Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

htmx VS Alpine.js

Compare htmx VS Alpine.js and see what are their differences

htmx logo htmx

high power tools for HTML

Alpine.js logo Alpine.js

A rugged, minimal framework for composing JavaScript behavior in your markup.
  • htmx Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-25

htmx gives you access to AJAX, CSS Transitions, WebSockets and Server Sent Events directly in HTML, using attributes, so you can build modern user interfaces with the simplicity and power of hypertext

htmx is small (~14k min.gz’d), dependency-free, extendable, IE11 compatible & has reduced code base sizes by 67% when compared with react

  • Alpine.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-25

htmx features and specs

  • Ease of Integration
    htmx allows developers to easily add dynamic, AJAX-powered interactions to existing HTML without requiring significant rework or the use of heavier JavaScript frameworks.
  • Server-Side Rendering
    htmx leverages the benefits of server-side rendering and progressive enhancement, ensuring better SEO, faster initial load times, and improved accessibility.
  • Reduced JavaScript
    With htmx, much of the interactivity can be managed using HTML attributes, resulting in less custom JavaScript code and potentially fewer bugs and maintenance challenges.
  • Progressive Enhancement
    htmx supports a progressive enhancement approach, allowing features to be enhanced progressively without breaking the fundamental user experience for those with JavaScript disabled.
  • Declarative Style
    htmx advocates for a declarative style of programming which can make code more readable and maintainable by clearly expressing the intended behavior in HTML.

Possible disadvantages of htmx

  • Limited Ecosystem
    The ecosystem around htmx is still relatively small compared to larger JavaScript frameworks, which means fewer resources, libraries, and community support are available.
  • Potential for Complexity in Large Apps
    For large-scale applications, managing interactivity solely with htmx might become cumbersome. Combining htmx with more robust state management solutions could be necessary, complicating the architecture.
  • Learning Curve
    While not as steep as some frameworks, there is a learning curve associated with understanding htmx’s attributes and integrating it effectively into existing projects.
  • Fragmentation Risk
    Relying too heavily on server-side partials and asynchronous updates can lead to fragmentation, where the logic of the application is split between the client and server, making it harder to manage and debug.
  • Limited Explicit State Management
    htmx lacks built-in state management solutions that are common in other front-end frameworks, potentially requiring additional tools to manage complex application state.

Alpine.js features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Alpine.js is very lightweight, typically around 10KB minified and gzipped, which makes it ideal for small projects or performance-conscious applications.
  • Easy to Integrate
    Alpine.js can be easily integrated into existing projects as it only requires including a single script file, making it a low-effort solution for adding interactivity.
  • Declarative
    It provides a declarative syntax similar to Vue.js, which can be more intuitive and readable, allowing developers to easily describe what they want rather than how to achieve it.
  • Reactivity
    Alpine.js offers reactive data binding, enabling automatic updates to the DOM when data changes, reducing boilerplate code needed for dynamic UIs.
  • Minimalist
    With its minimal API surface, Alpine.js aims to provide just enough JavaScript functionality for simple interactivity without the overhead of a full framework.

Possible disadvantages of Alpine.js

  • Limited Features
    Alpine.js lacks many features provided by larger frameworks, like routing and state management, which can limit its use in complex applications.
  • Performance at Scale
    While Alpine.js is performant for small projects, handling performance might become challenging as the application scales, particularly with large datasets or complex interactions.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Alpine.js has a smaller community and ecosystem compared to more established frameworks, which may result in fewer third-party plugins and resources.
  • Learning Curve
    Although simpler than some frameworks, it still requires learning a new syntax and understanding its reactivity model, which can be a hurdle for new developers.
  • Debugging and Tooling
    Alpine.js does not have as mature tooling and debugging capabilities compared to larger frameworks, which can make troubleshooting more difficult.

htmx videos

DjangoCon Europe 2023 | HTMX vs WASM - more backend or more frontend?

More videos:

  • Review - Dynamic Web Pages Without JavaScript? - Intro to HTMX

Alpine.js videos

Alpinejs vs Vue, React and Svelte. When to use Alpine.js?

