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Comparison guide

Happy-dom vs Jsdom

happy-dom is 2-4x faster than jsdom for Vitest. Compare DOM compatibility, performance benchmarks, and migration guide. Updated for 2026.

Hero image for Happy-dom vs Jsdom

Quick Verdict

Smallest Bundle

Happy-dom

196.6 KB gzipped

Most Popular

Jsdom

68.6M weekly downloads

Best Maintained

Jsdom

100/100 maintenance score

Highest Quality

Happy-dom

50/100 quality score

Overall Pick

Jsdom

Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality

happy-dom icon

happy-dom

Very Popular

Version 20.9.0

0
79
Good

Happy DOM is a JavaScript implementation of a web browser without its graphical user interface. It includes many web standards from WHATWG DOM and HTML.

Weekly Downloads
8.6M
↑23%
Bundle (gzip)
196.6 KB
Updated
Vulns
0

Health Score Breakdown

Maintenance
80
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
jsdom icon

jsdom

Extremely Popular

Version 29.1.1

0
85
Excellent

A JavaScript implementation of many web standards

Weekly Downloads
68.6M
↑6%
Bundle (gzip)
999.3 KB
Updated
Vulns
0

Health Score Breakdown

Maintenance
100
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70

Choosing between Happy-dom and Jsdom? 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

Jsdom leads with 68.6M weekly downloads — roughly 8.0x more. Happy-dom has 8.6M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.

Bundle Size

Happy-dom has the smallest gzipped bundle at 196.6 KB. Jsdom comes in at 999.3 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.

Health Score Comparison

Jsdom has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Happy-dom 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 Happy-dom if you value large community support, strong security track record. Choose Jsdom if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record.

Our Verdict

Both Happy-dom and Jsdom are solid choices for JavaScript development. Jsdom 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 happy-dom better than jsdom?
It depends on your needs. Happy-dom has a health score of 79/100 while Jsdom scores 85/100. Jsdom has more weekly downloads (68.6M), suggesting broader adoption. Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
Which has a smaller bundle size, happy-dom or jsdom?
Happy-dom has the smaller gzipped bundle at 196.6 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
How many developers use happy-dom vs jsdom?
Based on npm download statistics, Happy-dom has approximately 8.6M weekly downloads and Jsdom has approximately 68.6M weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.
Which is better maintained, happy-dom or jsdom?
Jsdom currently has the higher overall health score at 85/100. Happy-dom has a maintenance score of 80/100 and Jsdom scores 100/100 on maintenance.

The 2026 JavaScript Stack Cheatsheet

One PDF: the best package for every category (ORMs, bundlers, auth, testing, state management). Used by 500+ devs. Free, updated monthly.