A Deep Dive: Vue 3 vs React

Introduction

The JavaScript ecosystem is vast, but two heavy hitters always seem to find their way into conversations on front-end frameworks: React (from Facebook/Meta) and Vue (from Evan You and the open-source community). React dominates the market share, but Vue has evolved rapidly—especially with Vue 3.

So which one is “better”? It’s a nuanced question. In this deep dive, we’ll compare and contrast Vue 3 vs React in terms of features, development experience, state management, performance, and more. We’ll also build side-by-side ToDo apps to see how they differ in practice. Then we’ll discuss pros, cons, and “gotchas,” before – spoiler alert – concluding that both are excellent options, each suiting different developer preferences and project requirements.

Key Differences: Vue 3 vs React

Both Vue 3 and React aim to solve the challenge of orchestrating interactive UI with minimal headache. But they take slightly different approaches internally and in their core philosophies.

Rendering & Virtual DOM: Both use a Virtual DOM under the hood for performance optimization. React’s Fiber architecture manages scheduling and rendering, while Vue 3 uses a compiler-based approach that tries to optimize updates more intelligently.
Reactivity: Vue 3’s Composition API relies on a reactivity system (signals-based) that can feel more automatic and granular. React leverages Hooks like useState and useEffect to manage state and lifecycles.
Templates vs JSX: Vue favors HTML-based templates (with optional usage of JSX or render functions), while React embraces JSX (essentially JavaScript that looks like XML). Both can be powerful, but one might feel more natural depending on your background.
Out-of-the-box vs Ecosystem: Vue provides an official CLI, router, and state-management solution—Pinia (or Vuex for older versions). React’s ecosystem is massive but more decentralized, letting you choose from many libraries for routing and global state.
Learning Curve & Documentation: Both offer extensive docs and large communities. Vue is often praised for its gentler learning curve and progressive adoption. React, with a more “just-in-time” approach, remains extremely popular and job-rich globally.

Building a ToDo App in Vue 3

Let’s illustrate core concepts with a simple ToDo app using Vue 3’s Single File Component and the Composition API. We’ll demonstrate how easy it is to create interactive functionality with minimal boilerplate.

# Setting up a Vue 3 project (using create-vue)
npm init vue@latest
cd vue-todo
npm install
npm run dev

After scaffolding your Vue 3 app, let’s define our ToDo functionality in App.vue. We’ll create a new task, add it to a list, and track completion status. Here’s a fully inlined example for brevity:

<template>
  <div>
    <h2>Vue 3 ToDo</h2>
    <input v-model="newTask" @keyup.enter="addTask" placeholder="Add a task..." />
    <button @click="addTask">Add Task</button>

    <ul>
      <li v-for="(task, index) in tasks" :key="index">
        <input type="checkbox" v-model="task.completed" />
        <span :style="{ textDecoration: task.completed ? 'line-through' : 'none' }">
          {{ task.text }}
        </span>
        <button @click="removeTask(index)">Remove</button>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</template>

<script setup>
import { ref } from 'vue';

// Reactive state references
const tasks = ref([]);
const newTask = ref('');

function addTask() {
  if (!newTask.value.trim()) return;
  tasks.value.push({
    text: newTask.value,
    completed: false
  });
  newTask.value = '';
}

function removeTask(index) {
  tasks.value.splice(index, 1);
}
</script>

<style scoped>
input { margin-right: 8px; }
button { margin-left: 8px; }
</style>

Notice how v-model handles two-way binding automatically for our inputs, and v-for loops over tasks. The Composition API (using ref()) is clean and straightforward. If you prefer a more global approach, you could integrate Pinia for state management instead of local state.

Bonus: Watchers and Computed Properties

Vue’s reactivity system also enables watchers and computed properties to simplify dynamic logic. For example, if we want to show a count of incomplete tasks, we can do:

<template>
  <div>
    <h2>Vue 3 ToDo</h2>
    <p>{{ remainingMessage }}</p>
    <!-- rest of template -->
  </div>
</template>

<script setup>
import { ref, computed } from 'vue';
const tasks = ref([
  { text: 'Learn Vue 3', completed: false },
  { text: 'Build a ToDo App', completed: true },
]);
const newTask = ref('');

const addTask = () => { /* same as before */ };
const removeTask = (index) => { /* same as before */ };

// Example computed property to count tasks
const remainingTasks = computed(() => {
  return tasks.value.filter(task => !task.completed).length;
});

// Derived text
const remainingMessage = computed(() => {
  return remainingTasks.value === 0
    ? 'All tasks complete!'
    : `${remainingTasks.value} tasks left`;
});
</script>

Computed properties remain a key aspect of Vue’s convenience, recalculating only when dependencies change, without you manually calling setState or re-renders.

