Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Ionic Framework VS Zepto.js

Compare Ionic Framework VS Zepto.js and see what are their differences

Ionic Framework logo Ionic Framework

A front-end SDK to develop applications with HTML5 , CSS3 and JavaScript.

Zepto.js logo Zepto.js

Zepto is a minimalist JavaScript library for modern browsers with a largely jQuery-compatible API.
  • Ionic Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-22
  • Zepto.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

Ionic Framework features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    Ionic allows developers to create applications that work smoothly on both iOS and Android from a single codebase, reducing development time and costs.
  • Rich Pre-Built Components
    Ionic comes with a vast library of pre-built UI components that are customizable, enabling quicker development and a consistent user experience across different devices.
  • Integration with Popular Frameworks
    Ionic can be easily integrated with popular front-end frameworks such as Angular, React, and Vue, providing flexibility for developers to use the tools they are familiar with.
  • Active Community and Ecosystem
    Ionic has a strong and active community, along with extensive documentation and a variety of plugins and third-party extensions that can be utilized to extend app functionalities.
  • Performance Optimization
    Ionic has made significant improvements in performance, particularly with the use of tools like Capacitor, which helps achieve near-native performance for hybrid applications.

Possible disadvantages of Ionic Framework

  • Dependency on Web Technologies
    Since Ionic relies heavily on web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, performance might not be as optimal as fully native apps, especially in graphics-intensive applications.
  • Learning Curve
    While Ionic is easier to pick up for web developers, those unfamiliar with Angular, React, or Vue might face a steep learning curve initially.
  • Limited Access to Native APIs
    Even though Ionic provides plugins through Capacitor and Cordova for accessing native APIs, there might be scenarios where certain native functionalities are not fully supported or require custom development.
  • Larger App Sizes
    Hybrid applications built with Ionic often have larger file sizes compared to native apps due to the overhead of web runtime and additional libraries.
  • Browser Compatibility Issues
    As Ionic apps run inside a WebView, inconsistencies across different browsers and versions can sometimes lead to unexpected behavior, requiring additional testing and debugging efforts.

Zepto.js features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Zepto.js is extremely lightweight, with a file size significantly smaller than jQuery. This reduces load times and improves performance on webpages, particularly important for mobile users with limited bandwidth.
  • jQuery Compatibility
    Zepto.js aims to offer a jQuery-compatible syntax, making it easy for developers familiar with jQuery to adopt Zepto.js without a steep learning curve.
  • Optimized for Modern Browsers
    Zepto.js is optimized for modern browsers and takes advantage of advanced features like CSS3 and HTML5, which can lead to improved performance and more elegant solutions.
  • Modular Design
    Zepto.js has a modular architecture, allowing developers to include only the features they need. This can further reduce the size of the library and improve page load times.

Possible disadvantages of Zepto.js

  • Limited Legacy Browser Support
    Zepto.js does not support older versions of Internet Explorer (like IE8 and below), which may be a limitation for projects needing to cater to a wide audience with deprecated browser support.
  • Fewer Features than jQuery
    Although Zepto.js is similar to jQuery, it lacks some of the more advanced features and plugins available in jQuery, which might require additional solutions for certain tasks.
  • Small Community
    Zepto.js has a smaller user base and community compared to jQuery, which may result in less community support, fewer tutorials, and limited plugin options.
  • Limited Official Documentation
    The official documentation for Zepto.js is not as extensive as that for jQuery, which may require developers to spend extra time understanding and troubleshooting code.

Ionic Framework videos

Why You SHOULD Use the Ionic Framework

Zepto.js videos

Data-binding Techniques | CSS Techniques | Zepto.js | The Treehouse Show Episode 97

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ionic Framework and Zepto.js)
Development Tools
89 89%
11% 11
Javascript UI Libraries
76 76%
24% 24
JavaScript Framework
90 90%
10% 10
JS Library
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Ionic Framework and Zepto.js

Ionic Framework Reviews

THE BEST 34 APP DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE IN 2022 LIST
One codebase. Any platform. Now in React and Angular. Ionic Framework is an open-source mobile UI toolkit for building high-quality, cross-platform native and web app experiences. Move faster with a single codebase, running everywhere. Free and open-source, Ionic offers a library of mobile-optimized UI components, gestures, and tools for building fast highly interactive apps.
10 React Native Alternatives
Ionic Framework is a free, open-source mobile UI toolkit used for building high-quality cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, and from the web all from a single codebase.

Zepto.js Reviews

We have no reviews of Zepto.js yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ionic Framework seems to be a lot more popular than Zepto.js. While we know about 90 links to Ionic Framework, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Zepto.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.

Ionic Framework mentions (90)

  • Top 10 Essential Tools for Android Development
    Ionic is an open-source framework for building cross-platform mobile applications using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It allows developers to build apps for Android, iOS, and the web from a single codebase. Ionic is known for its flexibility and wide range of UI components, making it easy to build modern, responsive apps. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Building a GenAI Fitness App with Gemini
    For the frontend, I chose Ionic and Angular, which enabled me to create a mobile-first app that could be deployed on the web right away while it could also be shipped as native for both iOS and Android. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Design Systems with Web Components
    I was recently able to sit down with some of the core members of Ionic, who also created Stencil a toolchain for building Design Systems and Progressive Web Apps. We talked at great length how typically companies are approaching Ionic from a Design Team and need help building components. As a developer I wanted to talk about the Web Components that are used within the Design System first. There was a decent amount... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Turning HTML, CSS, JS project into an app
    Look into Ionic Framework https://ionicframework.com/ or Cordova. They might be overkill for what you’re trying to do, but they allow you to create cross-platform apps via html/css/js. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Getting Started with PayloadCMS & Vue JS
    Ionic Framework UI Components are used to build a website and then a mobile application is built using Ionic Capacitor. Ionic UI components are not required but are used for UX. The vue js code presented here will work fine in a separate application. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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Zepto.js mentions (4)

  • TinyJS – Shorten JavaScript QuerySelect with $ and $$
    jQuery II: The Quickening! If anybody's interested in a more minimalist jQuery-like tool check out Zepto [1]. I built a toy Golang SSR project using it and felt like I was 17 again. Also of note is that "Highlander II" takes place in the year 2024 [2]. It's a sign! Everything old is new again! `$` is immortal! [1] http://zeptojs.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_II:_The_Quickening. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • jQuery v4.0.0 Beta
    > I've always thought there should be a modern, lightweight jQuery alternative like this. Have you heard of Zepto? https://zeptojs.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Discovered a 63kb tiddlywiki like self saving HTML+JS wiki and its looking cool
    I once made a very crude and simple TiddlyWiki work-alike I called "HulloWurld" https://github.com/calroc/HulloWurld It's 143 KB, but it includes copies of Knockout, Underscore, Zepto, and the "Marked" markdown parser... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ( Good stuff BTW: http://knockoutjs.com/ http://underscorejs.org/ https://zeptojs.com/ https://github.com/chjj/marked ) Probably the only interesting bit is the code to save the page:... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Replacing jQuery (110kb) With UmbrellaJS (8kb)
    I think zepto.js is a better choice. It's slightly bigger than cash but much closer to jquery (for example it has $.ajax) https://zeptojs.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Ionic Framework and Zepto.js, you can also consider the following products

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

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

Flutter - Build beautiful native apps in record time 🚀

AngularJS - AngularJS lets you extend HTML vocabulary for your application. The resulting environment is extraordinarily expressive, readable, and quick to develop.

Apache Cordova - Platform for building native mobile applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript

ExpressJS - Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple