Quick summary: Selecting suitable JavaScript libraries and frameworks can be highly confusing – mainly when several alternatives are available that are pretty effective and can satisfy the project requirements. However, selecting the best option requires awareness of several crucial factors. In this article, we will discuss Angular vs React, when to choose what, their primary comparison factors, and other important factors of both frameworks.
When it comes to building dynamic and interactive web applications, Angular and React are two of the most popular JavaScript libraries used by developers. Both Angular and React have their own unique features and strengths that make them suitable for different types of projects. When it comes to Angular, it provides a full-featured framework with a lot of built-in functionalities. It’s also a perfect choice when you want to hire Angular developers to build large-scale applications.
React, on the other hand, is a library that focuses to build reusable UI components and is often used in conjunction with other libraries for state management and routing. It’s also more flexible and can be easily integrated with other technologies. Hiring React developers can benefit your project with high performance and flexibility.
However, deciding which is the best amongst React vs Angular is still a question. Let’s see what are the prime comparison factors of both frameworks and how to pick the suitable one for your business app.
Table of Content
What is Angular?
Angular is a JavaScript (JS) framework for developing web applications. It is developed and maintained by Google, and is designed to make it easier to build dynamic, responsive user interfaces. Angular uses a declarative approach, which makes it easier to reason about the structure of an application and to manage its state.
It also offers a powerful set of tools used for building reusable components & services, as well as for debugging & testing. Angular is often used in combination with other technologies such as TypeScript, RxJS, and Firebase to build powerful, full-featured web applications.
Angular framework, also known as Angular 2+ is a complete rewrite of AngularJS (also known as Angular 1), and was first released in September 2016. AngularJS was first released in 2010 by Google and quickly gained popularity as a powerful framework for building web applications. However, as web development evolved and new challenges emerged, the Angular team at Google decided that a complete rewrite was necessary to address these issues.
This framework introduced a number of new features and improvements over AngularJS, including a more powerful template language, improved performance, and support for mobile devices. Angular also adopted a more component-based architecture, which made it easier to build and maintain large-scale applications.
Click here to know more reasons why Angular is a popular choice amongst developers.
What is React?
React is a JS library for building UIs. It was created by Facebook (FB) and is now maintained by a developer community. React allows developers to build reusable components that can be easily combined to create complex user interfaces.
One of the key features of React is its ability to efficiently update the user interface in response to changes in the underlying data. This is achieved through a process called “virtual DOM diffing,” which compares the current version of the user interface with a new version, and only updates the parts of the interface that have actually changed.
React also encourages a component-based approach to building user interfaces. React components are self-contained units that represent a piece of the user interface, such as a button or a form. These components can be easily reused across different parts of the application, and can even be shared across different projects.
React is widely used in web development and is supported by a large and active community. Many popular libraries and frameworks, such as React Native and Gatsby, are built on top of React and leverage its strengths. React is also supported by a large ecosystem of developer tools, including debugging and testing tools.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Angular
Advantages of Angular
- Two-way data binding
- Directives: AngularJS provides a set of built-in directives, such as ng-repeat and ng-show
- Dependency injection
- Unit Testing and end-to-end testing
- Huge support community
Disadvantages of Angular
- Steeper learning curve
- AngularJS can be slow when handling large amounts of data or complex user interactions.
- Limited flexibility: AngularJS is a highly opinionated framework, which can make it difficult to use with other libraries or frameworks.
Advantages and Disadvantages of ReactJS
Advantages of React
- Easy to learn framework
- Create dynamic web apps easily
- Reusable code
- ReactJS is SEO friendly
- Huge support and user community
Disadvantages of React
- Poor documentation
- JSX can be a barrier
- Constant updates can be a barrier
Angular- Popular Use Cases
Upwork
Upwork is a popular platform used by freelancers. Freelancers get to explore working opportunities from across the world. There are 10 million + freelancers who use the Angular framework. For such enterprise-level platforms- as Upwork, Angular technology maintains its functionalities smoothly and reflects any updates in just seconds.
