Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Babel VS HTTrack

Compare Babel VS HTTrack and see what are their differences

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Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

HTTrack logo HTTrack

HTTrack is a free (GPL, libre/free software) and easy-to-use offline browser utility.
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • HTTrack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-24

Babel features and specs

  • JavaScript Version Compatibility
    Babel allows developers to write code using the latest JavaScript features and syntax, and transpile it into a version of JavaScript that can run on older browsers. This ensures greater compatibility across different environments.
  • Future-Proof Code
    With Babel, developers can start using upcoming JavaScript features today. This means that codebases can stay modern and developers can take advantage of new functionalities without waiting for full browser support.
  • Ecosystem and Plugins
    Babel has a rich ecosystem of plugins and presets that can extend its capabilities, making it highly adaptable to different project needs. This modularity allows for customization and enhancement of the build process.
  • Integration with Modern Development Tools
    Babel integrates well with various development tools such as Webpack, making it easier to include in existing build processes and workflows. This helps streamline development and maintain efficient workflows.
  • Community and Support
    Babel has a large and active community, which means extensive documentation, tutorials, and support forums. This can be particularly useful for troubleshooting and staying updated with best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Babel

  • Performance Overhead
    Transpiling code with Babel introduces a performance overhead during the build process. This can slow down development workflows, especially for large codebases with many files.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Setting up Babel can be complex, particularly for beginners. The numerous options and plugins available can sometimes be overwhelming and require significant time to configure correctly.
  • Source Map Issues
    Generating accurate source maps can sometimes be tricky with Babel, leading to difficulties in debugging. Misconfigured source maps can make it harder to track down issues within the original source code.
  • Dependency Bloat
    Including Babel in a project can add a significant number of dependencies. This dependency bloat can increase the size of the project and potentially introduce maintenance challenges or security vulnerabilities.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with Babel, especially for developers who are new to modern JavaScript tooling. Understanding how Babel works and how to effectively use its features can take time and effort.

HTTrack features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    HTTrack is completely free to use and its source code is available for modification and redistribution, making it an accessible option for a wide range of users.
  • Cross-Platform
    HTTrack is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, allowing users to utilize the tool regardless of their operating system.
  • Customizable
    The tool provides a variety of options for customizing the download process, such as adjusting the download speed, depth, and filtering certain file types or URLs.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    HTTrack offers a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies the web scraping process, even for users with minimal technical expertise.
  • Offline Browsing
    Users can download entire websites for offline browsing, which is particularly useful in low-bandwidth environments or for archival purposes.

Possible disadvantages of HTTrack

  • Legal and Ethical Concerns
    Downloading entire websites can violate terms of service and copyright laws. Users must ensure they have permission to scrape the content.
  • Resource Intensive
    HTTrack can consume significant bandwidth and disk space, affecting both the user's machine and the target website’s server, which can become a burden for sites with heavy traffic.
  • Complexity in Advanced Use
    While the basic functions are user-friendly, advanced customizations and troubleshooting can be complex and may require technical knowledge.
  • Incomplete or Broken Downloads
    Depending on the website's structure, HTTrack can sometimes fail to download all resources correctly, leading to incomplete or broken pages.
  • Security Risks
    Downloading and storing entire websites locally can pose security risks, especially if malicious scripts or malware are inadvertently downloaded.

Analysis of Babel

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Babel is widely considered a good tool for modern JavaScript development. It eases the use of cutting-edge JavaScript features and ensures broader compatibility, which is crucial for many projects. Its active community and continuous updates reflect its standing as a reliable and well-supported choice.

Why this product is good

  • Babel is a popular JavaScript compiler that allows developers to use the latest JavaScript features while maintaining compatibility with older environments that may not support these features natively. It transforms modern JavaScript code into a version that can run in current and older browsers or environments. Babel is highly configurable and has a rich ecosystem of plugins and presets that enable developers to tailor it to their specific needs, making development smoother and more efficient.

Recommended for

    Babel is recommended for web developers who want to write modern JavaScript but need to ensure that their code remains functional across different environments and older browsers. It is also valuable for projects where developers aspire to use the latest ECMAScript features without waiting for broad native support.

Analysis of HTTrack

Overall verdict

  • HTTrack is generally considered a good tool for its intended purpose of website mirroring. It is reliable, user-friendly, and effective for offline browsing. However, users should ensure they have the proper permissions to copy website content.

