Angular vs. React – Which is Better for Web Development?

There are tons of frontend JavaScript frameworks available for web development, and the most rapidly used ones are React & Angular. While both Angular and React are commendable tools for web development, the ideal choice differs from project to project. So how to choose the ultimate winner when analyzing the debate between Angular vs React? 

As an experienced JavaScript developer, I weigh project requirements with the available features of the framework. Data binding capabilities, number of updates, rendering performance, building user interfaces, data flow, etc., play a crucial role in choosing the ideal JavaScript framework between Angular and React.

In this article, I’ll make a detailed Angular vs. React comparison. So businessmen, students, and developers can choose the best framework for web and app development projects.

Comparison Table – Angular vs. React

Feature	Angular	React	Winner
Year of Release	2009	2013	–
Founded By	Misko Hevery under Google	Jordan Walke under Facebook	–
Programming Language	TypeScript	JavaScript	–
Open-Source	Yes	Yes	–
Licensed Under	MIT	MIT	–
What is it?	Complete Frontend Development Framework	Frontend Development Library	Angular
Learning Curve	Steeper learning curve	Comparatively Moderate	React
Performance	High	High	Tie
Data Binding Capabilities	Two-Way	One-Way	Depends upon requirements
Support for Dependency Injection	Available	Not Available	Angular
DOM Model	Real DOM is used	Virtual DOM is used	React
Overall Development Time	Fast	Faster	React
Testing & Debugging	Can be performed with a single tool	Requires multiple tools for testing and debugging	Angular
GitHub Rating	85.1K Stars	198K Stars	React
App Structure	Fixed and Complex MVC	Flexible Component-based View Only	React

 The table above gives you an idea of the Angular vs. React comparison. Let’s dive into the details of these two JavaScript technologies.

Angular vs. React – In-depth Comparison

Angular vs. React – Analyzing Runtime Performance

Angular comes with a bidirectional data-binding process. So, each binding has dedicated watchers for analyzing modifications in the code. Moreover, that’s not all; the loop goes on until all the allocated watchers are confirmed. The result is delayed runtime performance.

In contrast, React comes with Virtual DOM & unidirectional data binding process. The virtual DOM makes the application lightweight, and the data bindings are free from dedicated watchers leading to high runtime performance for the delivered software development project.

Winner – React

Angular vs React – Which is Less Dependent on Tools?

Angular is a complete front-end solution and only requires a few external tools for software development projects. Most of the functionalities, including routing, binding, and project building, are part of this advanced framework. So, when you hire dedicated AngularJs developer, you can expect zero wastage of time otherwise incurred in integrating other libraries and frameworks for complete project development.

In contrast, React is more of a library used and treated like a framework in the programmer’s world. As such, React requires multiple other frameworks, including Redux, Router, etc., to achieve different functionalities in the project.

Winner – Angular

Angular vs React – Checking Popularity Among Developers

Platform	Angular	React
Statista Report on most used web framework as of 2022	20.39%	42.62%
GitHub Stars	85.1K Stars	198K Stars
Google Trends Worldwide Search Volume (8th to 14th Jan 2023)	37	95

Both Angular and React are quite popular JavaScript technologies worldwide. In fact, both are ranked among the top ten most widely used web frameworks worldwide. However, the Facebook-backed library React remains the true winner in terms of popularity.

The following infographic from Google Trends paints a clear picture –

There’s a huge demand for React and, consequently, React developers for web and app development projects worldwide.

Winner – React

Angular vs React – Which one has Higher Testing Capabilities? 

JavaScript is a dynamically typed language that lets the interpreters place variables a type during the runtime by conforming its value at that instant. It makes testing the code difficult and requires robust testing procedures. To resolve this issue, the Angular framework comes with multiple features, including the code’s isolation, and promotes the development of rugged code. Moreover, the available support for the dependency injection makes it convenient for the development team to debug the application.

However, React is just a little behind when comparing testing capabilities with Angular. For example, React has mocking functions that let the test function verify interactions with different code sections. The React library also comes with different test runners for providing developers with ease in testing. However, it cannot be denied that React as a library alone lacks testing capabilities as good as the Angular framework.

Winner – Angular

Angular vs React – Difference in the Programming Language

Both Angular and React are popular JavaScript technologies. However, Google discontinued support for AngularJs in January 2022. The framework has been replaced by Angular, which uses TypeScript programming language instead of conventional JavaScript. So, organizations must migrate from Angularjs to Angular to keep their website and web apps upgraded for higher security and performance. However, Angular remains a JavaScript technology as the TypeScript programming language is a syntactical superset of JavaScript & integrates optional static typing for the developers. Ultimately, it allows finding typos with convenience and easy code navigation.

Code for React can be developed using a mix of JavaScript ES6+ with JSX script resulting in the development of code similar to HTML. Based on the project’s requirements at JS Panther, we can also use TypeScript for developing code for the React-based website and app. However, TypeScript lacks native support in React.

Winner – Angular

Angular vs React – When to Choose One Over the Other

So, both offer great performance and hire JavaScript developers who use either of the two technologies to deliver high-performing websites and apps. But remember that choosing the right one will lead to high-quality code with less time and effort.

