Angular vs React: A Detailed Comparison of Popular Frontend Development Tools

It is sometimes quite hard to choose the proper JavaScript framework or library for front end development. Each project has specific requirements that one tool fulfils more than the other. Angular and React are among the best front end development technologies out there today. 

Angular meets specific organizational requirements more than React, while many developers find React a better alternative for creating highly dynamic UIs (user interfaces) for web applications. Web developers can also create native cross-platform applications for iOS and Android with React and React Native.

However, Angular offers ready-made solutions that can be used for enterprise applications and developing a responsive UI/UX (user interface/user experience) for large-scale platforms. 

Further, large-scale platforms such as Paypal, Sony, HBO and CRM (customer relationship manager) platforms benefit from Angular, while React is used for immersive and powerful applications like Netflix, Uber, and Instagram. 

In full stack web development, Angular is a part of the MEAN stack, while React is a part of the MERN stack. The other tools in the two stacks are all the same (MongoDB, Express.js, and Node.js), except the front-end development framework or library. Let, explore more about the major difference between Angular vs React in detail.

What is Angular?

Angular is a JavaScript-based front-end development platform. It is a JavaScript framework used for building web applications and websites using TypeScript. Angular is a component-based framework, making it easy for developers to build highly scalable platforms.

The Angular Team developed angular at Google, and Google is in charge of updating and maintaining the platform. The framework also offers many libraries, integrations, and features that allow enterprise-grade platforms to be built on Angular. Further, Angular is open-source, and anyone can contribute to the framework.

Unlike React, Angular is focused on highly responsive web applications that adapt to any device and resolution rather than rendering UIs without refreshing the web page. Let’s learn more about Angular vs React further in this guide.

What is React?

React is also a JavaScript-based front-end development platform. However, it is a JavaScript library and not a framework. But it is as powerful as any other available framework. Meta (Previously Facebook) developed the library, keeping highly immersive UIs in mind. 

The library is the best front-end technology for building single-page applications and platforms. React also offers a component-based development experience that promotes code reusability and speeds up development time drastically. The library allows highly graphical and interactive UI/UX to be built quickly.

React is great for building web applications that do not need to reload pages and have synced URLs. Stay tuned to understand major difference between Angular vs React.

Angular vs React: The Main Differences Between Angular and React

Both Angular and React are JavaScript-based, but you must use separate scripts and syntax as a developer. Why? Projects are developed in Angular using TypeScript, while you need to know JSX (a syntax extension of JavaScript) to use React effectively. Let’s see major points of difference in Angular vs React.

Angular vs React: What to Choose?

Let’s see in case of Angular vs React when to choose what?

Angular vs React: A Comparison of Pros and Cons

Let us understand the major area of Angular vs React in terms of advantages and disadvantages.

Pros & Cons of Angular:

• Pros:

– Comprehensive framework that includes everything you need to build a web application

– Built-in support for Dependency Injection (DI)

– Excellent performance due to Shadow DOM

– Easy to maintain and test

– Good documentation and support

• Cons:

– Steep learning curve

– Large and complex codebase

– Difficult to create small, simple applications

Pros & Cons of React:

• Pros:

– Lightweight library that allows developers to build complex user interfaces using reusable components

– Faster than Angular due to the use of Virtual DOM

– Easy to learn and use, especially for developers familiar with JavaScript

– Excellent community support and documentation

– Good for building single-page applications (SPAs) and mobile applications

• Cons:

– No built-in support for Dependency Injection (DI)

– No official documentation from Facebook

– Not a complete framework, and developers may have to use additional libraries or tools to build a complete application

Angular vs React: A Comparison of the Benefits

Let us understand the major area of Angular vs React in terms of benefits.

Benefits of Angular

• Angular provides a ready-made solution for quick data-driven web applications that are extremely powerful
• Rapid rendering of server-side functions
• Angular is highly secure and the framework is known for its code efficiency and reliability
• Ability to render JavaScript views that are blocked by browser-side JavaScript blockers
• Model-view-controller capabilities while developing views
• Various in-built features allow events to be handled independently and data to be exchanged at a rapid pace for large platforms
• Easy to debug and fix code
• Responsiveness and high optimization
• Parallel running of components

Benefits of React

Here are the benefits of using React:

• Reusable UI components and easy to handle views
• React is fast and allows data to be changed or relayed without pages getting reloaded
• React supports native applications with React Native
• Interactive functionalities and intuitive development process
• React works exceptionally well with Node.js and many other JavaScript-based technologies
• A huge number of React libraries and integrations
• Offers state containers such as React-Redux
• Advanced functionalities using JSX that are converted into JavaScript for the browser-side

Angular vs React: Companies

Let us understand the major area of Angular vs React in terms of companies that uses them.

