# Alpine.js vs Tailwind CSS

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Tailwind CSS

| Attribute | Alpine.js | Tailwind CSS |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 62.9 (70% (medium)) | 71.3 (76% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 12 | 23 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 15,131 | 1,049,673 |
| adoption.github_stars | 31,970 | 97,875 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 736,506 | 137,279,787 |
| 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 CSS framework providing a library of styling utilities you can apply directly to your HTML elements. It scans your code and generates only the CSS you actually use, with built-in support for responsive layouts, dark mode, and theme customization. It is indexed under Frontend UI Frameworks.","source":"https://tailwindcss.com","question":"What is Tailwind CSS?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Tailwind CSS 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://tailwindcss.com","question":"Is Tailwind CSS free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Tailwind CSS. 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://tailwindcss.com","question":"What platforms does Tailwind CSS support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 7 integrations for Tailwind CSS, including Laravel, SvelteKit, React Router, Nuxt, SolidJS, Vite and PostCSS. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://tailwindcss.com","question":"What does Tailwind CSS integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Tailwind CSS 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/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss","question":"Is Tailwind CSS 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. | Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that enables rapid website development by applying pre-built CSS utility classes directly to HTML markup. It scans templates to generate only the styles actually used, producing minimal CSS bundles (often under 10kB) with zero runtime overhead. |
| features.capabilities | `{"paradigm":"DOM-based reactive directive framework","bundle_size":"tiny","virtual_dom":false,"component_model":true,"router_official":false,"state_management":true}` | `{"paradigm":"Utility-first CSS framework","bundle_size":"tiny","ssr_support":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 7 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Laravel"},{"name":"SvelteKit"},{"name":"React Router"},{"name":"Nuxt"},{"name":"SolidJS"},{"name":"Vite"},{"name":"PostCSS"}]` |
| language.primary | HTML | TypeScript |
| 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","sourceUrl":"https://tailwindcss.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:24:55.725Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 6 | 17 |
| 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/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.3","date":"2026-07-16T11:55:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.2","date":"2026-06-29T14:21:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.1","date":"2026-06-12T17:50:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2026-05-08T20:17:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.4","date":"2026-04-21T13:09:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.3","date":"2026-04-20T20:46:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2026-03-18T16:06:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2026-02-23T12:51:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2026-02-18T14:58:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.18","date":"2025-12-11T16:31:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v3.4.19","date":"2025-12-10T18:39:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.17","date":"2025-11-06T15:34:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.16","date":"2025-10-23T10:55:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.15","date":"2025-10-20T13:17:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.14","date":"2025-10-01T16:00:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v3.4.18","date":"2025-10-01T15:29:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.13","date":"2025-09-04T17:29:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.12","date":"2025-08-14T12:48:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.11","date":"2025-06-26T10:52:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.10","date":"2025-06-11T20:37:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.10"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.6 | 7 |
| 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":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=tailwindcss&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Frontend UI Frameworks)

| Capability | Alpine.js | Tailwind CSS |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | DOM-based reactive directive framework | Utility-first CSS framework |
| 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 2026-10-16T20:38:17.370Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*