Angular vs React: which one is better?

For businesses all over the world, the quality of their web and mobile applications can mean the difference between a higher conversion rate and a stagnant one. It’s no surprise then that several UI development tools, such as Angular and React, are available for front-end developers. But, like in any industry that has a lot of modern tools, there is one prominent question - which one is best? 

In today’s article, we’ll explore the key differences between Angular vs React, so that we can help you answer that question. 

What is Angular? 

Naturally, we can’t discuss which tool is the best without first addressing each one in more detail. Let’s start with Angular. 

Angular is a TypeScript-based, fully-fledged Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework that helps developers build high-quality web applications. 

Tip: MVC is a popular software design pattern for organizing code and developing user interfaces (UIs). 

Key features 

We’ve revealed some of Angular's most noteworthy features below to help you get a better idea of its usefulness.

TypeScript 

TypeScript is the high-level programming language that Angular is based on, and - simply put - it’s the upgrade to JavaScript. 

Not only is TypeScript more readable, expressive, and maintainable than JavaScript, but TypeScript’s code is also easier to debug as the codebase grows. This is because, with TypeScript, developers can catch type errors at compile time rather than runtime. 

Tip: Compile time relates to the time period in which your application’s source code is converted into executable machine code. Runtime, as its name suggests, is the period of time in which your program is running.

Two-way data binding 

Two-way data binding relates to how changes in the data will automatically update an application’s UI and how changes in the UI will automatically update the data. 

It’s a simpler approach to data binding, requires less code from the developer, and makes the app’s UI more responsive, dynamic, and user-friendly. Angular supports two-way data binding, which conveys data to end-users, who can then change it by interacting with the UI. 

Progressive Web Apps 

Progressive Web Applications, or PWAs, are apps that developers use web platform technologies to build. 

Essentially, PWAs are web apps that look and function like mobile apps, resulting in high-speed performances, better responsive designs, and increased user engagement. 

Angular makes building PWAs completely painless. In fact, it’s as painless as simply adding a few lines of code to an app’s configuration. 

Angular CLI 

Angular CLI stands for Angular Command Line Interface, a tool that allows developers to scaffold, initialize, develop, test, launch, and even maintain their Angular applications directly from a command shell. 

Tip: A command shell is a computer program that allows you to control a computer using commands entered via a keyboard. 

Ultimately, Angular CLI grants developers the ability to automate the development workflow, streamlining the overall process. 

MVC Architecture 

As you know, Angular adopts the Model-View-Controller software design pattern. This pattern separates an application into a trio of central components, including the following: 

1. The model, which represents the data. 
2. The view, which represents the user interface. 
3. The controller, which manages the interaction between the data and the UI. 

This separation makes it simple to organize a web application’s various functionalities, especially in large-scale apps. It also makes it much easier to test and debug said large-scale apps. 

Benefits and challenges of Angular

In the nature of helping you settle your own ‘when to use Angular vs React’ debate, we’ve listed some of the pros and cons of using Angular, starting with the pros. 

• Like React, Angular is also component-based, meaning you can use reusable UI elements and save valuable time. 
• As you know, thanks to Angular CLI, developers can automate crucial development workflows. An added benefit of this is that Angular developers can establish high-quality code consistency throughout their applications. 
• Since Angular uses TypeScript, developers can identify and fix errors early in the development process, resulting in better-quality code. 
• Thanks to Angular’s built-in testing mechanisms, developers can easily write unit tests and end-to-end tests. 

Now, let’s shift focus and look at some of the drawbacks of using Angular for application development. 

• Angular has a very steep learning curve, which can create significant obstacles for inexperienced developers. 
• It has been known that Angular apps have a substantial bundle size, which can lengthen the application’s initial load times. 
• Angular involves a lot of boilerplate code, which is known to be tedious and error-prone. 
• When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Angular has limited options and poor accessibility for search engine crawlers, which find, read, and store websites in search results. 

What is React? 

React is a front-end, component-based JavaScript library that enables developers to create interactive user interfaces efficiently. 

Thanks to React’s component-based nature, developers who use it no longer have to worry about spending time rewriting code that already exists. Instead, they can simply use reusable UI components. 

Key features 

As we did with Angular, we have also looked at some of the most notable features of React. 

Virtual DOM 

From this feature alone, React already has a slight edge over Angular, so let’s explore the function of the Virtual DOM. 

The Virtual Document Object Model (DOM) is a lightweight copy of the Real DOM; something that the Virtual DOM is kept in memory and synced with. With a Virtual DOM, you don’t need to worry about how updating your app’s UI will impact the Real DOM - you can simply test them out on the Virtual DOM. 

