ava
Node.js test runner that lets you develop with confidence.
461.5K weekly downloads · 436.0 B gzip · Health 76/100
Comparison guide
Side-by-side NPM package comparison

Smallest Bundle
Ava
436.0 B gzipped
Most Popular
Jest
46.8M weekly downloads
Best Maintained
Jest
100/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Ava
80/100 quality score
Overall Pick
Jest
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
Node.js test runner that lets you develop with confidence.
461.5K weekly downloads · 436.0 B gzip · Health 76/100
Choosing between Ava and Jest? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.
Jest leads with 46.8M weekly downloads — roughly 101.5x more. Ava has 461.5K weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Ava has the smallest gzipped bundle at 436.0 B. Jest comes in at 2.0 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Jest has an overall health score of 92/100 (excellent), with strong maintenance, quality, security, popularity scores. Ava has an overall health score of 76/100 (very good), with strong quality, security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
Choose Ava if you value minimal bundle footprint, strong security track record. Choose Jest if you value massive community and ecosystem, minimal bundle footprint, actively maintained, strong security track record.
Both Ava and Jest are solid choices for JavaScript development. Jest has the edge in overall health score (92/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.
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