Building a ToDo App in React

Now, let’s replicate similar functionality in React using Create React App (or you could use Vite, Next.js, or other React-driven tooling). We’ll demonstrate typical usage of hooks like useState to manage local state.

# Setting up a React project
npx create-react-app react-todo
cd react-todo
npm start

Here’s a simple App.js demonstrating the same ToDo logic—using a checkbox for completion, a button to remove tasks, and a text input to add new tasks:

import React, { useState } from 'react';

function App() {
  const [tasks, setTasks] = useState([]);
  const [newTask, setNewTask] = useState('');

  const addTask = () => {
    const trimmed = newTask.trim();
    if (!trimmed) return;
    setTasks([...tasks, { text: trimmed, completed: false }]);
    setNewTask('');
  };

  const removeTask = (index) => {
    const updated = [...tasks];
    updated.splice(index, 1);
    setTasks(updated);
  };

  const toggleCompleted = (index) => {
    const updated = [...tasks];
    updated[index].completed = !updated[index].completed;
    setTasks(updated);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>React ToDo</h2>
      <input
        value={newTask}
        onChange={(e) => setNewTask(e.target.value)}
        onKeyDown={(e) => e.key === 'Enter' && addTask()}
        placeholder="Add a task..."
      />
      <button onClick={addTask}>Add Task</button>

      <ul>
        {tasks.map((task, idx) => (
          <li key={idx}>
            <input
              type="checkbox"
              checked={task.completed}
              onChange={() => toggleCompleted(idx)}
            />
            <span style={{ textDecoration: task.completed ? 'line-through' : 'none' }}>
              {task.text}
            </span>
            <button onClick={() => removeTask(idx)}>Remove</button>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

You’ll see a more direct approach to state:useState for handling newTask and tasks. React re-renders the component whenever the state changes. If you find local state insufficient for larger apps, next steps often involve Redux, Flux, Context, or other third-party libraries.

Bonus: Using useEffect

React also provides useEffect for side effects, like syncing tasks to localStorage or fetching data. Here’s a quick snippet that saves tasks to localStorage whenever they change:

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function App() {
  const [tasks, setTasks] = useState(() => {
    // Initialize from localStorage if available
    const saved = localStorage.getItem('tasks');
    return saved ? JSON.parse(saved) : [];
  });

  const [newTask, setNewTask] = useState('');

  useEffect(() => {
    localStorage.setItem('tasks', JSON.stringify(tasks));
  }, [tasks]);

  // rest of ToDo logic ...
}

This is how React typically handles side effects or external data synchronization—calling them after each render if their dependencies have changed.

State Management & Going Beyond

For larger, more complex apps, local state can become unwieldy. That’s where specialized solutions come in:

Pinia (Vue 3): The official store for Vue 3, offering a modular approach for global state, aligned with the Composition API. Easy to integrate, strongly typed when using TypeScript, and well-documented.
Redux (React): A robust (if at times verbose) state container. Encourages immutable updates and a unidirectional data flow. Often used in large React applications.
MobX / Zustand / Recoil / Jotai (React): A variety of popular alternatives, each with different philosophies and complexity trade-offs.

Both frameworks can scale effectively with the right patterns. Vue 3 tends to supply more official “batteries” (like the newPinia) rather than leaving you to sift through dozens of community solutions. React, conversely, leans into its famously large ecosystem, giving you maximum choice.

Performance and Benchmarks

In real-world scenarios, both Vue 3 and React are highly performant. They each use Virtual DOM optimizations, lazy rendering strategies, and efficient state updates:

Vue 3 Compiler Optimizations: Vue’s compiler can detect static vs dynamic portions of templates, producing highly optimized render functions.
React Fiber & Concurrency: React’s Fiber architecture in React 18+ can pause and resume rendering, improving user experience in heavy UIs.

On small to mid-size apps, you’ll rarely see a massive difference. Edge cases might appear in large data sets or extremely dynamic UIs, but both frameworks have proven to be sufficiently fast for enterprise applications. For advanced usage, you’ll explore concepts like memo (React) or watchEffect (Vue), plus code-splitting (e.g., dynamic imports) in either ecosystem.

Ultimately, it’s best to pick the framework that your team is most productive in, and use performance best practices like memoization, lazy loading, and avoiding unnecessary state renders. You’ll rarely regret these choices.

SSR & Framework Ecosystem

Modern web development often demands server-side rendering (SSR) for performance and SEO benefits. Both Vue and React have solutions:

Nuxt (Vue): A powerful meta-framework for Vue that handles SSR, routing, code-splitting, and more—enabling a straightforward way to create universal applications.
Next.js / Remix (React): React’s most popular meta-frameworks for SSR, static site generation, and supercharged developer experience with file-based routing, API routes, etc.