Paypal
Paypal is a popular use case of Angular because it is a widely-used platform for online payments, and Angular is a popular JavaScript framework for building web applications. By using Angular, developers can create dynamic, interactive user interfaces for Paypal’s web-based payment system, making the process of sending and receiving money more seamless and efficient for users. Additionally, Angular’s modular architecture and reusable components can help make the development process more streamlined and efficient for Paypal’s development team.
To make your Angular app SEO-friendly one can use Angular Universal. Click here to know more.
React- Popular Use Cases
The New York Times:
Additionally, The New York Times has created an initiative for various celebrity cameos on the Oscar red carpet. The project allowed users to search for photos using filters and was developed on the Reactjs technology. The most striking feature was Reactjs, which allowed us to entirely re-render.
Netflix:
Reactjs is used by Netflix, a top-tier media streaming service, especially for low-performance gadgets. Similar to how Netflix uses the Reactjs framework to increase startup speed, increase customization, and enhance runtime performance.
When to use Angular framework?
Developers can use Angular while:
- Developing feature-rich enterprise-level application
- Creating apps with low to medium-level complexity
- Building apps with Java, C#, and Angular
When to use React framework?
Developers can use React while:
- Developing apps with HTML, JS, and CSS
- Building custom apps
- Creating an app that requires several events
- The app requires sharable elements
Angular vs React: Quick Comparison
Performance
Angular and React are both popular JavaScript libraries for building web applications, but they have some key differences in terms of performance.
Angular is a full-featured framework that provides a lot of built-in functionality and can be more complex to set up and use. However, it can be more efficient for large, complex projects with a lot of data and heavy user interactions. This is because Angular uses a two-way data binding system, which can improve performance by reducing the amount of code needed to update the view and manage the application’s state.
React, on the other hand, is a more lightweight library that focuses on building user interfaces. It uses a virtual DOM, which can improve performance by minimizing the number of changes that need to be made to the actual DOM. This can make React particularly well-suited for smaller projects and projects with simpler data structures. However, for complex projects, React can require more code and be less performant than Angular.
In summary, Angular is better suited for large and complex projects, while React is better for smaller projects and simple data structures.
Popularity Growth
Both Angular and React are popular JavaScript libraries for building web applications and have seen significant growth in popularity over the years. However, React has seen more consistent and steady growth in popularity, while Angular’s popularity has fluctuated somewhat.
React was first released by Facebook in 2013 and has since become one of the most widely used JavaScript libraries for building user interfaces. According to the State of JavaScript survey, React has consistently been one of the most popular JavaScript libraries since its release, with over 70% of developers reporting that they have used it.
Angular, on the other hand, was first released by Google in 2010 and has had a slightly more uneven popularity trajectory. According to the same survey, Angular’s popularity has fluctuated somewhat over the years, with its usage dropping after the release of Angular 2 but then rebounding with the release of Angular 4 and 5. However, Angular still has a significant number of users, with around 60% of developers reporting that they have used it.
It’s worth noting that this data is based on a survey, so it’s not a definitive measure of popularity but gives a good idea of the relative popularity of the frameworks.
Two-way data binding & One-way data binding
Angular and React handle data binding differently. Angular uses two-way data binding, while React uses single-way data binding.
In a bidirectional data binding process, any changes made to the view (the user interface) are immediately reflected in the model (the data) and vice versa. This means that when a user makes a change to the view, the model is automatically updated, and when the model is updated, the view is automatically updated as well. Angular uses two-way data binding by default, which can help simplify the process of keeping the view and model in sync.
In contrast, React uses unidirectional data flow, which means that changes made to the model are automatically reflected in the view, but changes made to the view are not automatically reflected in the model. Instead, React uses a virtual DOM which helps to minimize the number of changes that need to be made to the actual DOM, improving performance.
One-way data binding allows for more explicit control over the flow of data and can be more efficient for larger and more complex projects. Two-way data binding is more suited for smaller projects with simple data structures and can help simplify the process of keeping the view and model in sync.
It’s worth noting that React does not completely lack two-way data binding, it can be achieved by using a library such as MobX or Redux.
