Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Babel VS React Bricks

Compare Babel VS React Bricks and see what are their differences

Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

React Bricks logo React Bricks

React Bricks is a CMS with the best Visual editing experience for Content editors, but great for Developers too, as content blocks are React components defined in code.
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • React Bricks Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-28

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.

React Bricks features and specs

  • Real-time Content Editing
    React Bricks provides an intuitive, real-time WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editing experience directly in the browser, making it easy for non-developers to edit content without technical barriers.
  • Developer-Friendly
    Built with React, React Bricks offers a developer-friendly environment with the ability to create custom components easily, utilizing the power and flexibility of the widely-used React library.
  • Headless CMS
    As a headless CMS, React Bricks allows developers to decouple the frontend and backend, providing more freedom and flexibility in creating bespoke digital experiences across various platforms.
  • Internationalization Support
    React Bricks offers built-in support for internationalization, making it easier to manage content across multiple languages and regions with minimal effort.
  • Easy Preview and Deployment
    The system enables easy preview of content changes and seamless integration with deployment processes, ensuring what you see in the editor is precisely what gets deployed.

Possible disadvantages of React Bricks

  • Learning Curve
    For developers unfamiliar with React or newcomers to headless CMS architectures, there may be a learning curve to fully leverage the platform’s capabilities and best practices.
  • Customization Complexity
    While customization is a strength, creating highly tailored components could require significant development effort and expertise in React, potentially leading to complexities beyond basic use cases.
  • Platform Dependency
    Relying on React Bricks ties the project to its specific ecosystem, which might be a concern for teams looking for broader technology stack flexibility or those wary of vendor lock-in.
  • Pricing Structure
    Depending on the specific features and scale required, some users might find the pricing to be a consideration, especially for smaller projects or startups with limited budgets.
  • Limited Offline Usage
    As a web-based solution, React Bricks requires an internet connection for content editing, which can be a drawback for teams needing offline editing capabilities.

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

React Bricks videos

React Bricks Demo - Part 1 - What is React Bricks

More videos:

  • Review - Anyone Can Build Better Websites with React Bricks
  • Review - React Bricks CMS introduction

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and React Bricks)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Web App
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 React Bricks. While we know about 147 links to Babel, we've tracked only 11 mentions of React Bricks. 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 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 / 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 / 4 months ago
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React Bricks mentions (11)

  • Where do React Server Components fit in the history of web development?
    If you are searching for a headless CMS solution that supports React Server Components, consider exploring React Bricks, co-founded by me, which recently released v4.2, fully supporting server components. It also provides two Next.js starter projects: one is a blank project, while the other one comes with Tailwind CSS, pre-made content blocks, and a blog. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Prismic.io is increasing our price by *1900%* over Christmas
    Have a look at React Bricks (I am the CTO and I am available for a call). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Does anyone else hate working with builders?
    We hated builders and the DX of Gutenberg used with a modern frontend framework like Next.js. That's why we created React Bricks. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Next.js Plugin for Contentful CMS Integration - is there anything like this today?
    Have a look also at React BricksReact Bricks! It has native visual editing, it's based on React components and it has 2 starters fir Next.js (empty project and Webdite + blog with Tailwind CSS). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Marketing team getting technical + the skepticism around that.
    Oh, almost forgot, there's another project called React Bricks (lotsa bricks to go around) which proposes a React-based tightly coupled frontend and backend. It has a higher development cost, but the CMS is embedded in the framework. Source: about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

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

Payload CMS - Headless CMS and Application Framework built with Node.js, React and MongoDB

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Contza CMS - Add visual editing to your website only in a minute.

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

React Rainbow Components - Build your web application in a snap.