Why this product is good

  • HTTrack is a widely-used tool for downloading websites to a local directory, enabling users to navigate and browse offline. It's popular due to its ease of use, functionality, and support for various web pages, including static and dynamic content.

Recommended for

  • Web developers and designers who want to analyze or test websites locally
  • Students conducting research on website structures and content
  • Users who need offline access to websites for travel or in areas with limited internet connectivity

Babel videos

Babel - Movie Review

More videos:

  • Review - Day 16 | Babel Review | 365 Films
  • Review - Worth The Hype? - BABEL Review
  • Review - Book CommuniTEA: Is BABEL a rac1st mani!fest0? [you should know the answer]
  • Review - Babel is a Masterpiece, And Here's Why

HTTrack videos

LABS 5 Mirroring Website Using HTTrack Web Site Copier REVIEW

More videos:

  • Review - HakTip - Mirror Websites with HTTrack
  • Tutorial - How to clone any website||How to copy all webpage of a website httrack

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and HTTrack)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Utilities
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Download Manager
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 Babel and HTTrack

Babel Reviews

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HTTrack Reviews

15 Best Httrack Alternatives Offline Browser Utility
It offers features such as copying entire websites, selecting specific files to copy, and setting of download limits to manage bandwidth usage. However, WebHTTrack is less customizable than HTTrack, lacking some advanced customization options.
15 Best Website Downloaders & Website Copier – Save website locally to read offline
The HTTrack Website Copier will help you build a local copy of a website by recursively looking out for URLs on the site, downloading pages, and other site assets (images, CSS, and JS files) until there is no new URL to be crawled.
8 Best HTTrack Alternatives and Similar Software
Without a doubt, HTTrack is a fantastic program, however, if you want something comparable, you may try some utilities below. These 8 HTTrack alternatives run on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Babel seems to be a lot more popular than HTTrack. While we know about 147 links to Babel, we've tracked only 2 mentions of HTTrack. 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.

Babel mentions (147)

  • Valentine’s Day Breakup: React Dumps Create React App
    Create React App (CRA) is a command-line interface tool that allows developers to set up a React project easily. It primarily serves as a project scaffolding tool, allowing you to create a new project with a single command: npx create-react-app . CRA comes with tools like Webpack and Babel, which handle the bundling and transpiling of code. The tools are pre-configured. It comes with a development server that... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • #wecode Landing Page - WeCoded Challenge March 2025
    @vitejs/plugin-react uses Babel for Fast Refresh. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • You Don’t Know JS Yet: My Weekly Journey Through JavaScript Mastery
    For new and incompatible syntax, the solution is transpiling—converting newer JS syntax to older syntax that can run on older engines. The most popular transpiler? Babel. This process ensures modern JS code can still reach a wide audience, even on legacy systems. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Desktop apps for Windows XP in 2025
    Fortunately we have tools like PostCSS and Babel, that let you target your specific Browser version, and they'll do their best to transpile and polyfill your code to work with that version. This alone will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you if you are working with a lot of code. However, if you are just writing out a few HTML, CSS, and JS files, then that would be overkill and you can just figure out what code... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • The Tools and APIs That Made My GeoGuessr 🌍 Project Possible
    Cross-Browser Compatibility: Some features worked differently across browsers. I used Babel to transpile my JavaScript code, ensuring it worked consistently everywhere. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
View more

HTTrack mentions (2)

  • Self Hosted Server For Multiple Types Media
    I Use httrack.com software to download my websites. I am aware of the following software: Ubooquity, TrueNas, Kavita, Plex, MediaMonkey, Jellyfin and MusicBrainzPicard. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How to make RSS download further into the past?
    - I do get the entire text through RSS successfully. - Turns out InoReader caches everything and will never delete it which is why they have it fetched so far back.. - I tried httrack.com without success. - I'm thinking about someone coding something to download each feed post as a PDF, which InoReader gives as a download option for single items. Source: almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Babel and HTTrack, you can also consider the following products

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

GNU Wget - GNU Wget is a free software package for retrieving files using HTTP(S) and FTP, the most...

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

SiteSucker - SiteSucker is a Macintosh application that automatically downloads Web sites from the Internet.

Composer - Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP.

WebCopy - Cyotek WebCopy is a free tool for copying full or partial websites locally onto your harddisk for offline viewing.