Angular vs React: Which is Better for 2023?
Angular vs React: Which is Better for 2023?
Angular vs React – Talking about the best front-end framework, React vs Angular will always be the talk of the town. Both are equally popular, offer various features and advantages, and are supported by two of the world’s technology giants (Google and Meta).
So, those of you who are going to build a project might be wondering, “Which framework should you choose, Angular or React?”
No need to be confused, you’re in the right place, really. In this article, we will compare Angular vs React in detail. Starting from convenience, performance, project structure, and much more.
This article also helps you determine which framework best suits your needs. Curious right? Check out this article to the end, OK!
What is Angular?
Angular is a front-end framework written in TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript. This open-source framework has been developed since 2016 by tech giant Google.
Angular offers a variety of interesting libraries and features such as Real DOM, Directives, and Code Splitting. It can be used to develop web-based or mobile-based projects.
Apart from building Google’s applications such as Assistant, Duo, and Firebase, Angular is also used by many of the world’s largest companies. Examples include Nike, PayPal, HBO, Forbes, and Sony.
What is React?
Unlike Angular, React is actually not a framework, but a library. Well, this JavaScript-based open-source library has been built by Meta (formerly Facebook) since 2013.
Although not a pure front-end framework, React is a JavaScript library that can be used to build websites and mobile applications. This is because it has typical framework features such as Virtual DOM, Library Integrations, and JavaScript XML.
React is of course the official framework for applications made by Meta, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. However, other companies such as Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb have also been noted as using React.
Angular vs React: A Complete Comparison
In order to find out which front-end framework is right for your needs, we will compare React vs Angular in eight different aspects, namely:
1. Popularity
Angular is classified as a front-end framework that is quite widely used by developers. Until this article was published, it was proven that the rating on the GitHub page had reached 78 thousand stars.
In addition, Angular is ranked as the fourth framework with the highest number of users (22.96%) based on a survey from Stack Overflow.
So, what about the popularity of Angular in Indonesia? Apparently, the Angular community in Indonesia is quite developed. Evidently, they already have official pages on Medium and GitHub, as well as a Facebook group of more than 12 thousand users.
Meanwhile, React has a popularity that far surpasses Angular. It can be seen, on the official page on GitHub and has a rating of more than 180 thousand stars.
In fact, a Stack Overflow survey also shows that React is the most popular framework in the world. The percentage of users reaches 40.14%. Well, this turned out to be directly proportional to React users in Indonesia.
It is recorded that the React Indonesia Community already has an official website, neat documentation, a Facebook group of around 25 thousand users, and quite complete learning tools.
Conclusion:
Talking about the popularity of React vs Angular, it’s clear who the winner is. React is proving to be more popular because it is used more by developers. He also has a large community, both at home and abroad.
2. Ease
So, how does Angular vs React compare in terms of ease of learning? Admittedly, Angular is a framework that is a bit difficult for novice developers to learn.
Because it is a broad and dynamic framework. One Angular package bundle consists of various Directives, Modules, Components, and so on. If you want to master Angular, you will have to learn everything.
On top of that, Angular receives frequent updates from Google. Considering that every update usually brings changes and new features, you need to put extra effort into learning Angular faster.
This is in contrast to React, which is still easier for beginners to learn. Considering that React is a minimalistic framework, it doesn’t have complicated features like Classic Templates and Dependency Injection.
Especially if you’ve learned JavaScript, mastering React will feel much easier. But don’t get me wrong, React also implements JSX, a JavaScript extension in the form of XML that is more complicated than regular JavaScript.
Not only that, you must learn about the Redux Library. This is because this library is used by more than half of React-based applications. Apart from that, it also receives regular updates so you need to learn about the changes constantly.
Conclusion:
In terms of convenience, React is still more suitable for novice developers than Angular. Even so, both of them have their own challenges that you must overcome if you want to become a good front-end developer.
3. Usability
Moving on to the uses of Angular vs React. It turns out that these two frameworks are intended for different purposes.
Angular is a very suitable framework for building medium to large-scale projects. Because, it has everything you need to speed up the project development process, with completeness.
