Software Alternatives & Startups

StackBlitz VS Blockly

Compare StackBlitz VS Blockly and see what are their differences

StackBlitz

Online VS Code Editor for Angular and React

StackBlitz Landing page
Rating
5.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Open source
Blockly

Blockly is a library for building visual programming editors.

Blockly Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, StackBlitz should be more popular than Blockly. It has been mentioned 112 times since March 2021.

social mentions
112 vs 31
Text Editors popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 164

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

StackBlitz
Blockly
Website stackblitz.com developers.google.com
Pricing
Open source
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

StackBlitz 6 features
Blockly 5 features
  • Speed
    StackBlitz is known for its quick load times and fast editing capabilities, making it ideal for rapid development and testing.
  • Ease of Use
    The interface is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing developers to get started quickly without a steep learning curve.
  • Zero-Setup
    Users can write, compile, and run code directly in the browser without any setup or configuration required.
  • Integrations
    StackBlitz integrates seamlessly with GitHub, allowing for easy import and export of repositories.
  • WebContainers
    StackBlitz uses WebContainers to run Node.js applications in the browser, providing a near-native development experience.
  • Collaboration
    Real-time collaboration features allow multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, similar to Google Docs.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Plugins
    Unlike traditional IDEs like VSCode or IntelliJ, StackBlitz has a limited ecosystem of plugins and extensions.
  • Online Dependency
    StackBlitz requires an internet connection to function, which can be a limitation for developers who need to work offline.
  • Performance
    For very large projects or those requiring extensive computational resources, performance may degrade compared to local development environments.
  • Mobile Accessibility
    While StackBlitz is accessible on mobile devices, the user experience is not as optimized as it is on desktop browsers.
  • Limited Framework Support
    Although StackBlitz supports many popular frameworks, it doesn't support all frameworks or versions, which could be limiting for some projects.
  • Storage and Persistence
    Files and data are stored in the cloud, which might raise concerns around data privacy and persistence for some users.
  • User-Friendly
    Blockly offers a highly intuitive and visual interface. Users, especially beginners and non-programmers, can easily drag and drop blocks to create programs without needing to write code manually.
  • Educational Value
    Blockly is excellent for educational purposes. It simplifies the learning curve for programming by abstracting the complexities of syntax, allowing learners to focus on understanding logic and computational thinking.
  • Cross-Language Support
    Blockly can generate code for multiple programming languages (JavaScript, Python, PHP, Lua, Dart). This makes it versatile and useful for teaching and transitioning to various languages.
  • Customizability
    Blockly is highly customizable. Developers can create custom blocks and define their own rules, making it adaptable to various projects and domain-specific needs.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Blockly provides the flexibility to modify and extend the toolkit to fit specific requirements. This open nature encourages community contributions and improvements.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Complexity
    Blockly is designed for simplicity and may not handle very complex programming tasks efficiently. Advanced users might find it insufficient for sophisticated or large-scale projects.
  • Performance Overhead
    The visual programming model can introduce performance overhead. Converting blocks to executable code and running it can be less efficient compared to hand-written code, especially for performance-critical applications.
  • Learning Transition
    While Blockly is great for beginners, transitioning from block-based programming to traditional text-based coding can be challenging. Users may need additional guidance to adapt to the intricacies of syntax and coding best practices.
  • Limited Debugging Tools
    Blockly does not offer advanced debugging tools. Debugging issues can be more challenging compared to traditional IDEs that provide sophisticated debugging capabilities.
  • Scalability Issues
    For large projects, the block-based approach can become unwieldy and harder to manage compared to traditional text-based code which can be more neatly structured and maintained.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

StackBlitz
Blockly

No analysis of StackBlitz yet.

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Blockly is a good tool, especially for educational environments and projects that benefit from visual programming. It's well-supported by Google and the community, making it a reliable choice for developers.

Why this product is good

  • Blockly is a powerful library for creating visual programming editors. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows both beginners and advanced programmers to create code blocks that can be converted into various text-based programming languages like JavaScript, Python, and more. This ease of use makes it an excellent tool for educational purposes and rapid prototyping.

Recommended for

  • Educators looking to introduce programming concepts to students.
  • Developers seeking to build applications with a visual programming interface.
  • Hobbyists interested in creating projects without extensive coding knowledge.
  • Organizations aiming to develop interactive tutorials and learning platforms.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

StackBlitz 2 videos + Add
Blockly 3 videos + Add

StackBlitz - Online Code Editor For Angular and React - Introduction

More videos

  • Review - Using Stackblitz for html css javascript, make websites, web development

Blockly: Using Block Based Coding in your App

More videos

  • Review - Fable Blockly Review
  • Review - Trying Out Blockly, Google's New Programming Language [DiceTV]

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
StackBlitz
Blockly
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
62% 62%
38% 38%

User comments

Share your experience with using StackBlitz and Blockly. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

StackBlitz 5.0 · 1 review
Blockly no reviews yet
  • Top 20 Javascript Libraries
    hackr.io · Mar 2022

    Blockly, a creation of Google, is a web-based visual programming editor. When added to the code, the library adds an editor to the app that represents code snippets like loops, expressions, variables, and more as...

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

StackBlitz 112 mentions
Blockly 31 mentions
  • RS-X: Framework-agnostic reactive state and expressions for JavaScript/TS
    Managing reactive state and dependent computations in JavaScript can get complex, especially when combining asynchronous and synchronous data. RS-X is a library that allows you to bind expressions to plain objects and makes the parts of... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Show HN: I combine Htmx, LiveView and SolidJS for interactive server components
    I like htmx, LiveView, React and Solid. They are great at different points, so I try to combine them in Solv (Stateless Offline-capable LiveView) and write a prototype to show the benefits. Solv's main idea is that stateless servers keep... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Show HN: Solv – Stateless Offline-Capable LiveView – Prototype 03
    I like htmx, LiveView, React and Solid. They are great at different points, and this is a prototype trying to combine them. Solv's main idea is that stateless servers keep client's state in a volatile cache. It enables server components... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago

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  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    Scratch is fantastic. There are also a number of similar (block-based) tools that let you create your own custom blocks and see the code behind them - e.g. Blockly (https://developers.google.com/blockly). - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Modern Day Equivalent to HyperCard?
    If your kid is already doing Scratch, Blockly is a really easy next step. https://developers.google.com/blockly Critically, Blockly can emit JavaScript and Python, plus it supports plugins for extended functionality. So the kid can stay... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • A shortage of teachers for computer science classes in California
    The issue with Alice is that graphical, block based coding is not at all an ergonomic way to code. Sure, C++ probably isn't the best for an intro CS courses, either, but even just Python with some wrappers over SDL to draw sprites is not... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago

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Alternatives to StackBlitz and Blockly

When comparing StackBlitz and Blockly, you can also consider the following products.