Software Alternatives & Startups

EJS VS Handlebars

Compare EJS VS Handlebars and see what are their differences

EJS

An open source JavaScript Template library.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Handlebars

Handlebars is a JavaScript template library that is, more or less, based on ...

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Handlebars should be more popular than EJS. It has been mentioned 67 times since March 2021.

social mentions
26 vs 67
Javascript UI Libraries popularity
40% vs 60%
alternatives listed
157 vs 91

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

EJS
EJS
Handlebars
Website ejs.co handlebarsjs.com
Pricing
Open source
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

EJS
EJS 6 features
Handlebars 5 features
  • Simplicity
    EJS is easy to learn and use, especially for developers who are already familiar with JavaScript. The syntax is straightforward, making it a good choice for quick application development.
  • JavaScript Integration
    Since EJS templates are JavaScript files, you can seamlessly integrate JavaScript code, making it easy to manipulate data and use familiar JavaScript functions.
  • Lightweight
    EJS is a lightweight template engine, which makes it an optimal choice for applications where performance and simplicity are critical.
  • Flexibility
    Allows for the embedding of plain JavaScript within the templates, giving developers the flexibility to add logic directly in their HTML.
  • Partial Templates
    Supports partials, which help to reuse code snippets across different views, promoting DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principles.
  • Server-Side Rendering
    Supports server-side rendering, which can improve performance by reducing the amount of client-side processing needed.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Functionality
    Compared to more feature-rich template engines like Handlebars or Pug, EJS offers limited functionalities which might be a drawback for large, complex projects.
  • Debugging
    Debugging EJS templates can sometimes be challenging. Errors within templates can often be vague, making it difficult to trace the root cause.
  • Maintenance
    Embedding a lot of JavaScript within templates can make the code harder to read and maintain, especially as the complexity of the application grows.
  • Performance Overhead
    For very large and complex templates, EJS can introduce a performance overhead compared to more optimized template engines designed for high performance.
  • Community and Support
    While EJS has a reasonable user base, the community and support may not be as extensive as more popular alternatives like React or Vue.js.
  • Simplicity
    Handlebars provides a straightforward and easy-to-learn syntax for templating, making it accessible for developers with varying levels of experience.
  • Logic-less Templates
    Encourages the separation of logic and design by only allowing minimal logic in templates. This promotes a cleaner code base and separation of concerns.
  • Extensibility
    Handlebars allows for custom helpers and partials which enable extending the templating functionality as needed.
  • Precompilation
    Templates can be precompiled, improving performance by reducing client-side parsing and rendering time.
  • Wide Adoption and Community Support
    As a popular templating engine, Handlebars has a large community of users and contributors, which provides abundant resources, plugins, and support.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Logic
    The logic-less nature of Handlebars means it supports only very basic conditionals and loops, which can be limiting for complex scenarios.
  • Verbosity
    Handlebars templates can become verbose, especially when using custom helpers or partials extensively.
  • Initial Learning Curve
    For developers coming from more logic-oriented templating engines, adjusting to Handlebars' logic-less paradigm can take some effort.
  • Dependency Management
    In larger projects, managing dependencies between templates, partials, and helpers can become complex and cumbersome.
  • Lack of Reactivity
    Handlebars does not include built-in support for data reactivity, making it less suitable for dynamic, real-time updates compared to modern frameworks like React or Vue.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

EJS
EJS
Handlebars

Overall verdict

  • Yes, EJS is considered good, particularly for projects where developers want ease of use and flexibility with JavaScript templating. It is lightweight, easy to learn, and integrates well with Express, a popular Node.js web application framework.

Why this product is good

  • EJS (Embedded JavaScript Templating) is popular because it provides a simple way to generate HTML markup with plain JavaScript. It allows for the embedding of JavaScript logic within your HTML templates, making it straightforward to use for those familiar with JavaScript. It's known for its efficiency in rendering templates and ease of integration with Node.js applications.

Recommended for

    EJS is recommended for developers building server-side web applications using Node.js and those looking for a simple, yet effective, templating solution. It is particularly suitable for small to medium-sized projects where dynamic content generation is needed and for teams that prioritize simplicity and performance.

No analysis of Handlebars yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

EJS
EJS 2 videos + Add
Handlebars 3 videos + Add

Kane Creek - Bestop Trail Review at EJS 2019

More videos

  • - JavaScript Templating Tutorial | Introduction To EJS

MTB Handlebars: Our Top 5 Picks for 2018!

More videos

  • - Roland Sands Handlebars Review at RevZilla.com
  • - KST Kustoms Handlebars Review

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
EJS
EJS
Handlebars
40% 40%
60% 60%
42% 42%
58% 58%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using EJS and Handlebars. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

EJS
EJS 26 mentions
Handlebars 67 mentions
  • Next.js vs Express: What to Choose in 2025?
    Express does not provide SEO benefits by default and would require additional configuration with tools like EJS (Embedded JavaScript) or Handlebars for server-side rendering. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Chapter 7: HTML part two
    For a more robust approach, we'd probably need to install a templating language of some kind, such as Twig, EJS, Handlebars, Pug or Mustache (this is not a complete list!). Reading the documentation for posthtml-modules, you'll notice it... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Web Components and SSR - 2024 Edition
    Server-side Framework SSR is when you use a framework that runs the HTML templating logic entirely on the server to compose the HTML that will be rendered in the browser. These are frameworks like Ruby on Rails, ASP.Net, PHP, or even... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago

View more

  • Prompts should live outside.
    The fenced words can be identified and replaced—just like in any templating language. If I were using Go, I could leverage the text/template package from the standard library. In the case of meta-frameworks like Next.js, which internally... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • `handlebars` package in Puck codebase.
    Checkout the official Handlebars docs site at https://handlebarsjs.com/ and the live demo at http://tryhandlebarsjs.com/. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Chapter 7: HTML part two
    For a more robust approach, we'd probably need to install a templating language of some kind, such as Twig, EJS, Handlebars, Pug or Mustache (this is not a complete list!). Reading the documentation for posthtml-modules, you'll notice it... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago

View more

Alternatives to EJS and Handlebars

When comparing EJS and Handlebars, you can also consider the following products.