feature-rich large-scale applications.
Choosing Angular is ideal when you want to build applications like video streaming applications, e-commerce applications, real-time data applications, or user-generated content portals. Many market giants have trusted Angular for their web application development. Paypal with the most constructive checkout system, the smooth functioning of Upwork, and the excellent UI of Localytics, Forbes, Nike, HBO, and more.
React is your ideal option for building Data Visualization Tools or Dashboards, Social Networks, Retail or E-commerce, or Cross-Platform Mobile Apps. Performance and modularization of the most happening and popular Netflix streaming platform, the unique celebrity appearance feature version of The New York Times, are all built using React. Also, companies like Uber, Dropbox, WhatsApp, etc., use React for their front-end development.
React vs Angular which is better for web development in 2023?
Ultimately, choosing one of the two frameworks was a topic of endless debate in React vs Angular 2022 as well. While React is a cherry on the cake for teams building applications out of a slight learning curve, Angular is an excellent option for building enterprise-grade applications having colossal development, as the Angular Learning Curve is not a strain for them.
React is an easy option because it does not require much HTML. Instead, React uses simple and easy ways to use user interfaces components again. On the other hand, Angular can handle various things solely. Although Angular appears tricky initially, it does not require any additional help. All in all, both Frameworks offer mind-blowing benefits that foresee and outweigh their limitations. On that note, we end our distinction here on React vs Angular 2023. We hope we have helped you minimize your confusion in selecting the ideal framework for front-end development.
If you are still confused about choosing Angular or React for your web application development within React vs Angular. Hire Front-End Developer and experience. How our experienced professionals will help and guide you throughout your web application development process.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The difference between Angular and React is that Angular is a full-fledged framework, and React is a library. Angular uses two-way data binding and real DOM, while React.js uses one-way data binding and virtual DOM. However, React is faster than Angular and is more compact.
React is better than Angular because of the rendering optimizations and virtual DOM implementations and because migrating between versions is easy. There is no need for a step-by-step installation in React as it is in Angular. The best part is the community support, catering to many existing solutions usable to your preference and requirements.
The VDOM of React is considerably faster than Angular’s Regular DOM. Mainly due to the efficient state changing and Virtual Tree updating within the React VDOM.
When it comes to performance bundle size and backward compatibility. React is faster than Angular mainly because of the component-driven architecture, which allows reusing components which saves both time and cost.