Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Konva VS Three.js

Compare Konva VS Three.js and see what are their differences

Konva logo Konva

Konva is 2d Canvas JavaScript framework for drawings shapes, animations, node nesting, layering, filtering, event handling, drag and drop and much more.

Three.js logo Three.js

A JavaScript 3D library which makes WebGL simpler.
  • Konva Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-23
  • Three.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-05-05

Konva features and specs

  • Easy to Use
    Konva provides an intuitive API for creating 2D canvas applications, making it accessible for developers who may not be familiar with complex graphic programming.
  • High Performance
    It leverages HTML5's Canvas element for rendering, which allows for efficient drawing operations, making it suitable for developing rich, interactive applications.
  • Rich Manipulation Tools
    Konva offers built-in capabilities to easily manipulate and transform shapes, images, and other elements on the canvas, which simplifies the development process.
  • Layer and Node System
    The use of layers and nodes helps in organizing complex scenes efficiently and allows for more advanced features, like hit detection and selective rendering, enhancing performance.
  • Cross-Platform
    Since Konva is HTML5-based, it works on most modern browsers and can run on both desktop and mobile platforms without compatibility issues.

Possible disadvantages of Konva

  • Limited 3D support
    Konva is primarily designed for 2D graphics, and thus lacks built-in support for 3D rendering, which might be a limitation for developers needing 3D capabilities.
  • Performance on Older Devices
    While Konva is quite performant, running complex scenes or high volumes of objects may lead to performance bottlenecks, especially on older hardware.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    Even though it's easy to start with, leveraging Konva's full potential requires understanding its more advanced features and concepts, which may take time for new users.
  • Dependency on Third-party Libraries
    Advanced functionality may require additional integration with other JavaScript libraries which can increase project complexity and dependency management.
  • Limited Built-in UI Components
    Unlike some UI frameworks, Konva does not offer a wide array of pre-built UI components, which could require additional implementation effort for standard elements.

Three.js features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Three.js simplifies the complex task of 3D rendering with an intuitive API, making it accessible to developers who may not have deep expertise in 3D graphics.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Three.js is built upon WebGL, ensuring compatibility across modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    The library offers extensive documentation, examples, and an active community, which helps in quickly resolving issues and understanding implementation.
  • Integration with HTML and CSS
    Three.js can be easily integrated with HTML and CSS, allowing for the blending of 2D and 3D elements in web applications.
  • Extensive Features
    It supports a wide range of features including cameras, lights, materials, shaders, and post-processing effects, making it highly versatile for various 3D projects.

Possible disadvantages of Three.js

  • Performance Overhead
    Despite its powerful capabilities, Three.js can have significant performance overhead, especially for complex scenes, which might require optimization.
  • Learning Curve
    While easier than raw WebGL, Three.js still has a learning curve, particularly for those new to 3D graphics, requiring time to become proficient.
  • Limited Built-in Advanced Tools
    Although feature-rich, Three.js lacks some advanced tools out-of-the-box compared to more specialized or industry-standard 3D engines, necessitating custom solutions for certain tasks.
  • Dependency on WebGL
    Three.js relies on WebGL, meaning it cannot be used in environments where WebGL is not supported, which can limit accessibility and compatibility.
  • Frequent Updates
    The library is actively developed, which is generally positive, but frequent updates can mean breaking changes, requiring developers to frequently refactor their code.

Konva videos

Drawing With Konva

Three.js videos

Getting Started With Three.js

More videos:

  • Review - Ricardo Cabello (Mr doob) - 5 years of three.js

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Konva and Three.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
17 17%
83% 83
Flowcharts
26 26%
74% 74
Org Charts
100 100%
0% 0
Charting Libraries
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 Konva and Three.js

Konva Reviews

8 Best Free and Open-Source Drawing Libraries in JavaScript
The Fabric.js library is built upon the same philosophy as Konva and has a lot of the same features. In fact, Fabric.js actually seems to be more popular and active than Konva.

Three.js Reviews

Top 20 Javascript Libraries
Cross-browser JS library and API that allows for the creation of beautiful animations, Three.js relies on WebGL rather than conventional browser-plugins. Through its library utilities, developers can include complex 3D animations on their website without much effort. Three.js include many features like geometry, lights, materials, shaders, effects, scenes, data loaders,...
Source: hackr.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Three.js seems to be a lot more popular than Konva. While we know about 247 links to Three.js, we've tracked only 15 mentions of Konva. 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.

Konva mentions (15)

  • I'm trying to make a Nextjs canva clone for my company
    I have been assigned a task to create a sort of a canva clone which will have almost same features as canva with authentication, access control and rating system(not in this phase). I need help in finding libraries similar to https://konvajs.org/ which has updated docs and great support for Nextjs. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Any Ideas How to Create a Graph Builder UI in React?
    Used goJS in one project and konva in another. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How to make something like this in react? (video in description)
    All the UI part would make sense to do in React. The actual drawing board you likely would need to implement in canvas or SVG. It still could be a React component, but for actual drawing, you'd probably use something like Konva (https://konvajs.org/). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Plug Konva events into RxJS
    During the development of a complex interactive UI for the configuration of a digital laboratory ecosystem, we were utilizing the Konva.js library. Konva is a wrapper around the HTML canvas that simplifies working with shapes and interacting with the canvas a lot. Everybody dealing with the plain canvas API knows how much code certain tasks require, especially when user interaction with the drawn shapes is... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • How to integrate polotno in Angular framework?
    Why Polotno? Polotno is an opinionated JavaScript library and React components to build canvas editors for several business use cases. It is a canvas editor tool using konvajs.org/. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
View more

Three.js mentions (247)

  • Turn your phone into a wireless Joy-Con with SyncoPath
    The phone in the codepath sample got rendered using Three.js. For fun, I also added some beep sound generated using ZZfx when you tap. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • How to Build a Portfolio Website with React
    Also, to make your portfolio stand out to recruiters and clients, you can add some creative and interactive animations to it. The following libraries can help you easily do this: Framer Motion, tsParticles, and Three.js. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Rant: state of generative AI in code generation.
    In my experience with AI code generation, in visual projects like UI development or JavaScript based animation (using three.js or p5.js) etc. AI tools work pretty well. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • My son (9 yrs old) used plain JavaScript to make a game, and wants your feedback
    After he's done with v2, might I propose... THE GAMEY GAME 3D ?? https://threejs.org/ I started coding at 9 as well (which was a long time ago now), so I was very happy to play and see this today. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Optimizing Three.js: 4 Key Techniques
    But code can also create something visually stunning, something everyone can appreciate. This is where tools like Three.js shine. However, Three.js can be heavy, especially when used in a dynamic web page accessed by devices with varying computational power. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Konva and Three.js, you can also consider the following products

GoJS - GoJS is a JavaScript library for building interactive diagrams on HTML web pages. Build apps with flowcharts, org charts, BPMN, UML, modeling, and other visual graph types.

p5.js - JS library for creating graphic and interactive experiences

Paper.js - Open source vector graphics scripting framework that runs on top of the HTML5 Canvas.

PixiJS - Fast and flexible WebGL-based HTML5 game and app development library.

Pixi.js - Fast lightweight 2D library that works across all devices

mxGraph - mxGraph is a fully client side JavaScript diagramming library - jgraph/mxgraph