Companies that use Angular

Companies use Angular to build a large platform that has a diverse number of functions. These web applications look and act like websites and have separate links that are rendered once the new page is refreshed and opened.

For instance, on a platform such as Upwork, the front-end needs to be able to bring up results in a matter of seconds from complex searches. There are also many instances where clients or freelancers need to interact with complex functions. Thus, all of these functions are rendered smoothly from the backend to GUI (Graphical User Interface) with the help of Angular. Also, Angular’s security features greatly help other web applications such as Paypal that greatly benefit from a secured payment environment.

The organizations that use Angular are:

• Google
• Paypal
• Sony
• Upwork
• HBO
• Nike
• Localytics
• General Motors
• Forbes

Companies that use React

Companies use React to provide a look and feel of a highly graphical software or native application. Web applications built using React do not need to refresh the page when links are clicked on and have the ability to render multiple events on the current page.

React is used by companies such as Netflix to provide a smooth experience in cross-platform devices and especially for low-performing devices. Netflix also used React to improve the boot speed of the platform and the runtime performance of the media streaming application. React also offers modularization, which dramatically enhances how views are loaded in web applications such as Uber or Instagram. 

The organizations that use React are:

• Uber
• Instagram
• Netflix
• Dropbox
• Facebook
• The New York Times
• Whatsapp
• Airbnb

Performance of Angular JS v React JS

When it comes to performance, both Angular and React are known to be able to render the front-end extremely fast. However, when it comes to React JS v Angular JS in terms of cross-platform performance, React always comes out as the winner.

But, Angular is known for faster data-driven performance in large-scale platforms than React’s modularized performance which works best for single-page applications that do not need to be reloaded.

Angular is also better for projects that do not require two-way data binding. However, React is much better for projects that continuously relay and exchange data for rendering views on the current page without the need to be redirected to another URL.

Angular also works around a real DOM, while React works with a virtual DOM, enhancing remote connectivity.

React also allows much more customization and ground-level changes as compared to Angular. Thus, React’s performance is much better for dynamic applications that host files and large amounts of data. Also read about top trending technology in 2023.

More than anything, React performs the best under conditions such as bad internet bandwidth, low connectivity, and the weak hardware of devices. This is especially true for server-side rendering of applications where React is significantly faster than Angular.

Testing in Angular JS v React JS

This is one of the major areas of focus while comparing Angular vs React. Using Angular, you are able to isolate units of code and test them. Angular also has features such as dependency injection that allow you to test the dependencies of components to evaluate these components. With Angular, we can also evaluate how secure the front-end environment will be for sensitive data transactions.

React allows you to write tests for sections that do not already exist in the testing environment. Using React, you can monitor various parts of a function and predict the various interactions with other units. React also allows you to evaluate any possible glitches in data fetching. These are the major differences of Angular vs React in terms of testing.

Learning Curve of Angular JS v React JS

There are various differences between Angular vs React. So, is React or Angular better? It depends on what kind of coding environment you prefer and what skills you are comfortable with. It is quite easy to learn JSX if you know JavaScript, and you can use a single language for all the technologies in a stack such as MERN. 

With Angular, you must learn TypeScript to use the framework effectively. Angular also has a steeper learning curve that developers have difficulty dealing with. React also has better documentation and is much simpler to learn than Angular or any other framework. 

When it comes to quality of code and code maintainability, React again comes out to be the winner as you can delve into the details and play around with components to fully use the potential of HTML and CSS. Though Angular also combines HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, the framework is much more limited as compared to React.

If you were wondering about the differences between React and Angular, then it is mostly the development experience and the skills required for each. The difference between React and Angular lies in the rendering and server-side performance, as both the platforms are equally powerful in terms of building web applications.

React also offers much higher levels of code reusability, which speeds up the process for developers. So, what is easy, React or Angular? It is definitely React.

A solid full stack developer course online, such as the Online Certification in Full Stack Development, will teach you React with the other technologies in the MERN stack. These are the major differences of Angular vs React in terms of learning curve.

Angular vs React: When to Choose What?

Choosing between Angular vs React depends on several factors, including project requirements, developer experience, and team preferences. 

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored the key features of Angular vs React, their pros and cons, and when to choose Angular vs React. In the world of front-end technology, Angular vs React are two of the most popular frameworks used to build dynamic, scalable, and responsive web applications. While both frameworks share some similarities, they have some significant differences that developers must consider before choosing Angular vs React to use for a particular project. 

Choosing the right web development framework – angular js vs react js – is critical to the success of your project. Angular vs React are both excellent frameworks, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. Consider your project requirements carefully and choose the framework that best meets your needs. A comparison to understand the difference between Angular and React is advised.