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KnockoutJS VS Vue.js

Compare KnockoutJS VS Vue.js and see what are their differences

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KnockoutJS logo KnockoutJS

Knockout makes it easier to create rich, responsive UIs with JavaScript

Vue.js logo Vue.js

Reactive Components for Modern Web Interfaces
  • KnockoutJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30
  • Vue.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-22

KnockoutJS features and specs

  • Data Binding
    KnockoutJS offers a powerful two-way data binding mechanism, allowing for automatic synchronization between the model and the user interface. This reduces the amount of boilerplate code needed to manage data updates.
  • Declarative Bindings
    The library uses declarative bindings to connect the UI to the data model. This makes it easier to understand the structure of your UI without having to sift through complex JavaScript code.
  • Flexibility
    KnockoutJS is framework-agnostic, meaning it can be integrated with other libraries and frameworks such as jQuery and Angular, providing flexibility in application architecture.
  • Simplicity
    It's relatively easy to learn and use, especially for developers familiar with Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architecture.
  • Community Support
    Despite being a mature library, KnockoutJS has a solid community with ample documentation and plugins, which can be quite helpful for development and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages of KnockoutJS

  • Performance Issues
    For very complex applications or large datasets, KnockoutJS might lead to performance bottlenecks, since it doesn’t offer the same virtual DOM diffing optimizations as newer frameworks/libraries like React.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Complex Applications
    While it's simple for smaller projects, creating and managing more complex applications often involves a steeper learning curve and can lead to complex models.
  • Lack of Built-in Support for Modern Features
    KnockoutJS does not natively support some modern JavaScript features and patterns, such as ES6 modules or TypeScript, requiring additional configurations or libraries.
  • Decreasing Popularity
    As more modern frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue gain popularity, the use of KnockoutJS is declining, which might lead to a smaller community and fewer updates or improvements in the future.
  • Limited Official Tooling
    Compared to newer frameworks, KnockoutJS has less official tooling support for development, build processes, and testing, which can make project setup and maintenance more arduous.

Vue.js features and specs

  • Easy to Learn
    Vue.js has a gentle learning curve, making it accessible for beginners. Its documentation is thorough and well-written, and the framework itself is designed to be straightforward and easy to understand.
  • Reactive Data Binding
    Vue.js provides a reactive data binding system, which allows for efficient and seamless synchronization between the model and the view, making the development of dynamic interfaces simpler and more intuitive.
  • Component-Based Architecture
    Vue.js uses a component-based architecture, which promotes reusability and modularity. This allows developers to break down the user interface into smaller, more manageable pieces that can be reused across different parts of the application.
  • Rich Ecosystem and Integration
    Vue.js has a rich set of tools and libraries, such as Vue Router for routing and Vuex for state management. It is also easy to integrate with other projects and libraries.
  • Flexibility
    Vue.js is highly flexible. It can be used for both large-scale single-page applications (SPAs) and smaller, more simple interfaces. It also allows developers to use it as a library or as a full-fledged framework.
  • Great Performance
    Vue.js offers high performance due to its lightweight nature and optimal rendering. Its virtual DOM implementation and efficient reactivity system ensure fast updates and rendering.
  • Active Community and Support
    Vue.js has an active and growing community, which means abundant learning resources, frequent updates, and a wide range of plugins and third-party libraries.

Possible disadvantages of Vue.js

  • Smaller Market Share
    Compared to frameworks like React and Angular, Vue.js has a smaller market share. This may result in fewer job opportunities and less community support in some areas.
  • Language Barrier
    Some official documentation and community resources are primarily in Chinese, which might pose a challenge for developers who do not understand the language.
  • Limited Resources for Larger Projects
    While Vue.js is growing, it still has fewer large-scale, enterprise-level tools and resources compared to more established frameworks like Angular.
  • Integration with Legacy Systems
    Integrating Vue.js into older, legacy systems might require more effort and experience, particularly if those systems are built with a different architecture or framework.
  • Overhead of Flexibility
    The flexibility that Vue.js offers can sometimes lead to inconsistencies in code structure and project organization, especially in teams where developers have varying levels of experience and coding styles.
  • Ecosystem Fragmentation
    The rapid growth of Vue's ecosystem can lead to fragmentation, where multiple plugins or libraries serve similar purposes, making it difficult for developers to choose the best solution.