More videos:

  • Review - Intro to Alpine.js in Just 7 Minutes
  • Review - Alpine.js vs jQuery vs Vanilla JS: Example + NEW Course!
  • Review - What's the Future of Livewire and Alpine.js?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to htmx and Alpine.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
58 58%
42% 42
Software Development
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
61 61%
39% 39
JavaScript Framework
53 53%
47% 47

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare htmx and Alpine.js

htmx Reviews

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Alpine.js Reviews

20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023
Even while Alpine.js is not intended to be a native full-stack interaction tool, asynchronous activities involving data fetching from a server are quite common and crucial from a templating standpoint. You may download data directly from the Alpine.js template by explicitly designating a function handler as an async or doing the inverse.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, htmx should be more popular than Alpine.js. It has been mentiond 117 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

htmx mentions (117)

  • The 3 Best Python Frameworks To Build UIs for AI Apps
    FastHTML allows developers to build modern web applications entirely in Python without touching JavaScript or React. As its name implies, it is quicker to begin with FastHTML. However, it does not have pre-built UI components and styling. Getting the best out of this framework requires the knowledge of HTMX and UI styling using CSS libraries like Tailwind and Bootstrap. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Build a Bookmark Manager with the HONC Stack
    Import { bookmarks } from './src/db/schema'; ... Const sampleBookmarks = [ { title: "Hono Framework", url: "https://hono.dev", description: "A lightweight web framework for building APIs and applications.", tags: "hono, framework, edge", }, { title: "Drizzle ORM", url: "https://orm.drizzle.team", description: "A type-safe ORM designed for SQL databases.", tags: "orm, database,... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • An advanced Data Table with HTMX
    HTMX: The library that makes this approach possible. HTMX allows the development of applications with HTML and HTTP, but by lifting a whole set of limitations, particularly by allowing interaction with the server without necessarily reloading the entire page. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Summer Web Internship: Low-JavaScript Development for 🧶Knitters/Crocheters (US Only)
    We're looking for a fiber arts hobbyist who wants to create a low-Javascript web experience as part of a flexible, self-led summer internship. HTMX experience is not necessary — you just have to be excited about HTML/CSS and have a strong interest in doing low-Javascript web development. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Your API Doesn’t Always Need to Be a Product
    The Single-Page Application trend gained popularity partly because it allowed developers to avoid full page reloads during navigation or form submissions. HTMX has been generating buzz recently precisely because it enables bypassing full document reloads. At the same time, it sticks to a document-based approach for browser/server interactions. This eliminates the need to retrofit JSON API constraints.... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
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Alpine.js mentions (31)

  • 60 Best JavaScript Libraries for Building Interactive UI Components
    Alpine.js Alpinejs.dev Minimal framework for declarative DOM interactions. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Creating a To-do app with HTMX and Django, part 8: inline edit, and using Iconify
    As usual, there are a few possibilities here; one is to render both the with the title, and a form with for each row, and use plain Javascript (or AlpineJS) to toggle edit mode. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Supercharge your HTML with mizu.js!
    That's why I grew fond of libraries such as Alpine.js and htmx, which require no setup and are easy to use. However, I felt these had some limitations. Since they were mostly designed for client-side usage, it wasn't really possible to use them in server-side rendering contexts (including static generation). - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • 🍣 Sushi — Your Eloquent model driver for other data sources
    It is created by Caleb Porzio (the guy behind Livewire and AlpineJS), Sushi simplifies your data when a full database table is unnecessary. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Build a Simple Auto-Play Carousel with Clickable Controls Using Alpine.js
    Here's a step-by-step example of creating a simple carousel using Alpine.js. Alpine.js is a lightweight JavaScript framework that provides reactivity and can be used to build interactive components without a lot of JavaScript. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing htmx and Alpine.js, you can also consider the following products

Svelte - Cybernetically enhanced web apps

Vue.js - Reactive Components for Modern Web Interfaces

Tailwind CSS - A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

Astro Build - Astro is the web framework that you'll love to use.

Stimulus - A modest JavaScript framework for the HTML you already have, by Basecamp