Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Stylecow VS CSS Next

Compare Stylecow VS CSS Next and see what are their differences

Stylecow logo Stylecow

CSS processor to fix your css code and make it compatible with all browsers

CSS Next logo CSS Next

Use tomorrow’s CSS syntax, today.
  • Stylecow Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-12-19
  • CSS Next Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-02-22

Stylecow features and specs

  • CSS Compatibility
    Stylecow is designed to make it easier to use new CSS specifications. It allows developers to write modern CSS properties and syntax, converting them into formats that can be understood by older browsers.
  • Plugin Architecture
    Stylecow has a flexible plugin system which lets developers add, remove, and configure plugins as needed. This modular approach allows for customizing the workflow based on specific project or browser requirements.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Stylecow is freely available for use and modification. This invites community collaboration, bug fixes, and enhancements, enriching the tool over time.
  • Easy Integration
    Stylecow integrates easily with build systems and task runners, making it a suitable choice for modern frontend development workflows.

Possible disadvantages of Stylecow

  • Limited Community Support
    Comparatively, Stylecow has a smaller community and fewer resources available than more popular projects, which may lead to challenges in finding help or documentation.
  • Dependency on External Tools
    Stylecow relies on JavaScript environments such as Node.js, meaning additional setup is required, which might not align with every developer's preferences or existing project infrastructures.
  • Maintenance Concerns
    Being less renowned than its counterparts, Stylecow may face slower updates and fewer checks against real-world CSS use cases, potentially lagging in terms of new feature support or bug fixes.
  • Narrower User Base
    With many competitors, Stylecow might not be as widely adopted, leading to possible compatibility and integration issues with other tools and libraries when compared to more standard tools.

CSS Next features and specs

  • Future CSS Features
    CSS Next allows developers to use the latest CSS syntax and features that may not yet be supported by all browsers, enabling progressive enhancement and future-proofing stylesheets.
  • Simplified Syntax
    By using future CSS features, developers can write more concise and expressive code, making stylesheets easier to read and maintain.
  • Polyfills and Transpilation
    CSS Next automatically provides polyfills and transpiles CSS so that the latest features can be used even in environments that do not yet support them natively.
  • Improved Workflow
    With CSS Next, developers can directly utilize tools that help improve styling workflows, such as variables, custom selectors, and media queries, more conveniently.

Possible disadvantages of CSS Next

  • Dependency on Tooling
    CSS Next requires a build process for transpilation, which adds complexity and dependencies to project setup and maintenance.
  • Potential Performance Overhead
    The polyfills and transpilation process can introduce a performance overhead during development and build times, affecting the speed of initial setup.
  • Limited Support for Older Browsers
    While CSS Next helps bring future features to more browsers, it might not fully support significantly older browsers, necessitating additional fallbacks or workarounds.
  • Project Activity and Maintenance
    Due to changes in the web development landscape and focus shifts, CSS Next might not be actively maintained, potentially leading developers to use alternatives like PostCSS or native CSS features as they become available.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Stylecow and CSS Next)
CSS Framework
40 40%
60% 60
Developer Tools
37 37%
63% 63
Design Tools
38 38%
62% 62
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, CSS Next seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 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.

Stylecow mentions (0)

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

CSS Next mentions (2)

  • PostCSS - my initial experience
    The author of the most popular PostCSS plugin himself recommended the postcss-preset-env over his own creation which is cssnex, and. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Vanilla+PostCSS as an Alternative to SCSS
    Switching from a ready-made tool like Sass or a recommendation package like cssnext (deprecated since 2019) or PostCSS Preset Env (archived in 2022), to the modular PostCSS Preset Env plugin set we can choose a helpful and convenient set of future CSS features beyond the current stable client CSS. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Stylecow and CSS Next, you can also consider the following products

PostCSS - Increase code readability. Add vendor prefixes to CSS rules using values from Can I Use. Autoprefixer will use the data based on current browser popularity and property support to apply prefixes for you.

Garden (Clojure) - Unlike the mini-languages that are other pre/post-processor options, Garden leverages the full power of the Clojure programming language for CSS.

Sass - Syntatically Awesome Style Sheets

Stylus - EXPRESSIVE, DYNAMIC, ROBUST CSS

Less - Less extends CSS with dynamic behavior such as variables, mixins, operations and functions. Less runs on both the server-side (with Node. js and Rhino) or client-side (modern browsers only).

Rework.com - A unified work operations platform designed for SMEs to organize and manage their projects and business workflow.