This means that you don’t need to install third-party components every time you add a new feature to your project. On the other hand, React is more suitable for building projects on a smaller scale. This is because one React package bundle only consists of a few core components, such as the Redux Library.
However, this Redux Library is useful for speeding up the project development process. Remember, it can be used to manage the rendering process or make use of dynamic elements.
What if you want to use React for a large project? Actually, you can, but you need to install other external components to add features. This can add complexity and slow down project development.
Conclusion:
There is no winner between React vs Angular in this aspect. Because both have specific uses. Angular is for large-scale projects within an enterprise scope, while React is for smaller, more specific projects.
4. Performance
Now it’s time to test the performance of Angular vs React. Here, we use data from the Perf Track website. The website tests the performance of both based on several metrics, such as:
- First Contentful Paint (FCP) – The time it takes to display the first content to the user.
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – The time it takes to display a full page to the user.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Undesired changes to page elements (fonts, images, videos) while the page is still loading.
- First Input Delay (FID) – The time it takes for the user to be able to interact on a page.
- Time To First Byte (TTFB) – The time it takes for the page to receive the first byte of data from the server.
Here are the results Angular got in testing:
It can be seen that Angular managed to collect scores above 50% for three metrics namely CLS, FID, and TTFB. That is, it is quite stable in maintaining the website layout when the website is loading.
Besides, it doesn’t take long for users to interact on Angular-based pages. The response is also quite fast in processing bytes of data from the server.
Meanwhile, these are the performance test results for React :
Based on testing, React has successfully scored above 50% for four parameters, except for TTFB. Furthermore, its scores across three metrics, FCP, LCP, and CLS outperform Angular.
This means that React can load content or a full page more quickly. It is also very stable in maintaining website elements so they don’t change while still loading.
What is noteworthy is, React is less responsive in processing data from the server. Whereas the time it takes users to interact on React pages is only slightly different from Angular, so it’s not a significant obstacle.
Conclusion:
The performance produced by React vs Angular can be said to be quite balanced. Angular excels in interaction and response time, while React goes one step further in loading speed and layout stability.
5. Rendering
Do the Angular vs React test results affect the performance of both when rendering the server? Apparently not really. Because both of them apply server-side rendering.
That is, the page rendering process is done on the server. That way, users don’t have to wait long to view and interact with content on a page.
The advantage is that Angular utilizes a combination of JSON and client-side caching (a caching process performed in the browser) so that the page requested by the user can appear more quickly.
However, React’s rendering capabilities are just as good. Because it has a function called RenderToString which is proven to be able to maximize rendering performance on the server.
In fact, there is also a RenderToMarkup function which is useful for displaying static content (content on the page appears instantly, but not interactively) while waiting for all functions to be accessed by users smoothly.
Conclusion:
Angular vs React’s rendering capabilities are surprisingly just as good. Both are already using server-side rendering and are equipped with several additional functions to improve rendering performance.
6. Data Binding
Data binding is a technique of connecting data from the server to the client and then adjusting it. Well, React vs Angular uses a different data binding technique.
Angular is a framework that implements two-way data binding (Two-Way Data Binding). Two-Way Data Binding is known to be very efficient for displaying data from server to client, and vice versa.
Because every data change that occurs on the server will affect how it looks on the client. Vice versa. So, you don’t need to go back and forth to check the results of the changes made.
In contrast, React still implements one-way data binding (One-Way Data Binding). That is, you can only make changes to data in one direction, from server to client.
In other words, you can’t change data directly on the client. This is of course inefficient because you need to access the server every time you want to update data.
But keep in mind, React is not a pure framework. That’s why it has limitations in terms of built-in features. Among them is the use of imperfect data binding techniques.
Conclusion:
In this aspect, Angular is an absolute winner. Because Two-Way Data Binding is the most efficient data synchronization technique today. And, there is no other method that can match it.
7. Project Structure
Angular is a framework that has a fixed project structure. This means that Angular developers must comply with existing rules when using Angular. Including in terms of the use of architecture and code structure.
