Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Version 0.27.3
An extremely fast JavaScript and CSS bundler and minifier.
Version 7.3.1
Native-ESM powered web dev build tool
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.
Esbuild leads with 131.0M weekly downloads — roughly 1.8x more. Vite has 73.0M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Esbuild has the smallest gzipped bundle at 39.6 KB. Vite comes in at 654.7 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Esbuild has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Vite has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
Choose Esbuild if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Vite if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record.
Both Esbuild and Vite are solid choices for JavaScript development. Esbuild 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.