Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Babel VS Raven.js

Compare Babel VS Raven.js and see what are their differences

Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

Raven.js logo Raven.js

Raven.js is a standalone JavaScript client for Sentry.
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • Raven.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-19

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.

Raven.js features and specs

  • Integration with Sentry
    Raven.js provides seamless integration with Sentry, a powerful real-time error tracking tool. This allows for easy tracking of errors and performance issues in your JavaScript applications.
  • Automatic Error Logging
    Raven.js automatically captures and reports unhandled exceptions, ensuring that no error goes unnoticed and allowing for prompt debugging.
  • Customizable Metadata
    You can enrich error reports with custom metadata, such as user information and application states, making debugging more context-aware and effective.
  • Source Map Support
    Raven.js supports source maps, which enable you to get stack traces mapped back to your original source code, making it easier to identify the root cause of an issue.
  • Supports Multiple Platforms
    Raven.js is versatile and supports multiple JavaScript environments, including browser, Node.js, React Native, and more, making it a flexible choice for various projects.

Possible disadvantages of Raven.js

  • Deprecation
    Raven.js is deprecated in favor of the newer @sentry/browser and @sentry/node packages. Continued use of Raven.js might result in missing out on new features and updates.
  • Learning Curve
    For developers new to error tracking tools, there may be a learning curve in setting up and using Raven.js effectively, including understanding its API and configuration options.
  • Performance Overhead
    Including Raven.js in your project can introduce some performance overhead, as it needs to capture and report errors, which might slightly impact application responsiveness, especially in high-performance applications.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing Raven.js as an additional dependency can become cumbersome, especially in large projects with multiple dependencies that require regular updates and maintenance.

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

Raven.js videos

No Raven.js videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and Raven.js)
Development Tools
64 64%
36% 36
Javascript UI Libraries
63 63%
37% 37
Libraries And Widgets
54 54%
46% 46
JavaScript Framework
73 73%
27% 27

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Babel seems to be a lot more popular than Raven.js. While we know about 147 links to Babel, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Raven.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.

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 / about 1 month ago
  • #wecode Landing Page - WeCoded Challenge March 2025
    @vitejs/plugin-react uses Babel for Fast Refresh. - Source: dev.to / about 2 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 / 2 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 / 3 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 / 3 months ago
View more

Raven.js mentions (3)

  • Nx - Highlights of 2023
    Sentry JavaScript - Sentry, renowned for its comprehensive solutions in frontend monitoring and error logging, recently adopted Nx for their official JavaScript SDK. This move integrates Nx's capabilities into their monorepo, containing packages for popular frontend and Node.js backend integrations. They also published a blog post on the benefits they've seen following the adoption of Nx in their monorepo (hint:... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • What's New With Lerna 6.5?
    We've just started this initiative and have already been able to help Sentry get optimized with task caching and task pipeline optimizations for their workspace! - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Performance Monitoring and more updates to Sentry for Electron
    Get started with Sentry for Electron and drop us a line on GitHub, Twitter, or our Discord. And if you’re new to Sentry, you can try it for free today or write to sales@sentry.io to get started. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Babel and Raven.js, you can also consider the following products

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

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

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

OpenSSL - OpenSSL is a free and open source software cryptography library that implements both the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, which are primarily used to provide secure communications between web browsers and …

Symfony - A PHP full-stack web framework

jQuery UI - Curated set of user interface interactions, effects, widgets, and themes built on top of the jQuery JavaScript Library