Angular is a web development framework that provides APIs, libraries, and tools to streamline application development. Despite being a mature, secure, and well-maintained framework—Angular’s popularity has steadily declined in the last few years. In comparison, Angular alternatives like React and Vue.js have witnessed increased demand and popularity.
In this article, we explore the pros and cons of Angular and several alternatives you can use instead.
Why consider alternatives to Angular?
Angular adopts the familiar MVC development style but uses a component-based architecture. You can decompose your user interface into components that encapsulate the functionality of each section. Each component has a template (view) and logic (class) that define a part of the user interface.
Components are strictly hierarchical and encourage code reuse and readability. You can build applications without worrying about CSS and JavaScript.
Despite these advantages, Angular code isn’t as developer-friendly as expected. The language is verbose, and developers often waste time doing repetitive tasks unrelated to application development.
Complexity and learning curve
Component management in Angular is complex and may require several files per component. You also have to learn many concepts before you can get started with them. For example,
- Modules—Blocks that organize code and manage dependencies. Each module can contain components, services, and other modules.
- Services—Reusable classes that encapsulate business logic, data fetching, or shared functionality.
- Dependency injection—A design pattern used in Angular. Services are injected into related modules.
You also need to be familiar with TypeScript and RxJS, a reactive library for asynchronous programming. Angular error messages are also cryptic; many developers claim they require additional research and trial-and-error to understand them fully. All this introduces a steep learning curve and ongoing maintenance challenges.
Performance
Angular implements the Model-View-Controller(MVC) pattern that divides any application into three interconnected components:
- Model—This represents the application's data and business logic. It interacts with the database and is independent of the user interface.
- View—Displays data to the user and sends user inputs to the Controller.
- Controller––coordinates the data flow between the Model and the View.
Angular has a two-way data binding mechanism that automatically synchronizes data between the model and the view. It continuously checks and updates the view whenever the model changes and vice versa. This feature can introduce performance overheads, especially in large applications with many bindings. The large size and number of Angular code files can also extend initial load times. Angular’s pre-rendering feature displays elements faster, but nothing happens if the user interacts with them. This makes the application appear less responsive.
Project suitability
Angular is a general-purpose web framework that may not fit every project best. For example, Angular’s complex change detection mechanism can introduce latency in real-time data handling use cases like live chat applications. Its inherent complexity and size can increase memory usage, impacting graphics-heavy apps. Similarly, smaller projects can feel over-engineered if built solely in Angular.
Key criteria for choosing a frontend framework
Moving away from Angular requires careful evaluation of other related frameworks. Here are some criteria to consider
Opinionated or unopinionated
Opinionated web frameworks impose conventions and paradigms on how an application should be structured and built. They enforce a "right way" to do things like pre-defined architecture, tools, or patterns that developers are expected to follow. It is hard to move away from the framework’s structure. Strongly opinionated frameworks introduce learning curves and complexity. Less opinionated frameworks can lead to code sprawl and redundant code. You want a framework that balances structure and flexibility.
Ease of learning
You require a framework that is conceptually easy to grasp and use even by a team of less experienced developers. It should implement familiar paradigms and patterns and not require developers to learn framework-specific concepts. It should also provide comprehensive documentation with tutorials, examples, and API references.
Performance
Application speed and responsiveness determine the framework's performance. The framework should offer faster rendering times without compromising responsiveness. It should minimize re-renders and efficiently manage state changes so your application remains fast even under peak load.
Integration
The framework should provide built-in integrations with various backend protocols and technologies. It should also support a range of build tools and CI/CD pipelines for more flexibility. At the same time, you don’t want to bring your own backend for every project. The framework should allow you to build a backend within itself if necessary.
Community and support
While an active community is valuable for knowledge sharing, enterprise projects benefit from vendor-backed support. Premium services like live chat, video calls, and one-on-one assistance ensure faster resolutions and priority access to development resources. Vendor-backed support is ideal for organizations needing guaranteed response times and tailored solutions for critical applications.
Overview of popular Angular alternatives
Next, let's go over some popular Angular alternatives.
React
React is technically not a framework but a JavaScript library developed and maintained by Facebook. It is less opinionated and more flexible than Angular. It uses the component-style architecture but with fewer rules around component hierarchy and management.
React uses a lightweight, in-memory representation of the actual DOM called virtual DOM for faster rendering.
One only downside is that React is not a full-stack framework. You can bring your own backend or use a React framework like Next.js or Hilla. Other limitations arise because React is a client-side-only framework, meaning the application code primarily runs in the browser. This has security implications—for instance, code can be exposed to potential attacks like cross-site scripting (XSS). Users can manipulate the client-side code using tools like browser developer tools. It can also impact performance. For example, mobile browsers have less processing power and memory than desktop browsers, which can cause performance issues for some users.
