Should I learn React or Angular?
React and Angular are popular Javascript frameworks for building frontend applications. The choice you make on which one to learn depends on your needs and goals.
I have used both React and Angular and found that each of them was more useful than the other depending on what I was working on.
If you want to work on large enterprise applications, Angular is a great framework to learn. On the other hand, if you want to build interactive user interfaces quickly, React is a great library to learn.
React is a front-end JavaScript library used for building user interfaces based on UI components. It is maintained by Meta and a community of individual developers and companies. It uses Javascript and has support for Typescript out of the box using Create React App.
Angular is a web application framework developed by the Angular Team at Google. It is maintained by Google and a community of individual developers and corporations. Angular uses Typescript, a superset of Javascript.
There are many factors to consider when learning a new technology. Popularity, opportunities, salaries, resources, learning curve, etc. are some of the factors that many people consider when choosing to learn a language or a framework.
POPULARITY AND OPPORTUNITIES
If you want to learn a Javascript library or framework solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn React.
React and Angular are very popular, they are both used in the popular Javascript stacks called MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) and MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, Node.js). Ultimately, React is more popular than Angular.
React is the most popular Javascript frontend technology. According to a Stack Overflow survey of 2022, React is the most commonly used Javascript frontend technology, it is used by 44.31% of professional developers.
On the other hand, Angular is the third most popular Javascript technology used by 23.06% of professional developers.
Further, more developers love React than Angular. React is loved by 69.19% of developers versus 31.81% of developers who dreaded it. Angular on the other hand is loved by 52.27% of developers versus 47.73% of developers who dreaded it.
So, if your choice of what to learn depends on the technology that is popular, you should learn React. Plus, there are more opportunities for React Developers than Angular developers because React is used by many companies and startups than Angular.
However, because React is very popular and commonly used by many companies, there is going to be more competition for React opportunities than for Angular opportunities. In this regard, an Angular developer may get a job easily because of less competition.
SALARIES
Another popular criterion that many people use as an incentive to learn a library or framework is salary. Salaries for developers differ from one company to the other and from one country to the other.
Experience is another factor that comes into play as far as salaries are concerned. The more experience you have with a certain technology, the more likely you are of getting a higher salary.
Generally, React developers get slightly higher salaries than Angular developers. According to a Stack Overflow survey, React Developers get an average salary of $69,480 per year while Angular developers get $60,528 per year.
Glassdoor reported that in the United States, React developers with 1 – 3 experience get a base salary of $75,685 per year and Angular developers with 1 – 3 experience get a base salary of $72,646, just slightly lower than React Developers.
So, if the salary is your major incentive for learning a language or framework, you should learn React, because you are more likely of getting a slightly higher salary as a React developer than as an Angular developer.
BEGINNER FRIENDLINESS
Some frameworks and libraries can be learned more easily than others. If you want a Javascript frontend technology that you can easily pick up and develop user interfaces (UIs) quickly, you should learn React.
React is easy to learn than Angular, if you are familiar with Javascript, you will not have many problems getting used to React. However, as the project grows, it becomes a little bit difficult to debug and maintain.
Contrastingly, Angular has a higher learning curve than React, Angular uses Typescript by default, if you are not familiar with Typescript, it is a superset of Javascript that adds optional static typing to Javascript. Angular makes it easy to manage and debug huge applications.
The good news is that there are many helpful resources for both React and Angular to help you learn the technologies. The React and Angular community is very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.
FEATURES AND APPLICATION
Angular is a feature-rich, full-fledged web framework, it has all the features you need to develop large-scale enterprise applications, Single Page Applications (SPAs), and Progressive Web Applications (PWAs).
It provides advanced features like dependency injection, differential loading, lazy loading, Angular services, etc.
Angular follows the MVC architecture which makes it very easy to structure your applications. Angular provides tools for testing and debugging. it also provides two-way binding, wherein the model state changes as the data changes.
Angular features and applications extend to other native applications. You can build your applications with Angular and reuse your code and abilities to build apps for, mobile web, native mobile, and native desktop.
It can be used to build mobile applications using platforms like the Ionic framework, Cordova, or Nativescript. It can also be used to build Desktop applications using Electron.js or Tauri.
Many famous enterprises use Angular for a variety of applications. Some of the companies using Angular include Google, Microsoft, Udacity, Wix, Paypal, Santander, and many others.
If your choice of a framework or library is dependent on the features that it provides, Angular is the best web framework to pick up.
On the other hand, React is a Javascript library that has basic features to get you started with your projects. It has many amazing features that give React applications faster performance.
However, React is only concerned with state management and rendering that state to the DOM. This means that creating React applications requires the use of additional libraries for many client-side functionalities.
This has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, if you cannot find a package that you need for your app (which is extremely rare), you will have to build it yourself from scratch.
The advantage is that you will only use the features and packages that you need, with no extra unused features. Contrast that with Angular where you get all the features including those that you don’t need.
Another notable React feature is the use of a virtual Document Object Model (DOM). React creates an in-memory data-structure cache, then it computes the resulting differences, and then updates the browser’s displayed DOM efficiently. This boost the performance of React apps.
React can also be used for Desktop and mobile applications. React Native is one of the most popular cross-platform frameworks used to build mobile applications. React can also be used with Ionic and Cordova applications.
For building desktop applications, React can be used with Electron.js and Tauri.
CONCLUSION
Once you have evaluated all the factors, you can choose which Javascript frontend technology to learn depending on the factors that are on your side.
If you want to learn easily, develop applications quickly, and earn a slightly higher salary then you should learn React. If you want to work on large enterprise applications, use great features out of the box, and leverage the full power of Typescript, you should use Angular.
