Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Three.js VS Vulkan

Compare Three.js VS Vulkan and see what are their differences

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Three.js logo Three.js

A JavaScript 3D library which makes WebGL simpler.

Vulkan logo Vulkan

Vulkan is a new generation graphics and compute API that provides high-efficiency, cross-platform access to modern GPUs used in a wide variety of devices from PCs and consoles to mobile phones and embedded platforms.
  • Three.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-05-05
  • Vulkan Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-11

Three.js features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Three.js simplifies the complex task of 3D rendering with an intuitive API, making it accessible to developers who may not have deep expertise in 3D graphics.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    Three.js is built upon WebGL, ensuring compatibility across modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    The library offers extensive documentation, examples, and an active community, which helps in quickly resolving issues and understanding implementation.
  • Integration with HTML and CSS
    Three.js can be easily integrated with HTML and CSS, allowing for the blending of 2D and 3D elements in web applications.
  • Extensive Features
    It supports a wide range of features including cameras, lights, materials, shaders, and post-processing effects, making it highly versatile for various 3D projects.

Possible disadvantages of Three.js

  • Performance Overhead
    Despite its powerful capabilities, Three.js can have significant performance overhead, especially for complex scenes, which might require optimization.
  • Learning Curve
    While easier than raw WebGL, Three.js still has a learning curve, particularly for those new to 3D graphics, requiring time to become proficient.
  • Limited Built-in Advanced Tools
    Although feature-rich, Three.js lacks some advanced tools out-of-the-box compared to more specialized or industry-standard 3D engines, necessitating custom solutions for certain tasks.
  • Dependency on WebGL
    Three.js relies on WebGL, meaning it cannot be used in environments where WebGL is not supported, which can limit accessibility and compatibility.
  • Frequent Updates
    The library is actively developed, which is generally positive, but frequent updates can mean breaking changes, requiring developers to frequently refactor their code.

Vulkan features and specs

  • Low-Level Control
    Vulkan provides a low-level API that gives developers extensive control over GPU resources and operations, allowing fine-tuning of performance characteristics.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Vulkan is designed to be cross-platform, enabling developers to deploy their applications on various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Android without major code changes.
  • Explicit Synchronization
    Vulkan requires developers to explicitly manage synchronization, which can lead to more efficient rendering by avoiding unnecessary stalls and utilizing resources more effectively.
  • Better Multithreading
    The API is designed to better utilize multiple CPU cores, allowing for improved parallel execution and more efficient handling of rendering workloads.
  • Performance
    Vulkan provides the potential for higher performance compared to older APIs by reducing the overhead often associated with rendering tasks.

Possible disadvantages of Vulkan

  • Complex API
    Vulkan's low-level nature means it is more complex and verbose compared to APIs like OpenGL, leading to a steep learning curve for developers.
  • Development Time
    Due to its complexity, developing an application using Vulkan can require more time and effort, especially for teams not experienced with low-level graphics programming.
  • Manual Resource Management
    Developers need to manually manage resources and memory, which can lead to increased chances of errors and bugs, making debugging more challenging.
  • Limited Driver Support
    While Vulkan is widely supported, there may still be inconsistencies or lack of support on specific hardware or older GPUs, affecting compatibility.
  • Longer Development Phase
    The increased complexity and fine-tuning freedom require longer development cycles to achieve the same results that may be obtained faster with higher-level APIs.

Three.js videos

Getting Started With Three.js

More videos:

  • Review - Ricardo Cabello (Mr doob) - 5 years of three.js

Vulkan videos

Everything about Vulkan and if you should use it in Rainbow Six Siege

More videos:

  • Review - Vulkan 1.2 Released
  • Review - Review Lansete Select Baits Vulkan

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Three.js and Vulkan)
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Game Engine
0 0%
100% 100
Flowcharts
100 100%
0% 0
Game Development
52 52%
48% 48

User comments

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Reviews

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

Three.js Reviews

Top 20 Javascript Libraries
Cross-browser JS library and API that allows for the creation of beautiful animations, Three.js relies on WebGL rather than conventional browser-plugins. Through its library utilities, developers can include complex 3D animations on their website without much effort. Three.js include many features like geometry, lights, materials, shaders, effects, scenes, data loaders,...
Source: hackr.io

Vulkan Reviews

We have no reviews of Vulkan yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Three.js seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 248 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.

Three.js mentions (248)

  • React Three Ecosystem
    Note three.js [1] has nothing to do with React out of the box though, this page highlights an atypical way of using three.js through a popular React binding. [1] https://threejs.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • Turn your phone into a wireless Joy-Con with SyncoPath
    The phone in the codepath sample got rendered using Three.js. For fun, I also added some beep sound generated using ZZfx when you tap. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • How to Build a Portfolio Website with React
    Also, to make your portfolio stand out to recruiters and clients, you can add some creative and interactive animations to it. The following libraries can help you easily do this: Framer Motion, tsParticles, and Three.js. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Rant: state of generative AI in code generation.
    In my experience with AI code generation, in visual projects like UI development or JavaScript based animation (using three.js or p5.js) etc. AI tools work pretty well. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • My son (9 yrs old) used plain JavaScript to make a game, and wants your feedback
    After he's done with v2, might I propose... THE GAMEY GAME 3D ?? https://threejs.org/ I started coding at 9 as well (which was a long time ago now), so I was very happy to play and see this today. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
View more

Vulkan mentions (0)

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

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Three.js and Vulkan, you can also consider the following products

p5.js - JS library for creating graphic and interactive experiences

SFML - SFML provides a simple interface to the various components of your PC, to ease the development of games and multimedia applications. It is composed of five modules: system, window, graphics, audio and network.

PixiJS - Fast and flexible WebGL-based HTML5 game and app development library.

SDL - Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform multimedia library designed to provide low level...

Paper.js - Open source vector graphics scripting framework that runs on top of the HTML5 Canvas.

raylib - Cross-platform, open-source game development library in C.