Code Quality
Both Angular and React can be used to produce high-quality code, but they have some differences in terms of the structure and organisation of the code.
Angular uses a component-based architecture, which means that the code is organised into different components that represent different parts of the user interface. Each component has its own template, logic, and style. This structure can help ensure that the code is well-organised and easy to understand, but it can also make the code more complex and difficult to read if not written and organised properly.
React, on the other hand, uses a functional component-based architecture, which means that the code is organised into small, reusable functions that return elements to be rendered. This approach can make the code more concise and easier to read, but it can also make it more difficult to understand the overall structure of the application if not written and organised properly.
Both frameworks encourage the use of best practices such as writing modular and reusable code, adhering to a consistent coding style, and properly documenting the code.
Testing
Both Angular and React have built-in testing capabilities, but they are implemented differently.
In Angular, testing is built-in and integrated into the framework using Jasmine as the testing framework and Karma as the test runner. Angular also has a powerful dependency injection system that makes it easy to mock dependencies for testing.
React, on the other hand, does not have built-in testing capabilities. Instead, it relies on third-party libraries such as Jest and Enzyme for testing. Jest is a testing framework that provides a way to run and structure tests, while Enzyme is a library that allows you to manipulate and traverse React components for testing.
Both Angular and React have good testing support, but React relies more on third-party libraries, while Angular has more built-in features.
Ultimately, the choice of whether to use Angular or React for testing will depend on your specific use case and what you feel most comfortable with.
Learning Curve
The learning curve for Angular and React can vary depending on a developer’s experience and background.
Angular is a full-featured framework that provides a lot of built-in functionality for building web applications. It has a large and complex syntax and requires a good understanding of concepts such as dependency injection, directives, and services. This can make it challenging for developers new to Angular to understand and get started with the framework.
React is often considered to have a gentler learning curve than Angular, as it does not have as many features and concepts to learn as Angular does. However, for a more complete development experience, React requires the use of additional libraries and tools to build a complete web application.
In general, Angular has a steeper learning curve than React, but it also provides more built-in functionality and has a more complete development experience. React has a gentler learning curve, but it requires the use of additional libraries and tools to build a complete web application.
Server-side Rendering optimizations
Both Angular and React support server-side rendering (SSR) to some degree, but the implementation is different for each framework.
Angular has a built-in mechanism for server-side rendering called Angular Universal. It uses a technology called TransferState to transfer the application state from the server to the client, which allows the client to continue where the server left off.
React, on the other hand, does not have a built-in mechanism for server-side rendering. Instead, developers must use third-party libraries, such as Next.js, to implement SSR in a React application. These libraries use a technique called “static generation” to pre-render the application on the server and send the generated HTML to the client.
In summary, Angular has built-in support for server-side rendering, while React requires the use of third-party libraries for this functionality.
UI Components Maintainability
Both Angular and React are popular JavaScript frameworks for building web applications, and they both have their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to code maintainability.
Angular is a fully-featured framework that provides a set of tools and conventions for structuring and maintaining code. It uses a component-based architecture, which can make it easier to understand and manage the relationships between different parts of the codebase. Additionally, Angular’s use of TypeScript, a typed superset of JavaScript, can help to catch errors and improve code readability. It also uses material design components for easy maintenance of code.
React, on the other hand, is a more lightweight library that focuses on building reusable UI components. It uses a virtual DOM to efficiently update the display, which can make it easier to optimise the performance of the application. However, because React is more flexible than Angular, it may require more effort to ensure that the codebase is well-structured and easy to maintain.
Ultimately, the maintainability of code in either Angular or React will depend on the specific development practices and best practices followed by the team using them.
Angular vs React: Which one is better?
It depends on the project requirements and the developer’s experience. Angular is a full-fledged framework and offers a strong opinion on how your application should be structured, while React is a library that offers more flexibility. Angular offers powerful features such as two-way data binding, while React offers one-way data binding.