Well, Angular has an MVC (Model View Controller) architecture. That way, data on the project is stored in the Model, displayed via View, and managed via the Model.
Angular also has its own code structure, which separates files according to their use. TypeScript for component implementation, HTML for content structure, CSS for beautifying appearance, and a special file for testing.
Unlike React. This framework does not have a fixed project structure. That is, you are more flexible in determining the structure of the project to be built.
On top of that, React’s architecture is relatively simple. Because he only has View without Model and Controller. If you want to use the MVC architecture, you can use third-party libraries provided by React.
In addition, the structure of the code is also concise. Every code in React is made up of components. Well, the component is rendered by Virtual DOM and routed in two ways: functional via JSX and Class based via ES6.
Conclusion:
React vs Angular has a different project structure. Angular tends to be rigid but organized. Meanwhile, React is more flexible, with the option of using an architecture like Angular through additional libraries.
8. Tools
The last comparison is the tools you can use. As a JavaScript-based framework, both are supported by various tools. Good for writing coding code, and testing projects, until the process of deploying to hosting.
To set up an Angular project, there is a tool called Angular-CLI. Meanwhile, you can do the coding process using a reliable text editor, such as Visual Studio Code or Sublime Text.
Well, you can test an entire Angular project with tools like Jasmine, Karma, and Protractor. Or, you can also do a test with Augury, an extension for Chrome and Firefox users.
Meanwhile, React has a tool called Create-React-App (CLI) that you can use to set up the project for the first time. Meanwhile, the text editor that you can try is more or less the same as Angular.
The difference is, you need to use several different tools to test React projects. For example, Enzyme to test components, Jest to test coding results, React-Unit to do unit tests, and so on.
Lastly, both utilize the same environment. Namely, Node.js to carry out the deployment process on hosting. So, make sure your hosting service supports Node.js so that the deployment process can run smoothly.
Conclusion:
Angular vs React are both supported by various tools to make the process of building projects easier. Starting from the initial setup to online to the hosting service.
Angular vs React: Advantages and Disadvantages
Well, you have listened to the complete comparison between Angular vs React. What is clear, both have advantages, disadvantages, and uses of each. Here is the summary:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Angular
The advantages and disadvantages of Angular compared to React are as follows:
Advantages of Angular:
- One Angular bundle consists of one complete package, with no need to install third-party plugins.
- Using Two-Way Data Binding, so that the data synchronization process becomes more efficient.
- The project structure is more organized, using the popular MVC architecture.
- It only takes one tool to test the entire project.
Disadvantages Angular:
- Less popular and the number of communities is still small.
- Too broad and complex, so it tends to be difficult for beginners to learn.
- Slightly slow performance, especially for loading content on a page.
Final Conclusion:
Angular is the best front-end framework if you are an experienced developer. Through the completeness of the bundle, you can easily build large-scale projects, without the need to install third-party features.
Although relatively complex, Angular is the right choice if you work in a team. This is because the project structure is more organized, making it easier for the collaboration process when creating projects.
Advantages and Disadvantages of React
So, here are the advantages and disadvantages of React compared to Angular:
Advantages of React:
- Very popular and has many communities, including in Indonesia.
- It’s concise and simple, so it’s easier for beginners to master.
- More agile performance, especially for loading content and maintaining page layouts.
- Flexible, can use third-party plugins to add features.
Disadvantages of React:
- Less responsive in processing bytes of data from the server.
- Still using One-Way Data Binding, so the data synchronization process is less flexible.
- Requires several different tools to perform the test.
Final Conclusion:
React is a front-end framework that is suitable for novice developers. This is because they tend to be easy to learn and have a widespread community, both locally and internationally.
In addition, React is a concise framework, making it more suitable for building small-scale projects. Even so, it’s so flexible that you can extend its features via external components.
React vs Angular: Which One Is Best For You?
Angular vs React are two popular JavaScript-based front-end frameworks today. What is clear, both have advantages, disadvantages, and uses of each.
Angular is suitable for experienced developers to build large projects. Meanwhile, React is more aimed at novice developers with the need to create small-scale projects.
