Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

prism.js VS highlight.js

Compare prism.js VS highlight.js and see what are their differences

prism.js logo prism.js

Prism is a lightweight, extensible syntax highlighter, built with modern web standards in mind.

highlight.js logo highlight.js

Highlight.js is a syntax highlighter written in JavaScript. It works in the browser as well as on the server.
  • prism.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-08-28
  • highlight.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-25

prism.js features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Prism.js is designed to be a lightweight library, minimizing performance impact on the website. It is optimized for being small in size, which aids in faster loading times.
  • Easy to Use
    It is very easy to integrate Prism.js into any web project with minimal setup required. The instructions and implementation are straightforward, making it accessible for developers.
  • Theme Customization
    Prism.js supports custom themes, allowing developers to easily match syntax highlighting styles with the design of their website or application.
  • Extensible
    The library is modular with plugins and supports language extensions. This allows developers to add just the components they need, reducing bloat and improving performance.
  • Wide Language Support
    Prism.js supports a broad array of programming languages, making it versatile for projects that require syntax highlighting across multiple coding languages.

Possible disadvantages of prism.js

  • Basic Functionality
    Prism.js focuses on simple syntax highlighting and doesn't include advanced features like IDE-level code analysis or linting, which some users might expect.
  • Limited Plugin Ecosystem
    While there are several plugins available, the ecosystem isn't as extensive as some other larger projects, which may limit customization for more advanced use cases.
  • Lacks Built-in Line Highlighting
    Some alternative libraries offer built-in advanced line highlighting features, which are not included out of the box in Prism.js, requiring additional customization.
  • No Built-in Live Code Editing
    Prism.js doesn’t support live code editing natively, which may be a limitation for users needing an interactive coding environment, such as in educational tools.
  • Supports Web Only
    Prism.js is optimized specifically for web use, which might be a limitation if you need syntax highlighting for different environments or formats, like desktop applications.

highlight.js features and specs

  • Wide Language Support
    Highlight.js supports a comprehensive range of programming languages out of the box, making it versatile for various projects.
  • Automatic Language Detection
    It can automatically detect the programming language of a code block, reducing the setup time and effort for developers.
  • Customization
    Highlight.js offers numerous themes and customization options, allowing developers to easily tailor the syntax highlighting to match their application's aesthetic.
  • Lightweight and Fast
    The library is lightweight and performs efficiently, ensuring quick load times and a seamless user experience.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Highlight.js benefits from community contributions and is free to use, modify, and distribute.

Possible disadvantages of highlight.js

  • Limited Dynamic Features
    Highlight.js is primarily used for static code block highlighting and lacks advanced features like real-time editing or complex code analysis.
  • Manual Updates
    New languages or updates may not be immediately available, requiring users to manually update the library or find alternatives for less common languages.
  • Performance Degradation on Large Files
    Highlight.js may experience performance issues when rendering very large code files, potentially slowing down page load times.
  • Dependency Management
    As with many JavaScript libraries, managing dependencies and ensuring compatibility with other libraries or frameworks can be challenging.

prism.js videos

Prism.js - How to show html css javascript code syntax on your own website

highlight.js videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to prism.js and highlight.js)
App Reviews
36 36%
64% 64
Customer Feedback
33 33%
67% 67
Documentation
100 100%
0% 0
Marketing Tools
27 27%
73% 73

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, highlight.js should be more popular than prism.js. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. 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.

prism.js mentions (19)

  • Build A Full-Stack Application With AnalogJS
    First step it to open src/app/app.config.ts, enable markdown file support, and add a syntax highlighter. You can pick between Prism or Shiki, both are great, but for this example, we’re rolling with Prism. - Source: dev.to / 6 days ago
  • Supercharge Your Projects: Must-Have JavaScript Plugins for Developers 🚀
    Explore Prism.js for more themes and plugins! - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • SLATE Code editor with highlight
    This function receives a SLATE Node. I get the text of the "Node" With the text, I create the "tokens" with PRISMJS. I transform the "tokens" into Range. The "Ranges" have the className property with the information for the highlight. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • My OpenSource Blog that You Can Use Right Now
    For Code highlighting, I am using Prism.js. First I am loading the styles file inside the _app.tsx file and inside the CodeBlock component, I am loading the styling that gives us beautiful syntax highlights. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Build a simple code editor
    Luckily, implementing syntax highlighting in our simple code editor is easy with the use of external libraries. There are several JavaScript libraries available, such as Prism and Highlight.js. For our editor, we'll use Prism since it's easy to use and supports a wide range of programming languages. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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highlight.js mentions (55)

  • A better pkg.go.dev
    Every time a request come in, we forward it to the pkg.go.dev server, then append the highlight.js script to the response before sending it back to the client. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Day 19: Highlight'em up! 🔖
    It supports 192 languages, just like a browser highlighter:. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • YouTube Embeds Are Bananas Heavy and It's Fixable
    Now we only need to force bloggers to stop using GitHub Gist embeds. Hugo (and probably other static site generators) has built-in support for code snippets with syntax highlighting, and more dynamic sites can rely on highlight.js which removes dependence on third-party services. It's just insane, using heavy iframes for small code snippets. https://gohugo.io/content-management/syntax-highlighting/... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Glimmer DSL for Web Ruby Integration with JavaScript Libraries
    Glimmer DSL for Web is a Ruby-in-the-Browser Web Frontend Framework that enables Rubyists to finally have Ruby productivity and happiness in the Frontend via a simpler, more intuitive, more straightforward, and more productive library than all JavaScript libraries like React, Angular, Ember, Vue, Svelte, etc.... Glimmer DSL for Web's Rails sample app "Sample Selector" has been upgraded with Code Syntax... - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Code Syntax highlighting in Next Js
    Let's get started by installing the highlight js. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing prism.js and highlight.js, you can also consider the following products

Pygments - Generic syntax highlighter suitable for use in code hosting, forums, wikis or other applications...

Apache Archiva - Apache Archiva is an extensible repository management software.

Zsh Syntax Highlighting - Fish shell like syntax highlighting for Zsh.

Asklayer - Get real answers from your customers with Asklayers surveys, quizzes, polls and more. Works on any website with zero code and includes enterprise level features such auto-segmentation, user tagging, branching, NPS & CSAT calculation.

Apache Tika - Apache Tika toolkit detects and extracts metadata and text from different file types.

Asciidoctor - In the spirit of free software, everyone is encouraged to help improve this project.