Should I learn React or Vue?
React and Vue 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 Vue and found that each of them is more useful than the other depending on what I am working on.
If you want a straightforward, easy-to-learn, reactive framework, learn Vue. On the other hand, if you want a popular library for building interactive user interfaces, learn React.
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.
Vue is a progressive Javascript framework for building web user interfaces. Vue is referred to as a rich, incrementally adoptable ecosystem that scales between a library and a full-featured framework. It is maintained by Evan You and Core Team Members.
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.
Here are some of the factors that may influence your choice of what to learn between React and Vue.
POPULARITY AND OPPORTUNITIES
If you want to learn a Javascript library or framework solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn React over Vue.
React is a very popular Javascript library, it is commonly used in the popular Javascript stack called MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node) to build full-stack web applications.
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, Vue is the fourth most popular Javascript technology behind Angular, JQuery, and React. Vue is used by 19.9% of professional developers.
Further, more developers love React than Vue. React is loved by 69.19% of developers versus 31.81% of developers who dreaded it. Vue on the other hand is loved by 63.16% of developers versus 36.84% 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 for Vue developers because React is used by many companies and startups than Vue.
However, because React is very popular and commonly used by many companies, there is going to be more competition for React opportunities than for Vue opportunities. In this regard, a Vue 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 Vue developers. According to a Stack Overflow survey, React Developers get an average salary of $69,480 per year while Vue developers get $60,148 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 Vue developers with 1 – 3 experience get a base salary of $67,132, about $8,000 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 to get a higher salary as a React developer than as a Vue 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 Vue.
Vue is easy to learn than React, if you are familiar with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, you will not have many problems getting used to Vue. It is also easy to maintain and structure big projects with Vue than with React.
Vue makes it very easy to organize and work on your projects with its Model-View-ViewModel architecture.
Contrastingly, React has a little bit of a high learning curve compared to Vue, although React is easy to pick up in its own right, it becomes a little bit difficult to debug and maintain as the project grows.
The good news is that there are many helpful resources for both React and Vue to help you learn the technologies. The React and Vue communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.
FEATURES AND APPLICATION
Vue is a feature-rich, progressive framework for building web user interfaces, Single Page Applications (SPAs), and Progressive Web Applications (PWAs).
It has an incrementally adoptable ecosystem that scales between a library and a full-featured framework. This means that you can start your project with many features and add other packages and libraries as needs arises.
Vue follows the (Model-View-ViewModel) MVVM architecture that makes it very easy to structure your applications. Vue provides official packages and libraries for routing, state management, server-side rendering, testing, and debugging.
It also extends HTML with HTML attributes called directives. It has features for easy transitions, routing, template syntax, hyperscripts, and many others.
Vue features and applications extend to other native applications. You can build your applications with Vue and reuse your code and abilities to build applications for mobile and desktop.
Vue 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 popular companies use Vue for a variety of applications. Some of the companies using Vue include Behance, Grammarly, Nintendo, BMW, Upwork, Xiami, Gitlab, Trivago, Adobe, and many others.
If your choice of a framework or library is dependent on the features that it provides, Vue is a good web framework to pick up over React.
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. Vue also uses this approach but it has more official packages and features than React.
Another notable feature of Both React and Vue is the use of a virtual Document Object Model (DOM).
This feature is used to create an in-memory data-structure cache, then it computes the resulting differences, and then update the browser’s displayed DOM efficiently. This boosts the performance of React and Vue 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, Nativescript, and Cordova applications.
For building desktop applications, React can be used with Electron.js and Tauri.
If you want to learn a Javascript frontend technology that you can also use for building mobile applications efficiently, you should learn React and use React Native for mobile apps.
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, use a beginner-friendly framework, or develop well-structured applications quickly, you should learn Vue. If you want a popular framework with many opportunities and a slightly higher salary, you should learn React.