Vue.js
Vue.js is an incrementally adoptable JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. You can use it for front-end development in existing projects or start from scratch. It offers straightforward syntax and is easy to learn and use. It also uses virtual DOM and reactive data binding for faster performance than Angular.
The downside is a less active developer community and the absence of enterprise support options. You also have to bring your own backend framework, like React.
Svelte
Svelte is a relatively new JavaScript framework that offers a unique approach by shifting much of the rendering work to the compile step. Instead of relying on a Virtual DOM, Svelte compiles components into highly efficient imperative code that directly manipulates the DOM. This makes Svelte applications lightweight and highly performant.
However, being new, Svelte offers limited integrations and support, making it less practical for many use cases.
Ember.js
Ember.js is a mature and opinionated JavaScript framework for building complex web applications. It follows a convention-over-configuration philosophy, providing a structured and standardized approach to development. Ember’s ecosystem includes tools like Ember CLI and Ember Data for a complete development environment. The downside, of course, is less flexibility to mix and match existing projects.
Introducing Vaadin as an Angular alternative
Vaadin is a full-stack platform designed for Java developers to build modern, responsive web applications. Unlike Angular and other frameworks that require working with JavaScript or TypeScript, Vaadin allows you to avoid HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, abstracting the complexity of web development so you can focus on writing application logic.
Vaadin offers two primary frameworks that can be used independently or together within the same project:
- Vaadin Flow: Enables building web applications entirely in Java without the need for HTML or JavaScript.
- Hilla: Combines a Spring Boot Java backend with a reactive TypeScript frontend, providing a modern, full-stack development experience.
This flexibility allows you to tailor the technology stack to your project's specific needs, either by using one framework on its own or combining both for more complex use cases.
Key benefits of Vaadin
Java-based
Vaadin allows you to build both the front and back end in Java, simplifying development and reducing the need for context switching. You can leverage existing tools, such as IDEs, build systems, and debugging techniques, to create web applications without learning new languages.
Ease of use
Vaadin is less opinionated than Angular and doesn't introduce new framework-specific concepts for developers to learn. It provides well-structured documentation and enterprise support options. You can build your app from start to finish without multiple technologies.
Rich set of components
Vaadin offers a rich set of over 50 pre-built UI components that cover a wide range of common web application needs. The components are designed to be customizable and extendable, allowing developers to tailor them to fit specific application requirements. You don't require third-party libraries for basic functionality, but the simple component architecture allows you to create your own components as needed.
Productivity
Vaadin uses a declarative programming model, allowing you to define the UI and behavior concisely and readably. It is designed to reduce the boilerplate code required to build web applications.
As a full-stack platform, Vaadin handles much of the client-server communication automatically. This approach leads to faster development cycles and easier maintenance.
Comparing Vaadin with Angular and other alternatives
Here is a table summarizing how Vaadin compares with Angular and its alternatives.
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To summarize:
- Angular and Ember.js are more opinionated, offering rigid structuring that compromises flexibility and performance.
- React, Vue.js, and Svelte offer more flexibility and performance but compromise reliability and long-term maintenance.
- Vaadin stands out for its strong integration with the Java backend. It is the only full-stack platform that offers performance and reliability to build long-lasting enterprise apps.
Why Norse Feedback shifted from Angular to Vaadin
Norse Feedback, a Norwegian health tech company, switched from Angular with REST backend to Vaadin Flow to build a feedback tool for mental health care. The tool is used by thousands of mental health practitioners in multiple countries.
The Norse Feedback team was dissatisfied with Angular’s performance as it took longer to bring new features to production. The performance was also not what they expected.
They switched to Vaadin so the development team could work in familiar Java without worrying about CSS. They could roll out new features faster and confidently, knowing the app will work as expected across a range of supported devices. They invested in Vaadin support, meaning they had a Vaadin mentor working with them to bring their app to life.
"Having a Vaadin mentor onboard is invaluable. They provide deep framework insights, expedite ticket escalation, and have enabled customized feature backporting to meet our specific project requirements. Their expertise was pivotal in the rapid completion of our project."— Norse Feeck CTO Rolf Woll.
Final thoughts
Angular is one of many front-end development frameworks available. Most teams choose between Angular and React, but both have pros and cons. Additionally, front-end development frameworks still require additional knowledge of JavaScript, TypeScript, and other front-end technologies. A full-stack platform like Vaadin lets you work in Java from start to finish, abstracting many development complexities for rapid project delivery.
Take Vaadin for a spring! Start a new project at start.vaadin.com or follow the Get Started tutorial.