Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Babel VS JSPM

Compare Babel VS JSPM and see what are their differences

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Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

JSPM logo JSPM

Front End Package Manager, Frontend Development, and Javascript
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • JSPM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-07

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.

JSPM features and specs

  • Modern JavaScript Support
    JSPM provides support for ES modules and modern JavaScript features, allowing developers to use the latest standards in their projects.
  • Dependency Management
    JSPM offers efficient dependency management by automatically resolving and managing package versions, which reduces conflicts and simplifies updates.
  • CDN Integration
    JSPM integrates with CDN services to enable direct module imports from URLs, reducing setup complexity and enhancing performance by leveraging distributed content delivery networks.
  • Ecosystem Compatibility
    JSPM is compatible with npm packages, allowing developers to access a wide range of libraries and tools available in the npm ecosystem.
  • Pluggable Build System
    JSPM includes a pluggable build system that can be customized and extended to suit different workflow requirements and optimizations.

Possible disadvantages of JSPM

  • Learning Curve
    For developers new to JSPM, there might be a steeper learning curve due to its unique features and configurations compared to more traditional package managers.
  • Limited Community Support
    JSPM may have a smaller community compared to established tools like Webpack or Parcel, potentially leading to fewer resources or community-driven plugins.
  • Complexity for Small Projects
    For small or simple projects, JSPM might introduce unnecessary complexity compared to lighter alternatives, which could be more straightforward for basic use cases.
  • Performance Overhead
    Depending on the project setup and usage, there might be some performance overhead during the initial setup or builds, particularly for very large projects.
  • Dependency on External Services
    Relying heavily on external CDNs and services can lead to potential issues if those services experience downtime or changes in policy.

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.

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

JSPM videos

JSPM Engineering College Pune Honest Review | Cut-OFF | Placement | Fees | Campus | Student Reviews

More videos:

  • Review - JSPM PUNE | COLLEGE FEE| HOSTEL FEE | PLACEMENT | RANKING | CUT OFF | CAMPUS | JSPM COLLEGE REVIEW
  • Review - JSPM BSIOTR FE Computer students review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and JSPM)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
JS Build Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Web Application Bundler
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

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

JSPM mentions (2)

  • Big Changes Ahead for Deno
    > We've been working on some updates that will allow Deno to easily import npm packages and make the vast majority of npm packages work in Deno within the next three months. This is really huge and will be a huge boost to the Deno ecosystem. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed that it wasn't jacked into NPM. There were reasonable alternatives like https://jspm.org/. This is a big swing at Node and I'll be watching... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • 5 More Things I Learned Building Snowpack to 20,000 Stars
    But I really want to make it clear that I'm so incredibly proud of this project and the people who have contributed to it. Snowpack meaningfully pushed the entire web development industry forward, and that's pretty cool. Even if you never use Snowpack directly, the work that we pioneered around npm package handling for ESM is already being built on and improved on across the entire web tooling landscape in... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

npm - npm is a package manager for Node.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Ender - Frontend Development

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

Webpack - Webpack is a module bundler. Its main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset.