Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Spring Framework VS Thymeleaf

Compare Spring Framework VS Thymeleaf and see what are their differences

Spring Framework logo Spring Framework

The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

Thymeleaf logo Thymeleaf

Thymeleaf is a modern server-side Java template engine for both web and standalone environments.
  • Spring Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18
  • Thymeleaf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-26

Spring Framework features and specs

  • Comprehensive Ecosystem
    Spring Framework provides a vast array of tools and modules which address various aspects of application development such as security, data access, and messaging. This helps in building robust enterprise applications.
  • Inversion of Control (IoC) Container
    Spring's IoC container promotes loose coupling by managing object lifecycles and dependencies, making the code more modular and testable.
  • Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP)
    Spring's AOP module allows for separating cross-cutting concerns like logging, transaction management, and security, making the code cleaner and more maintainable.
  • Spring Boot
    Spring Boot streamlines the setup and development of new Spring applications with built-in configurations and convention over configuration, reducing boilerplate code and speeding up development time.
  • Large Community and Support
    Spring has a large and active community, extensive documentation, and a wide selection of online resources which make it easier to find support and solutions to common problems.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Spring Framework offers seamless integration with various other technologies and frameworks, including Hibernate for ORM, Apache Kafka for messaging, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Spring Framework

  • Complexity
    Spring Framework can be complex and have a steep learning curve, especially for newcomers who are not familiar with its extensive set of features and configurations.
  • Configuration Overhead
    Although Spring Boot reduces the configuration burden, traditional Spring applications may still require extensive XML or annotation-based configurations, which can be cumbersome.
  • Performance Overhead
    The flexibility and the modular nature of Spring can introduce some performance overhead compared to more lightweight solutions, which could be a concern in highly performance-sensitive applications.
  • Version Incompatibility
    Upgrading between different versions of the Spring Framework and its associated projects can sometimes lead to compatibility issues and necessitate significant code changes.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies in a large Spring application can become complicated, particularly when dealing with multiple modules and third-party libraries, potentially leading to dependency conflicts.

Thymeleaf features and specs

  • Natural Template Approach
    Thymeleaf allows developers to create templates that can be directly opened and edited by designers in browsers, making collaboration between developers and designers easier.
  • Server-Side Rendering
    It provides powerful templating capabilities on the server-side, allowing for dynamic content generation, which is well-suited for web applications that need to process templates on the server.
  • Spring Integration
    Thymeleaf integrates seamlessly with Spring Framework, making it an ideal choice for Spring-based web applications.
  • Rich Features
    Features such as internationalization, decoupled templates, and template inheritance make Thymeleaf a versatile tool for complex applications.
  • HTML5 Support
    Thymeleaf offers excellent support for modern HTML5 standards, ensuring compatibility and future-proofing of web applications.

Possible disadvantages of Thymeleaf

  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Compared to some other templating engines, Thymeleaf has a steeper learning curve, particularly for those not familiar with XML or HTML attribute-based templates.
  • Less Suitable for Highly Interactive UIs
    Since Thymeleaf is a server-side technology, it might not be the best choice for applications requiring highly interactive and dynamically updated UI, which are better served by client-side solutions like React or Angular.
  • Performance Overhead
    The server-side processing of Thymeleaf templates can introduce performance overhead, particularly for large-scale applications with high traffic volumes.
  • Limited Reusability
    Unlike component-based libraries or frameworks, Thymeleaf may have limited reusability of UI components, which can lead to more code duplication.

Spring Framework videos

What is the Spring framework really all about?

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Spring Framework Tutorial | Full Course

Thymeleaf videos

Spring Boot Thymeleaf Form Handling Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - Using Thymeleaf in Spring Boot
  • Review - 4.4 Thymeleaf Standard Dialect XSD

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Spring Framework and Thymeleaf)
Developer Tools
94 94%
6% 6
Javascript UI Libraries
0 0%
100% 100
Web Frameworks
100 100%
0% 0
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 Spring Framework and Thymeleaf

Spring Framework Reviews

Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
Spring offers a wide range of frameworks, such as an MVC framework, a data access framework and a transaction management framework. With its focus on scalability and security, Spring is an excellent choice.
Source: www.kiwop.com
17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
Therefore, the configuration, setup, build, and deployment processes all require multiple steps you might not want to deal with, especially if you’re working on a smaller project. Spring Boot (a micro framework that runs on top of the Spring Framework) is a solution for this problem, as it allows you to set up your Spring application faster, with much less configuration.
Source: raygun.com
Top 10 Phoenix Framework Alternatives
Spring Framework is an open-source app framework and inversion of control container for the Java platform, providing the infrastructure required to develop Java and web apps on top of the Java EE platform.
10 Best Java Frameworks You Should Know
Spring Framework is one of the most extensively used, top-notch, lightweight software application frameworks built for software design, development, and deployment in Java.

Thymeleaf Reviews

We have no reviews of Thymeleaf yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Spring Framework seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 13 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.

Spring Framework mentions (13)

  • March 2025 Java Key Updates in Boot, Security, and More
    The release of Spring Framework 6.2.5 includes:. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Getting Started with Spring Boot 3 for .NET Developers
    Spring Framework 6: https://spring.io/projects/spring-framework. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Want to Get Better at Java? Go Old School.
    We had to write our own frameworks (uphill, both ways) but most current frameworks will have similar documentation pages as well. Both Apache and Spring are especially good at that. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Best Frameworks For Web Development
    Framework link: https://spring.io/projects/spring-framework Github Link: https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-framework. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • What to you do now?
    A common used Java framework is Spring framework (ie https://spring.io/projects/spring-framework and short tutorials at https://www.baeldung.com/spring-intro). Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

Thymeleaf mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Thymeleaf yet. Tracking of Thymeleaf recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Spring Framework and Thymeleaf, you can also consider the following products

Grails - An Open Source, full stack, web application framework for the JVM

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

Vue.js - Reactive Components for Modern Web Interfaces

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

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