React is better suited for mobile development, as it allows developers to reuse the logical part in mobile apps, with only needing to tweak the view. React also has a shorter ramp-up time, as it’s less complex than Angular. Ultimately, the best framework for you depends on your project requirements and your experience with the frameworks.
Both these frameworks are popular in their own way. So, while selecting anyone from Angular vs ReactJS, you have to keep the requirements of the business web app in mind. Match the requirements with the use cases mentioned above and you easily get the solution of which framework to pick.
Is React better than Angular, or vice versa?
Both React and Angular are popular JavaScript frameworks for building web applications, and they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The choice between them will depend on the specific requirements of the project and the preferences of the development team.
React is a lightweight library that focuses on building reusable UI components. It uses a virtual DOM to efficiently update the display, which can make it easier to optimise the performance of the application. React also has a large and active community, which has led to the development of many third-party libraries and tools. Implementing React best practices can help with easy and quick front-end development.
Angular is a fully-featured framework that provides a set of tools and conventions for structuring and maintaining code. It uses a component-based architecture, which can make it easier to understand and manage the relationships between different parts of the codebase. Additionally, Angular’s use of TypeScript, a typed superset of JavaScript, can help to catch errors and improve code readability.
React is generally considered to be more flexible and easier to learn, especially for developers who are already familiar with JavaScript. Angular, on the other hand, is often favoured for larger and more complex projects, due to its robust set of built-in features and conventions.
Ultimately, the best choice will depend on the specific requirements of the project and the preferences of the development team, and in some cases, it could be the best option to use both frameworks together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which are some famous ReactJS applications?
There are many famous applications built using ReactJS, some of the most notable ones include:
- Facebook: The social media giant uses ReactJS to build the front-end of their web and mobile applications.
- Netflix: The popular streaming service uses ReactJS to build the user interface of their web and applications..
- Airbnb: The popular vacation rental platform uses ReactJS to build the front-end of its web and applications.
- Uber: The ride-hailing company uses ReactJS to build the front-end of their web and mobile apps.
- Instagram: The popular photo-sharing app uses ReactJS to build the front-end of its web and mobile apps.
- Dropbox: The popular file hosting service uses ReactJS to build its web and mobile apps.
- Asana: The popular project management tool uses ReactJS to build the front-end of their web and mobile apps.
- Tesla: The electric car manufacturer uses ReactJS to build the front-end of their web and mobile apps, which allows users to interact with the car, check the car’s status, and perform other tasks.
- Wix: website builder platform uses ReactJS to build their web and mobile apps.
These are just a few examples of the many well-known applications that have been built using ReactJS.
Which are some famous Angular applications?
There are many famous applications built using Angular, some of the most notable ones include:
- Google: Many of Google’s web applications such as Google Analytics, Google Cloud Platform, and Google AdWords were built using Angular.
- Microsoft: Microsoft’s Office 365 web apps, Outlook.com, and OneDrive are built using Angular.
- AWS: Amazon Web Services management console was built using AngularJS.
- Weather.com: Weather.com uses AngularJS to build its website and mobile apps.
- IBM: IBM uses Angular to build its website, IBM Bluemix, and IBM Watson Studio.
- The Guardian: The Guardian newspaper uses AngularJS to build its website and mobile apps.
- Santander: Santander Bank’s website and mobile apps were built using AngularJS.
These are just a few examples of the many well-known applications that have been built using Angular. It is worth noting that Angular has undergone a significant change with the release of Angular 2, which is a complete rewrite of the original AngularJS, and it is not backward compatible.
React vs Angular- Which to choose in 2023?
Both React and Angular are popular web app development frameworks. These web frameworks are well known for their easy and lively UI development process. React is a javascript library and Angular supports both JS as well as TypeScript.
React also has React native development for mobile apps. As it is easy to learn, freshers and also experienced web developers prefer to React for developing frontend for different progressive web apps or projects. It’s good for large-scale apps.
Angular web framework is good for developing Single Page Applications. It was developed as a JS framework but now supports TypeScript too.
hence, depending on project requirements, picking up a suitable framework is a better option. Contact us anytime for cost-effective and qualitative web app development services.
