esbuild
An extremely fast JavaScript and CSS bundler and minifier.
299.9M weekly downloads · 14.7 KB gzip · Health 79/100
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Comparison guide
Esbuild vs Vite
Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Quick Verdict
Smallest Bundle
Esbuild
14.7 KB gzipped
Most Popular
Esbuild
299.9M weekly downloads
Best Maintained
Vite
100/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Esbuild
50/100 quality score
Overall Pick
Esbuild
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
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Choosing between Esbuild and Vite? 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.
Downloads & Popularity
Esbuild leads with 299.9M weekly downloads — roughly 1.5x more. Vite has 193.9M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Bundle Size
Esbuild has the smallest gzipped bundle at 14.7 KB. Vite comes in at 696.3 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Health Score Comparison
Vite has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Esbuild has an overall health score of 79/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
When to Choose Each
Choose Esbuild if you value massive community and ecosystem, strong security track record. Choose Vite if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record.
Our Verdict
Both Esbuild and Vite are solid choices for JavaScript development. Vite 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is esbuild better than vite?
- It depends on your needs. Esbuild has a health score of 79/100 while Vite scores 85/100. Esbuild has more recorded weekly downloads (299.9M). Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
- Which has a smaller bundle size, esbuild or vite?
- Esbuild has the smaller gzipped bundle at 14.7 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
- How many developers use esbuild vs vite?
- Esbuild has more recorded weekly downloads (299.9M). Download counts reflect package installations, not unique developers.
- Which is better maintained, esbuild or vite?
- Vite has a maintenance score of 100/100. Esbuild scores 80/100 and Vite scores 100/100 on maintenance.
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One PDF: the best package for every category (ORMs, bundlers, auth, testing, state management). Used by 500+ devs. Free, updated monthly.