# Alpine.js vs Preact

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Preact

| Attribute | Alpine.js | Preact |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 62.9 (70% (medium)) | 77.9 (72% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 12 | 70 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 15,131 | 78,992 |
| adoption.github_stars | 31,970 | 38,926 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 736,506 | 38,692,983 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Alpine.js is a lightweight framework that lets you add interactive components and behavior directly into HTML markup using simple directives. Designed for simplicity with no build step required, it functions as a modern lightweight alternative to jQuery. It is indexed under Frontend UI Frameworks.","source":"https://alpinejs.dev/","question":"What is Alpine.js?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Alpine.js is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://alpinejs.dev/","question":"Is Alpine.js free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Alpine.js. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://alpinejs.dev/","question":"What platforms does Alpine.js support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Alpine.js, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://alpinejs.dev/","question":"Can Alpine.js be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Alpine.js is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine","question":"Is Alpine.js open source?","confidence":0.99}]` | `[{"answer":"A minimal virtual DOM library that provides a React-compatible API with significantly reduced file size. Preact delivers performance-focused component development without the overhead of traditional frameworks. It is indexed under Frontend UI Frameworks.","source":"https://preactjs.com/","question":"What is Preact?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Preact is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://preactjs.com/","question":"Is Preact free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Preact. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://preactjs.com/","question":"What platforms does Preact support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Preact is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact","question":"Is Preact open source?","confidence":0.99}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | - |
| description.long | Alpine.js enables declarative reactivity and dynamic behavior in HTML using simple directives and minimal code, providing an alternative to heavier frameworks. | A minimal virtual DOM framework providing React-style components and APIs, optimized for tiny bundle size and fast performance across modern browsers. |
| features.capabilities | `{"paradigm":"DOM-based reactive directive framework","bundle_size":"tiny","virtual_dom":false,"component_model":true,"router_official":false,"state_management":true}` | `{"paradigm":"Virtual DOM component library","bundle_size":"tiny","ssr_support":true,"virtual_dom":true,"component_model":true,"router_official":true,"state_management":true}` |
| language.primary | HTML | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://alpinejs.dev/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:04:28.015Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://preactjs.com/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T13:50:36.035Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 6 | 13 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.17.4","date":"2026-09-21T11:34:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.17.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.17.3","date":"2026-09-14T18:19:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.17.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.17.2","date":"2026-09-07T13:33:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.17.1","date":"2026-08-31T12:38:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.17.0","date":"2026-08-30T11:47:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.16.3","date":"2026-08-24T12:30:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.16.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.16.2","date":"2026-08-17T19:59:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.16.1","date":"2026-08-11T13:06:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.16.0","date":"2026-08-10T14:42:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.12","date":"2026-04-30T23:04:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.11","date":"2026-04-02T15:40:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.10","date":"2026-04-01T13:46:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.9","date":"2026-03-27T01:26:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.8","date":"2026-02-02T22:39:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.7","date":"2026-02-02T15:17:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.6","date":"2026-01-30T21:13:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.5","date":"2026-01-26T17:47:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.4","date":"2026-01-13T21:43:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.3","date":"2025-12-16T19:38:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine/releases/tag/v3.15.2","date":"2025-11-15T20:08:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.15.2"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.1","date":"2026-10-08T08:28:17Z","type":"stable","version":"11.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.0","date":"2026-09-30T13:09:07Z","type":"stable","version":"11.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.0-rc.2","date":"2026-09-08T09:03:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"11.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.0-rc.1","date":"2026-08-26T07:49:33Z","type":"prerelease","version":"11.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.0-rc.0","date":"2026-08-10T06:17:58Z","type":"prerelease","version":"11.0.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.8","date":"2026-08-01T09:57:31Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.0-beta.2","date":"2026-07-15T16:46:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"11.0.0-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.7","date":"2026-07-08T17:33:42Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.6","date":"2026-07-08T07:34:46Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.5","date":"2026-07-07T16:51:01Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.4","date":"2026-07-03T10:58:50Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.3","date":"2026-06-26T05:16:07Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.2","date":"2026-05-17T09:58:18Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.1","date":"2026-04-03T10:43:40Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.29.0","date":"2026-03-10T18:28:07Z","type":"stable","version":"10.29.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.28.4","date":"2026-02-19T07:15:06Z","type":"stable","version":"10.28.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/11.0.0-beta.1","date":"2026-02-15T10:10:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"11.0.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.28.3","date":"2026-01-31T09:58:48Z","type":"stable","version":"10.28.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.28.2","date":"2026-01-06T14:51:37Z","type":"stable","version":"10.28.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/preactjs/preact/releases/tag/10.27.3","date":"2026-01-06T14:59:45Z","type":"stable","version":"10.27.3"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.6 | 5.8 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=alpinejs&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":2,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=preact&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Frontend UI Frameworks)

| Capability | Alpine.js | Preact |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | DOM-based reactive directive framework | Virtual DOM component library |
| Reusable component model | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Rendering** |  |  |
| Virtual DOM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Signals / fine-grained reactivity | - | - |
| SSR support | - | ✓ |
| **DX** |  |  |
| First-class TypeScript | - | - |
| **State** |  |  |
| Built-in state management | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Official router | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Performance** |  |  |
| Runtime size | Tiny (<10kb) | Tiny (<10kb) |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T02:34:56.109Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*