Both communities have robust solutions in this space. Nuxt 3, for instance, takes advantage of the Composition API and includes features like server and middleware support. Next.js continues to grow in popularity for React devs, offering incremental static regeneration, dynamic routes, and deeper integration with React 18’s concurrency.

Pros, Cons, & Gotchas

Vue 3 Pros

Easy Learning Curve: Templating and direct reactivity can be very intuitive for newcomers.
Composition API: Cleaner code reuse and logic organization compared to Vue 2, while maintaining backward compatibility.
Batteries Included: Official router, dev tools, and the modern Pinia state management library are well integrated.
Performance Gains: Vue 3’s compiler tries to optimize rendering automatically.

Vue 3 Cons

Less Market Share: React still dominates job postings and widespread adoption internationally.
Options vs Composition API: Multiple ways to write the same thing can be confusing for newcomers.
Plugin Ecosystem Smaller: While many excellent libraries exist, some might have slower adoption than React’s saturated ecosystem.

React Pros

Massive Community & Ecosystem:Everything from specialized UI kits to complex state-management solutions is widely documented.
JSX Syntax: Many developers like staying in JavaScript for logic and UI rather than learning a separate templating language.
Hooks: Functional programming style with useState, useEffect, etc., can be expressive and composable.
Rich Job Market: React continues to dominate in job listings, especially at large-scale companies.

React Cons

Boilerplate / Ecosystem Fragmentation: Must pick your own router (React Router, Next.js routing, etc.) and state management (Redux, Zustand, MobX, etc.).
Verbose Syntax: Some devs find JSX more verbose or less designer-friendly compared to HTML-based templates.
Advanced Patterns: Features like Suspense, Concurrent Mode, and server components can be powerful but add complexity.

What Does Vue Do Better? What Does React Do Better?

Vue 3 Shines When...

You want a single-file component approach with minimal setup or configuration overhead.
You appreciate the Composition API’s reactivity style and find the existing “template + script + style” format intuitive.
You enjoy an official, centralized ecosystem (router, Pinia) without searching for third-party solutions.
Your team has more of a designer or less JS-heavy background, leveraging the familiarity of HTML templates.

React Shines When...

You prefer a purely JavaScript-based approach to building your UI (JSX) and deeper functional patterns (Hooks).
You want the largest job market share or have front-end engineers already well-versed in React.
You thrive with “choose your own adventure” libraries, picking highly specialized tools for each aspect of your app.
You plan on using robust SSR frameworks like Next.js or Remix, which have tight integrations with React.

In This Modern Web, Does It Matter?

Both frameworks can build high-performance, scalable, and maintainable applications. The differences often matter most to smaller teams, personal preferences, or unique project needs (like specialized SSR or integrated state solutions).

Ultimately, the question often comes down to:

Your Team’s Experience: If everyone knows React, you get instant momentum. If the team is more comfortable with Vue’s approach, that’s equally valid.
Code and Ecosystem Preferences: Some devs love writing in JSX, others prefer the template-based style. Some appreciate a well-curated ecosystem, others love open options.
Scale of the Project: Both handle scale well, but certain advanced patterns (like concurrency in React or deeper reactivity in Vue) might push you one way or the other.

Global surveys like StateOfJS and community stats indicate both frameworks are beloved and widely used, from personal hobby projects to enterprise-scale apps at companies like Netflix, Alibaba, TikTok, and more. Each ecosystem is robust enough to handle nearly any challenge you throw at it.

A Quick Look to the Future

Both frameworks are evolving quickly. React continues to push forward with features like server components, Suspense, and improved data-fetching patterns. Vue is refining the Composition API, shipping improvements in dev tooling (like Vue DevTools and Volar for TypeScript) and harnessing an even more powerful compiler for future releases.

Given both communities’ dedication to performance, developer experience, and new ideas, it’s safe to say that Vue and React will remain at the forefront of the front-end landscape for years to come.

Conclusion

React continues to hold a commanding market share and an enormous ecosystem. Meanwhile, Vue 3 has grown into a powerhouse with elegant reactivity, official support for routing and state, and a friendly, approachable style. Day-to-day coding in Vue vs React can differ in syntax (templates vs JSX) and ecosystem design (official vs un-opinionated), but—to a large extent—both frameworks get you to the same end goal of building modern web apps with speed, flexibility, and performance.

So does it truly matter in our modern web world? Possibly not as much as you might think. Both are excellent choices, each with unique benefits. If your team is deeply invested in React or loves functional programming hooks, stay the course. If you find Vue 3’s Composition API, single-file components, and built-in solutions more appealing, that’s a great path too.

Ultimately, it’s about developer productivity, ecosystem familiarity, and shipping month after month without friction. Performance differences are negligible in most scenarios, and each has a robust community. The only “wrong” choice might be getting stuck in analysis paralysis—just pick one you like and build great things!

Happy coding, whichever path you choose!
– Nate