As you can imagine, this makes rendering processes much simpler and more efficient since you don’t need to manipulate the Real DOM directly. 

One-way data binding 

Unlike Angular’s two-way data binding, where any changes to an app’s UI or underlying data will automatically update the other, React only supports one-way data binding. 

React’s one-way data binding means that any data changes will be reflected in the automatic updates of the UI, but not the other way around. With React, changes in the UI will not automatically update the data within it. 

Although this can mean more work for developers, one-way data binding makes it easier to trace and debug the source of any data changes. 

Reusable components 

As a UI library, React supports an abundance of reusable UI elements, allowing developers to create and reuse the building blocks of their applications easily. 

These reusable UI components can also be combined to build more complex user interfaces, making React a perfect tool for scalability. 

Community support 

React has a very active and expansive community of professional, high-skilled developers and designers. 

With a strong community behind you, you have access to a consistent flow of advice and assistance, helping you resolve the immediate issue and continue to grow as a developer. Best of all, since it’s likely that a developer has already come up with a solution to your problem, you’ll save the time that you would’ve otherwise spent coming up with your own. 

JSX 

JSX is React’s syntax extension to JavaScript, and it enables developers to write HTML-like code in React applications, which is often more intuitive for web developers. 

The idea of JSX is that it looks like HTML code, but it is actually JavaScript. But given that JSX is more concise, expressive and readable than JavaScript, JSX is one React feature that is essential for creating dynamic, interactive code. 

React benefits and challenges 

Again, just like we did with Angular, we have listed the benefits and challenges that developers experience when using React below. 

Let’s start with the advantages of React. 

• React can help you make your web applications more SEO-friendly, thanks to its server-side and dynamic rendering features, as well as its meta tags. 
• React is versatile, allowing designers to build a wide variety of desktop, iOS, and Android applications. 
• Since after every one of React’s updates, its Application Programming Interface (API) stays the same, you won’t have to worry about breaking changes. Breaking changes relate to a change in one part of a software system that causes other components to fail. 
• Thanks to React’s Virtual DOM, rendering can be much faster, resulting in a better experience for an application’s users. 

Now, let’s look at the disadvantages that developers have often encountered when using React. 

• React’s documentation lacks the right amount of depth and detail to be completely helpful, especially to new developers. 
• React’s library undergoes updates every few months. These rapid changes can be hard for developers to keep up with. 
• React is a JavaScript library, rather than a fully-fledged framework like Angular. This means you may need to rely on third-party tools and libraries to build your application. 
• The performance of React’s applications doesn’t hold up on older devices or in areas of poor connectivity, which can negatively impact the user’s experience. 

Angular vs React: which one should you choose? 

There are many factors unique to your needs that will determine the best tool for you, including your budget, experience, skills, and deadlines. 

For that reason, there is no standard answer to the question, ‘Which one should you choose?’ That said, we can still provide you with more information that will point you in the right direction. 

Making the right choice with Tapptitude 

One thing that we can say for certain is that - regardless of the tool you use - you’ll need Tapptitude to help you master it.  

We’re a full-stack product studio that will guide you through the entire process of product creation. During the initial ideation phase, we’ll listen to your needs and help you clarify your main objectives and unique advantages over your competitors. From there, we’ll help you bring your ideas to life (think user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes). By the end of our partnership, you’ll have a product that has been successfully developed and designed and has undergone thorough QA testing. Best of all, we’ll see you through your product’s launch and maintenance, and when you’re ready to scale your business, we’ll be right by your side then, too. 

Together, we’ll create your users’ go-to mobile app. Contact us today to learn more about our expertise and services! 

FAQs

What’s the real difference between Angular and React? 

Well, the primary difference between Angular and React is that Angular is a front-end JavaScript framework that was built using TypeScript. 

Conversely, React is a front-end JavaScript library that was built using the JSX syntax extension. 

Is React faster than Angular? 

Thanks to React’s use of Virtual DOM and smaller bundle size, React is faster than Angular. 

Tip: Bundle size relates to the overall file size of all of your application’s combined code. 

Why is React more popular than Angular? 

React is faster than Angular and offers rendering optimizations, virtual DOM, and reusable UI components that are much simpler to use. 

These reasons, along with React’s scalability and versatility, make React more popular than Angular. 

Is Angular easier than React? 

A widespread commonality among developers is the idea that Angular has a much steeper learning curve than React. This can be attributed to Angular’s complex syntax and built-in features.