Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Version 5.3.8
The most popular front-end framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
Version 4.2.1
A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.
Choosing between Bootstrap and Tailwindcss? 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.
Tailwindcss leads with 60.7M weekly downloads — roughly 10.5x more. Bootstrap has 5.8M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Bootstrap has the smallest gzipped bundle at 16.0 KB. Tailwindcss comes in at 227.1 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Tailwindcss has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Bootstrap has an overall health score of 73/100 (good), with strong security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
Choose Bootstrap if you value large community support, strong security track record. Choose Tailwindcss if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record.
Both Bootstrap and Tailwindcss are solid choices for JavaScript development. Tailwindcss has the edge in overall health score (85/100), 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.