Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

esbuild VS Zustand

Compare esbuild VS Zustand and see what are their differences

esbuild logo esbuild

An extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier

Zustand logo Zustand

Bear necessities for state management in React
  • esbuild Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-05-07
  • Zustand Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-12-19

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.

Zustand features and specs

  • Simplicity
    Zustand offers a minimalistic and simple API, making it easy to integrate and use for state management in React applications without an extensive learning curve.
  • Performance
    Zustand is optimized for performance, ensuring that components only re-render when necessary, which can lead to more efficient applications compared to some other state management libraries.
  • No Boilerplate
    Unlike some other state management solutions, Zustand requires very little boilerplate code, allowing developers to focus more on building features rather than writing repetitive setup code.
  • React Concurrent Mode Support
    Zustand is designed to work well with React's Concurrent Mode, enhancing performance and usability in complex applications.
  • Ease of Integration
    Integration with existing projects is straightforward due to its small API surface and minimalistic approach, making it suitable for both small and large applications.

Possible disadvantages of Zustand

  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to more established state management libraries like Redux, Zustand's ecosystem is relatively small, which might limit available third-party tools and extensions.
  • Community Support
    Zustand has a smaller community compared to larger state management solutions, which could mean less community support and fewer resources such as tutorials and community-driven libraries.
  • Feature Set
    While Zustand is efficient for many use cases, it may lack some advanced features that other state management libraries provide, which could be necessary for specific applications.
  • Dependency on Modern React Features
    Zustand relies on modern React features such as hooks, which means it might not be suitable for projects that need to support older React versions.

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

Zustand videos

Why I Moved from React Redux to Zustand and Why You Should Too!

More videos:

  • Review - Code Review: Zustand (small & fast state-management for React)
  • Review - Mastering Typescript State using Zustand

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to esbuild and Zustand)
JS Build Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Javascript UI Libraries
42 42%
58% 58
Developer Tools
91 91%
9% 9
Front-End Frameworks
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using esbuild and Zustand. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, esbuild seems to be a lot more popular than Zustand. While we know about 143 links to esbuild, we've tracked only 7 mentions of Zustand. 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 / 5 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

Zustand mentions (7)

  • React + AI Stack for 2025
    For client-side state, Zustand is the way to go. It's got zero boilerplate, a tiny bundle size, and a simple but powerful API that's easy to learn. You can create a store with just a few lines of code, which is pretty neat. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Lessons Learned: Overusing useMemo in React
    State Management with Zustand: Zustand offers a lightweight and intuitive approach to managing shared state, reducing the need for derived state or excessive memoization. It simplifies managing and updating global state without extra boilerplate. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Top 10 NPM Packages to Try for React (and Beyond) in 2024
    📦 Package: zustand Https://zustand-demo.pmnd.rs/ ⭐ Why You Should Try It: A small, fast, and flexible state management library that’s simpler than Redux. It works great with React. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Key Takeaways from My Recent Review of the React Docs
    Consider using the useReducer hook or a state management library like Redux or Zustand for complex state logic. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Revisiting Zustand and React with TS
    This is a simple example which I created to revise the working of Zustand with React and TypeScript with the help of the official Documentation of Zustand Zustand Official Docs. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Vite - Next Generation Frontend Tooling

RxJS - Reactive Extensions for Javascript

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.

MobX - Simple, scalable state management

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

Redux.js - Predictable state container for JavaScript apps