React vs. Vue vs. Angular vs. Svelte: A Deep Dive

This article compares four popular JavaScript frameworks: React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte. It explores their evolution, usage statistics, ease of learning, code comparison, and scalability.

Framework Popularity

The frameworks' popularity is assessed through NPM downloads, GitHub stars, Stack Overflow activity, and Reddit users. While React dominates in NPM downloads, indicating widespread use, the other frameworks show significant community engagement across different platforms.

<figure><div><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>NPM weekly downloads (March 25, 2025)</strong></td><td><strong>Downloads</strong></td></tr><tr><td>React</td><td>33,918,683</td></tr><tr><td>Vue</td><td>6,302,238</td></tr><tr><td>Angular</td><td>3,683,390</td></tr><tr><td>Svelte</td><td>1,795,976</td></tr></tbody></table> </div><figcaption>NPM weekly downloads snapshot.</figcaption></figure><figure><div><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>GitHub Stars (March 25, 2025)</strong></td><td><strong>Stars</strong></td></tr><tr><td>React</td><td>234,000</td></tr><tr><td>Vue</td><td>209,000</td></tr><tr><td>Angular</td><td>97,300</td></tr><tr><td>Svelte</td><td>82,000</td></tr></tbody></table> </div><figcaption>GitHub stars indicating developer interest.</figcaption></figure>

Ease of Learning and Use

The article ranks the frameworks based on ease of learning and use:

1. Svelte
2. Vue
3. React
4. Angular

Svelte is highlighted for its clear and easy-to-understand code.

Code Comparison

Code samples for a simple counter component are provided for each framework, illustrating their syntax and structure. Svelte showcases the most concise syntax, while Angular remains the most verbose.

// React
import React, { useState } from 'react';

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

// Angular
import { Component, signal } from '@angular/core';

@Component({ selector: 'app-counter', standalone: true, template: <p>Count: {{ count() }}</p> <button (click)="increment()">Increment</button> }) export class CounterComponent { count = signal(0);

increment() { this.count.update(value => value + 1); } }

Scalability and Performance

All frameworks offer tools for building highly optimized and scalable applications, including code splitting and server-side rendering. The choice depends on the specific use case.

Conclusion

The article concludes that while React holds the dominant position due to widespread adoption, exploring other frameworks like Svelte (for its simplicity) and Angular (for its advancements) is worthwhile, especially for those seeking a different developer experience.