Go for Angular Framework When:

• Developing an enterprise app, single page web applications, or a mid-level complex app
• The project is not highly complex
• The project requires an optimum balance of ready-made solutions and high productivity
• You require a few events in the app
• The level of customization is low to medium

Go for React Library When:

• The app requires tons of events 
• High-end customization is required in the project
• The project must have code that can be shared with other websites, apps, or software
• The project is highly complex

That was all about the two technologies’ differences. Although I have covered everything, you should also look at a detailed description of these two technologies before making the final decision for your development project.

What is Angular?

Angular is a TypeScript-based frontend full-fledged framework developed by the tech giant Google. It is ideal for creating large-scale web apps with high scalability. The Angular framework comes with multiple features like routing, forms management, client-server communication, and more.

Features of the Angular Framework

• Based on TypeScript
• Cross-platform web development framework
• It comes with an MVC architecture
• Follows an efficient two-way data binding
• Overall, a low-code framework
• It has a reliable command-line interface
• Dependency injection

Pros of Using Angular for Web Development

• Angular is ideal for creating cross-platform apps with native capabilities. Angular with TypeScript leverages routing, dependency injection, etc., for a mobile-optimized native UI.
• The availability of many in-built features makes it easier for web developers to create top-notch websites and apps.
• Angular has several features, like template syntax, Angular CLI, routers, etc., that lead to high-speed page loading.
• World-class features like detailed documentation, command line interface, two-way data binding, differential loading, etc., facilitate faster web development.
• Angular comes with an MVC architecture that helps produce readable and testable code for the project.
• Developers can easily achieve high-seed performance for the website and app by leveraging lazy load modules and ivy renderer.
• The framework comes with a reliable and robust DI instrument that boosts the productivity of the development project.

Cons of Angular

• Angular as a framework requires a significantly higher time for developers to master. So, you cannot trust an Angular project with a novice developer.
• Angular is unsuitable for developing a small app as the framework itself is heavier. Moreover, a lack of optimization in coding practices leads to heavier websites and apps with poor speed performance.

Top Websites/Apps Developed using Angular

• Gmail 

The idea that large-scale apps perform well with Angular can be easily certified by viewing the worldwide popular emailing app Gmail. With Angular as part of the technology stack, Gmail offers high-speed performance, offline capabilities, and an engaging interface. 

• Forbes

The legendary magazine has used Angular to create rich web designs on large and small screens. Forbes is another good example of using Angular to build successful large-scale websites with intuitive user interfaces.

• Upwork

The American freelancing platform Upwork has also been designed and developed via Angular’s frontend framework. Upwork achieved seamless navigation and uncompromised speed performance using Angular for its frontend development.

• PayPal

Catering to 305 Million+ active users, Paypal has used Angular for its reliable performance. The Angular-based website delivers both incredible speed performance and ever-lasting scalability for the increasing number of users. 

What is React?

React is an open-source library designed and developed by Facebook for creating interactive UIs with ease. As a futuristic library, React comes with a virtual DOM and high rendering performance. React is based on the JavaScript programming language and is a front-end development tool. You can hire React native developers who can easily create dynamic web apps in a limited time.

Features of the React Library

• React follows JSX, a combination of HTML & JavaScript.
• React’s virtual DOM
• Follows one-way data binding
• Offers rapid web performance
• It has a component-based architecture
• Provides server-side rendering
• Supports conditional statements

Pros of Using React for Web Development

• React is open-source, provides code-reusability, and faster development cycles reduce the project’s cost significantly.
• The library was developed by Jordan Walke under Facebook and is available under an MIT license, making it a reliable tool for web development projects.
• A React web developer can easily create highly scalable single-page applications using the component-based architecture.
• It has the added benefit of high code reusability as it has a component-based architecture that lets developers create reusable UI components.
• It comes with a simpler learning curve and can be mastered by new developers in less time.
• The availability of the virtual DOM provides the developer with faster development cycles as code modification can be viewed in less time.
• React creates SEO-friendly websites and apps that have good visibility over the search engine result pages (SERPs).

Cons of React

• The React library needs better documentation.
• Learning to use JSX becomes tricky for new developers working on a React project.

Top Websites/Apps Developed using React

#Netflix 

Everyone’s favorite video streaming platform Netflix has used React significantly as part of its technology stack for the Gibbon platform. Netflix has even explained the significance of using React for achieving blazing startup speed, runtime performance, modularity, and other advantages.

#WhatsApp

The worldwide popular messaging app WhatsApp has used React on its web platform. Whatsapp on the Web decided to use React to achieve optimized speed performance and has witnessed greater success in catering to its ever-increasing popularity.

#Instagram

Instagram is largely regarded as a React-based app as it extensively uses the JavaScript library in its front-end development. Various features of the Instagram application, like its search engine performance, tags visibility without hashtags, etc., have been developed using the React library.

#Pinterest

We all use Pinterest now and then. However, do you know that the image-sharing platform Pinboard, which lets users store images, gifs, and videos, has been largely developed using the React library?

Wrapping Up

That was all about the Angular vs React. Please now choose the best technology for your development project among the most popular web frameworks. At JS Panther, we are a team of skilled JavaScript professionals. We weigh a project over various parameters to select the right technology tools for high-quality code development.

Connect with us for a free consultation on your web development project.