Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

rollup.js VS Closure Compiler

Compare rollup.js VS Closure Compiler and see what are their differences

rollup.js logo rollup.js

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

Closure Compiler logo Closure Compiler

The Closure Compiler is a tool for making JavaScript download and run faster.
  • rollup.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-09
  • Closure Compiler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-23

rollup.js features and specs

  • Tree Shaking
    Rollup.js performs treeshaking to eliminate dead code, resulting in smaller bundle sizes. It analyzes the dependency tree and includes only the parts of the code that are actually used.
  • Output Formats
    Supports multiple output formats including ES modules, CommonJS, AMD, UMD, and IIFE. This makes it versatile for different use cases.
  • Plugins
    Rollup.js has a rich ecosystem of plugins that extend its functionality, such as code transformation, minification, and support for various types of modules.
  • Code Splitting
    Supports code splitting, allowing you to break your code into smaller chunks that can be loaded on demand. This improves performance for larger projects.
  • Efficient Bundling
    Offers efficient bundling by removing duplicates and ensuring that each module gets included only once, which contributes to reduced bundle size.
  • Minimal Configuration
    Generally requires minimal configuration to get started, focusing on simplicity and ease of use.

Possible disadvantages of rollup.js

  • Learning Curve
    Although relatively simple to use, there is still a learning curve associated with understanding its configuration and the plugin system.
  • Initial Build Time
    The initial build time can be slower compared to some other bundlers, particularly for larger projects.
  • Limited Built-in Features
    Rollup.js focuses on being a minimalist tool, so it lacks some of the built-in features that other bundlers may have. Often, additional functionality needs to be added via plugins.
  • Plugin Compatibility
    Not all plugins work seamlessly with Rollup.js, and there may be occasional compatibility issues, especially with plugins originally designed for other bundlers.
  • Node.js Ecosystem
    While Rollup.js excels in bundling for browsers, it is not as commonly used for Node.js applications compared to other tools like Webpack.
  • Community Size
    The community size is smaller compared to other bundling tools like Webpack, which can sometimes make finding solutions to issues more challenging.

Closure Compiler features and specs

  • Advanced Optimizations
    Closure Compiler can perform aggressive optimization techniques that result in highly efficient and smaller JavaScript code. This improves load times and performance for web applications.
  • Code Minification
    The compiler reduces the size of JavaScript files by removing unnecessary whitespace, comments, and shortening variable names, which helps in reducing bandwidth usage and enhancing page load speed.
  • Dead Code Elimination
    Closure Compiler can analyze JavaScript code to eliminate dead code, which is code that is never executed or used, resulting in a cleaner and more efficient codebase.
  • Code Warnings and Checks
    It provides developers with advanced code warnings and type checking to identify potential errors, helping improve code quality and reduce bugs.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Closure Compiler can help ensure that JavaScript code behaves consistently across different browsers by transforming it into a format that's compatible with a wider range of environments.

Possible disadvantages of Closure Compiler

  • Complex Setup
    Getting started with Closure Compiler can be complex, especially for developers who are not familiar with its configuration and setup requirements.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with understanding how to use the tool effectively, particularly when using advanced optimization features.
  • Debugging Challenges
    Minified and optimized code can be difficult to debug because variable names and function names are often changed to something less human-readable.
  • Integration Limitations
    Integrating Closure Compiler into existing build systems or workflows might require additional effort and adjustments, particularly if those systems are not designed to accommodate complex build tools.
  • Dependency Management
    Closure Compiler requires careful management of JavaScript dependencies, which can be cumbersome in large projects or projects lacking modular architecture.

rollup.js videos

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Closure Compiler videos

Kevin Macdonald - How Closure Compiler can help protect your IP

More videos:

  • Review - Ильяс Кабиров — Google Closure Compiler — принцип работы и использование в современном фронтенде

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to rollup.js and Closure Compiler)
Web Application Bundler
82 82%
18% 18
JS Build Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Tool
0 0%
100% 100
Front End Package Manager

User comments

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Reviews

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

rollup.js Reviews

Rollup v. Webpack v. Parcel
Rollup provides much simpler configuration over webpack 4 and has a host of pre-configured plugins that are a breeze to incorporate into your project. Rollup's also the fastest of the build tools period.
Source: x-team.com

Closure Compiler Reviews

We have no reviews of Closure Compiler yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, rollup.js should be more popular than Closure Compiler. It has been mentiond 60 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.

rollup.js mentions (60)

  • Valentine’s Day Breakup: React Dumps Create React App
    Vite is a modern frontend build tool used to develop fast and super efficient web applications. It serves files instantly and ensures that changes are updated immediately after they are implemented. It makes use of Rollup for optimized builds and has support for when you want to build a Javascript library (instead of a full app). - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Advanced Guide to Using Vite with React in 2025
    In 2025, mastering Vite for your React projects means leveraging powerful configurations, intelligent optimizations, and a robust plugin ecosystem. By understanding Vite’s modern architecture—native ES modules (ESM) during development and optimized Rollup bundling for production—you can significantly streamline your workflow, improve developer experience, and deliver fast, performant applications at scale. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Optimizing React Development with Vite🤩.
    6. Production-Ready Code Vite uses Rollup for production builds, which optimizes the code by bundling it efficiently, performing tree shaking, and minifying JavaScript. This results in smaller, optimized production builds that are ready for deployment. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • What is Evan You doing by creating VoidZero, and what are the issues with JS toolchains?
    Meanwhile, esbulid (developed in Go language, as introduced earlier) and rollup can also be used separately as packaging tools, and many third-party JS plugins are packaged using rollup. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Node.js: A brief history of cjs, bundlers, and esm
    Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
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Closure Compiler mentions (10)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing rollup.js and Closure Compiler, you can also consider the following products

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.

JavaScript Obfuscator - JavaScript Obfuscator is a free online tool that obfuscates your source code, preventing it from being stolen and used without permission.

Parcel - Blazing fast, zero configuration web application bundler

Terser - JavaScript parser, mangler, optimizer and beautifier toolkit for ES6+

npm - npm is a package manager for Node.

UglifyJS - JavaScript minifier, beautifier, mangler and parser toolkit.