Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AngularJS VS Zepto.js

Compare AngularJS VS Zepto.js and see what are their differences

AngularJS logo AngularJS

AngularJS lets you extend HTML vocabulary for your application. The resulting environment is extraordinarily expressive, readable, and quick to develop.

Zepto.js logo Zepto.js

Zepto is a minimalist JavaScript library for modern browsers with a largely jQuery-compatible API.
  • AngularJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-15
  • Zepto.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

AngularJS features and specs

  • Two-way data binding
    AngularJS's two-way data binding feature synchronizes data between the model and the view components, reducing the amount of boilerplate code required for data manipulation and improving ease of use.
  • Dependency Injection
    The built-in dependency injection mechanism in AngularJS facilitates better organization and management of services, making the code more modular, testable, and reusable.
  • Modular Development
    AngularJS allows developers to break down applications into modules. This modular approach helps in better code organization, easier maintenance, and parallel development.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Backed by Google, AngularJS has a large and active community. This extensive support system provides a wealth of resources, plugins, and third-party tools that can facilitate the development process.
  • Directives
    Directives in AngularJS allow developers to extend HTML with new attributes and elements, enabling the creation of custom and reusable components with ease.
  • MVVM Architecture
    The Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architecture promotes the separation of concerns, allowing developers to work on different parts of the application without interfering with each other.

Possible disadvantages of AngularJS

  • Performance Issues
    AngularJS's two-way data binding can induce performance issues in large applications due to the constant checking and updating of the binding, which can impact the overall application speed.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    The complexity of AngularJS, with its various concepts such as directives, dependency injection, and MVVM architecture, can present a steep learning curve for new developers.
  • Migration Challenges
    Migrating from AngularJS to newer versions like Angular (2+), which are fundamentally different, poses significant challenges and often requires a complete codebase rewrite.
  • Verbose Code
    AngularJS's syntax can sometimes lead to verbose and complicated code, which can be difficult to read and maintain, especially for large-scale applications.
  • Limited Mobile Support
    Despite its strengths, AngularJS does not offer the same level of performance optimization for mobile applications, making it less ideal for mobile-first development compared to some other frameworks.
  • Legacy Framework
    AngularJS is considered a legacy framework with a focus shifted towards Angular (2+). As a result, it receives fewer updates and less community attention compared to newer frameworks.

Zepto.js features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Zepto.js is extremely lightweight, with a file size significantly smaller than jQuery. This reduces load times and improves performance on webpages, particularly important for mobile users with limited bandwidth.
  • jQuery Compatibility
    Zepto.js aims to offer a jQuery-compatible syntax, making it easy for developers familiar with jQuery to adopt Zepto.js without a steep learning curve.
  • Optimized for Modern Browsers
    Zepto.js is optimized for modern browsers and takes advantage of advanced features like CSS3 and HTML5, which can lead to improved performance and more elegant solutions.
  • Modular Design
    Zepto.js has a modular architecture, allowing developers to include only the features they need. This can further reduce the size of the library and improve page load times.

Possible disadvantages of Zepto.js

  • Limited Legacy Browser Support
    Zepto.js does not support older versions of Internet Explorer (like IE8 and below), which may be a limitation for projects needing to cater to a wide audience with deprecated browser support.
  • Fewer Features than jQuery
    Although Zepto.js is similar to jQuery, it lacks some of the more advanced features and plugins available in jQuery, which might require additional solutions for certain tasks.
  • Small Community
    Zepto.js has a smaller user base and community compared to jQuery, which may result in less community support, fewer tutorials, and limited plugin options.
  • Limited Official Documentation
    The official documentation for Zepto.js is not as extensive as that for jQuery, which may require developers to spend extra time understanding and troubleshooting code.