KnockoutJS videos

KnockoutJS Review

Vue.js videos

Vue.js in 2019 & Beyond

More videos:

  • Review - Vue.js or React or Angular ... which is KING?
  • Review - Why 43% of Front-End Developers want to learn Vue.js

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to KnockoutJS and Vue.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
JS Library
6 6%
94% 94
JavaScript Framework
4 4%
96% 96
Front-End Frameworks
3 3%
97% 97

User comments

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Reviews

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

KnockoutJS Reviews

We have no reviews of KnockoutJS yet.
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Vue.js Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
Vue.JS uses MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture and can be useful along with different architectural frameworks like CBA (Component-Based-Architecture). It has a unique ability to interact with various available frameworks, which has made Vue.JS a go-to choice for web development.
Source: solguruz.com
20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
Like a breath of fresh air, Vue.js is that approachable buddy who’s also a powerhouse behind the scenes. Simplicity paired with flexibility, Vue.js is all about building slick, reactive single-page apps without the brain-strain. Its core library focuses on the view layer, making it tasty for integration with other projects and libraries.
The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
Vue.js — a sprightly little JavaScript framework — charmingly simple, surprisingly powerful. It’s playful, it’s approachable, and it makes building UIs and front-end applications feel like a walk in the park.
Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
The best frameworks for web development include React, Angular, Vue.js, Django, Spring, Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Flask and Express.js. Each of these frameworks has its own advantages and distinctive features, so it is important to choose the framework that best suits the needs of your project.
Source: www.kiwop.com
9 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2023
Vue.js: Vue.js is a lightweight and easy-to-learn framework that focuses on simplicity and ease of use. It has been gaining popularity in recent years and has a growing community.
Source: ninetailed.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Vue.js seems to be a lot more popular than KnockoutJS. While we know about 393 links to Vue.js, we've tracked only 22 mentions of KnockoutJS. 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.

KnockoutJS mentions (22)

  • JSX over the Wire
    > Everything old is new again An age ago I took interest in KnockoutJS based on Model-View-ViewModel and found it pragmatic and easy to use. It was however at the beginning of the mad javascript framework-hopping marathon, so it was considered 'obsolete' after a few months. I just peeked, Knockout still exists. https://knockoutjs.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 25 days ago
  • A First Look at HTMX and How it Compares to React
    The approach is not new, essentially a variation of Knockout, Alpine, and similar "JS-in-HTML" approaches. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • The Best UI Libraries for Cross-Platform Apps with Tauri
    SolidJS and Tauri form another potent combination for creating performant, lightweight, and secure experiences. SolidJS is a reactive UI library that is similar to Svelte in the way it compiles away reactivity and updates the DOM directly, but it also incorporates a fine-grained reactivity system reminiscent of libraries like Marko, Knockout, and MobX. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Why are signals still not so popular?
    People act like Signals are a new discovery. KnockoutJS was using them 13 years ago and other libraries used them before that. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • What is KnockoutJS and how is it relevant in Magento 2?
    Knockout JS is a Javascript library which uses the MVVM pattern to bind data to certain DOM elements. Within Magento, we usually define a View-Model (which is a .js file) and a Template (which is a .html file), and the data in the template file is bound to the view-model, meaning whenever the data in the view-model changes, the template file changes too. Source: almost 2 years ago
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Vue.js mentions (393)

  • Chapter 6 HTML part one
    The MVC approach is dominating the application market at the time of writing. The three main front-end frameworks which do this are React, Vue and Angular but there are many, many more. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • The problem with indirections
    Something I have already seen in many different code bases using frontend libraries like React and Vue is that developers use advanced state management solutions (e.g. Redux, Vuex, or Pinia) way too often. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • 60 Best JavaScript Libraries for Building Interactive UI Components
    Vue.js Vuejs.org Progressive framework for building reactive interfaces. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • How I Achieved a 74% Performance Increase on a Page
    Our monolith is built with Laravel and Vue.js, where Vue.js powers dynamic features at the expense of performance, since it runs completely on the client-side. For performance-sensitive features, we rely on Blade (Laravel's template engine) with raw JavaScript or jQuery, resulting in a more complex and less developer-friendly approach. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Lexical 0.24 with Vanilla JS: Getting started
    Lexical is an open source project and considered the successor of Draft.js. It is primarily developed by Meta, licensed under MIT. It is not restricted to React, but supports Vanilla JS, too. The flexibility enables us to integrate it with other JS libraries such as Svelte and Vue. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing KnockoutJS and Vue.js, you can also consider the following products

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

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

Svelte - Cybernetically enhanced web apps

ember.js - A JavaScript framework for creating ambitious web apps

Angular.io - Angular is a JavaScript web framework for creating single-page web applications. The code is free to use and available as open source. It is further maintained and heavily used by Google and by lots of other developers around the world.

Backbone.js - Give your JS App some Backbone with Models, Views, Collections, and Events