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esbuild VS Unused CSS

Compare esbuild VS Unused CSS and see what are their differences

esbuild logo esbuild

An extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier

Unused CSS logo Unused CSS

Easily find and remove unused CSS rules
  • esbuild Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-05-07
  • Unused CSS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-13

esbuild features and specs

  • Speed
    esbuild is known for its blazing-fast performance because it is written in Go and optimized for efficiency. This makes it significantly faster than many other popular build tools.
  • Simplicity
    esbuild has a minimalistic and straightforward configuration, making it easy to set up and use without needing to navigate through complex configuration files.
  • Tree Shaking
    esbuild supports tree shaking, which helps in eliminating dead code, thereby resulting in smaller bundle sizes and improved performance.
  • TypeScript Support
    esbuild has built-in support for TypeScript, allowing developers to seamlessly integrate TypeScript into their build process without needing additional configuration.
  • CommonJS and ES Module Support
    esbuild supports both CommonJS and ES modules, providing flexibility in how modules are imported and exported.
  • Bundling
    esbuild can bundle multiple JavaScript files, resolving dependencies and optimizing the output, which is beneficial for production-ready applications.

Possible disadvantages of esbuild

  • Limited Plugin Ecosystem
    Compared to more mature tools like Webpack or Rollup, esbuild has a relatively smaller ecosystem of plugins, which might limit some advanced customization and integration capabilities.
  • Less Mature
    As a newer tool, esbuild might have less extensive community support and fewer resources such as tutorials and documentation compared to older and more established build tools.
  • Feature Parity
    While esbuild covers many essential features, it may lack some advanced features found in other build tools, potentially requiring additional tools or workarounds for complex scenarios.
  • Non-Configurable Output
    esbuild's approach to simplicity sometimes means less configurability compared to other tools. This might be restrictive for projects that require highly customized or specific build outputs.
  • Source Map Support
    While esbuild does support source maps, its support might be less comprehensive compared to some other build tools, potentially causing issues during debugging.

Unused CSS features and specs

  • Performance Optimization
    Removing unused CSS can lead to faster page load times, improving user experience and potentially boosting SEO rankings.
  • Reduced File Size
    By eliminating unused CSS, the overall file size of stylesheets is reduced, which can decrease bandwidth usage and server load.
  • Improved Maintainability
    Cleaned-up CSS makes it easier for developers to read and maintain the stylesheet, reducing the complexity of future updates.
  • Fewer Rendering Issues
    By having only the necessary CSS, the likelihood of rendering issues and style conflicts is minimized, ensuring a more consistent design across different browsers and devices.

Possible disadvantages of Unused CSS

  • Potential Over-removal
    There is a risk of mistakenly removing CSS that is conditionally used (e.g., dynamic content or styled via JavaScript), which can lead to broken styles on the website.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up tools to analyze and trim unused CSS can be complex, requiring time and technical expertise to configure properly.
  • Regular Maintenance
    Web applications that frequently change or add new content may require ongoing checks to ensure CSS remains optimal, which could increase maintenance efforts.
  • Risk of False Positives
    Automated tools might misidentify CSS as 'unused' if they're used in specific contexts not covered during the analysis phase, potentially leading to functionality issues.

Analysis of esbuild

Overall verdict

  • Esbuild is considered a great tool for developers looking for a fast and efficient bundling solution. Its performance and feature set make it a preferred choice for projects where build speed is a critical factor.

Why this product is good

  • Esbuild is highly regarded due to its impressive speed and performance. It is built in Go, which allows it to be significantly faster than other JavaScript bundlers written in JavaScript. Esbuild is designed to handle large codebases quickly, making it a great tool for developers who prioritize build speed. Additionally, it supports modern JavaScript features and offers features like tree shaking, minification, and support for various module formats.

Recommended for

    Esbuild is recommended for developers who work on large projects and need a bundler that can significantly reduce build times. It is ideal for those who prefer using cutting-edge tools and technologies in their workflow. Additionally, it's suitable for developers who need to support modern JavaScript features and are looking for a straightforward configuration process.

esbuild videos

ESBuild and SWC: Worth your time?

More videos:

  • Review - Let's talk about esbuild
  • Tutorial - Introduction to ESBuild tutorial for React / JavaScript and Typescript bundling. Bye bye Webpack

Unused CSS videos

UnCSS your CSS! Removing Unused CSS with PostCSS & Parcel

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Remove Unused CSS code from Joomla Web Pages - 👀 WMW 109

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to esbuild and Unused CSS)
JS Build Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Design Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
66 66%
34% 34
Web Application Bundler
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, esbuild seems to be a lot more popular than Unused CSS. While we know about 143 links to esbuild, we've tracked only 1 mention of Unused CSS. 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.

esbuild mentions (143)

  • ⚔️ Vite vs. Turbopack in 2025: Which One to Choose?
    Vite (pronounced veet) was created by Evan You (Vue's creator) and launched in 2020. It uses native ES modules in the browser and esbuild for lightning-fast dev servers and Rollup for optimized production builds. - Source: dev.to / 11 days ago
  • Understanding how Vite deals with your node_modules
    Pre-bundle all the dependencies on the "optimization boundary" list into node_modules/.vite/deps/ folder. This step is done by esbuild. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Show HN: Nue – Apps lighter than a React button
    5. Show me metrics: https://esbuild.github.io/ nailed this one. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Extensible WASM Applications with Go
    ESBuild is a bundler. The subtitle on the website is literally “An extremely fast bundler for the web”. To bundle, pass —-bundle flag. https://esbuild.github.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • How I Built a SpeedtestTracker with Raspberry PI and AWS Lambda
    Esbuild for bunding both the client and server separately. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
View more

Unused CSS mentions (1)

  • Top 15 Tools for Frontend Developers: Optimize Your Workflow
    Easily clean up your unused CSS rules with UnusedCSS. This tool scans your stylesheets and identifies CSS rules that are not being used in your project. By removing these unused rules, you can reduce the size of your CSS files, improving load times and overall performance. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing esbuild and Unused CSS, you can also consider the following products

Vite - Next Generation Frontend Tooling

CSS Peeper - Smart CSS viewer tailored for Designers.

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.

Purgecss - Easily remove unused CSS

rollup.js - Rollup is a module bundler for JavaScript which compiles small pieces of code into a larger piece such as application.

Tailwind CSS - A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.