AngularJS videos

What Is AngularJS

More videos:

  • Review - AngularJS Fundamentals In 60-ish Minutes

Zepto.js videos

Data-binding Techniques | CSS Techniques | Zepto.js | The Treehouse Show Episode 97

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AngularJS and Zepto.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
88 88%
12% 12
JavaScript Framework
92 92%
8% 8
JS Library
83 83%
17% 17
Development Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

AngularJS Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
AngularJS is an open-source framework used for developing web applications. Google developed it and made it open-source in 2010. It is one of the top choices of developers when it comes to building web applications using JavaScript. Hire web developers from SolGuruz and allow us to help you build white-label solutions.
Source: solguruz.com
20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
Yes, Angular Universal provides server-side rendering capabilities for Angular applications. This tool allows Angular apps to benefit from SSR, improving performance and SEO by rendering pages on the server before sending them to the client.
The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
NestJS is a Node.js framework that’s inspired by Angular, and guess what? It’s written in TypeScript. Building with Typescript is like you’re navigating with the stars. It’s all about sturdy architecture, a server-side framework that enjoys the scripting superness while piling on extra sturdiness.
Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
The best frameworks for web development include React, Angular, Vue.js, Django, Spring, Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Flask and Express.js. Each of these frameworks has its own advantages and distinctive features, so it is important to choose the framework that best suits the needs of your project.
Source: www.kiwop.com
9 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2023
Angular.js is a powerful JavaScript-based web development framework. It has been designed to make web development more efficient and easy to use. Angular.js is based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, which makes it easy to develop dynamic web applications. It also provides many features that make web development more efficient, such as data binding, dependency...
Source: ninetailed.io

Zepto.js Reviews

We have no reviews of Zepto.js yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AngularJS seems to be a lot more popular than Zepto.js. While we know about 50 links to AngularJS, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Zepto.js. 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.

AngularJS mentions (50)

  • Between Diapers and Development – How My Blog Came to Life with Eleventy
    To maximize learning, I could choose something new. Normally, I consider that a valid reason. But given my limited time, that wasn't a priority for me. Another criterion could be long-term viability: Is there a large core team and an active community? Well, who still remembers AngularJS? From Google? And didn’t Facebook/Meta start Jest? I wouldn’t rely too much on that. - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • 11 Quick and Easy Tips for Optimizing AngularJS Performance
    AngularJS is an open-source JavaScript framework that developers use to build frontend applications. It comes with modular support, an extensive community, and all the tools that help develop and manage dynamic frontend web apps. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Angular Tutorial: Host Element Binding
    Ok, what we'll use now is something that existed back in the day, after we switched from AngularJS to Angular 2 or modern Angular. We'll use the old/new host property on the component decorator. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • ⏰ It’s time to talk about Import Map, Micro Frontend, and Nx Monorepo
    Just to give you more context, I led the migration of several AngularJS applications to the newer Angular Framework. My client finally decided to make that move following the AngularJS deprecation announcement (stay up to date please 🙏)️. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • JS Toolbox 2024: Essential Picks for Modern Developers Series Overview
    The next post in the series provides a thorough comparison of popular frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte, focusing on their unique features and suitability for different project types. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

Zepto.js mentions (4)

  • TinyJS – Shorten JavaScript QuerySelect with $ and $$
    jQuery II: The Quickening! If anybody's interested in a more minimalist jQuery-like tool check out Zepto [1]. I built a toy Golang SSR project using it and felt like I was 17 again. Also of note is that "Highlander II" takes place in the year 2024 [2]. It's a sign! Everything old is new again! `$` is immortal! [1] http://zeptojs.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_II:_The_Quickening. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • jQuery v4.0.0 Beta
    > I've always thought there should be a modern, lightweight jQuery alternative like this. Have you heard of Zepto? https://zeptojs.com. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Discovered a 63kb tiddlywiki like self saving HTML+JS wiki and its looking cool
    I once made a very crude and simple TiddlyWiki work-alike I called "HulloWurld" https://github.com/calroc/HulloWurld It's 143 KB, but it includes copies of Knockout, Underscore, Zepto, and the "Marked" markdown parser... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ( Good stuff BTW: http://knockoutjs.com/ http://underscorejs.org/ https://zeptojs.com/ https://github.com/chjj/marked ) Probably the only interesting bit is the code to save the page:... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Replacing jQuery (110kb) With UmbrellaJS (8kb)
    I think zepto.js is a better choice. It's slightly bigger than cash but much closer to jquery (for example it has $.ajax) https://zeptojs.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AngularJS and Zepto.js, you can also consider the following products

Vue.js - Reactive Components for Modern Web Interfaces

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

DHTMLX - JavaScript Library for cross-platform web and mobile app development with HTML5 JavaScript widgets. Easy integration with popular JavaScript Frameworks.

ember.js - A JavaScript framework for creating ambitious web apps

ExpressJS - Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple