Vite and Next.js are both top 5 modern development framework right now. They are both great depending on your use case so we’ll discuss 4 areas: Architecture, main features, developer experience and production readiness. After learning about these we’ll have a better idea of which one is best for your project.

Note: If you're curious about setting up Vite with React check out my other article 👉 How to Setup a Vite React App

Architecture

  • Vite: Vite is a build tool that aims to provide a faster and leaner development experience. Using ES module you can skip bundling during development, allowing for faster module serving. Powered by Rollup for production builds but uses native ES modules in development for rapid server start and hot module replacement (HMR).
  • Next.js: Next.js is a batteries included React framework that provides a range of features for building server-rendered applications, static websites, and more. You can do both client-side and server-side, with features such as server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG). Note: Next.js uses Webpack as its module bundler.

Main Features

  • Vite:

    • Fast development startup and updates through native ES module loading.
    • Plugins available for features like legacy browser support, asset import, and more.
    • Simple configuration with sensible defaults.
    • Support for frameworks like Vue, React, Svelte, etc.
    • Framework agnostic
    • Minimal and customizable, smoother learning curve

  • Next.js:

    • React framework
    • Advanced routing and nested layouts based on file system
    • Built in optimizations for Images, Scripts, Core Web Vitals and more
    • Automatic code splitting for faster page loads.
    • Built-in CSS and Sass support, with support for CSS Modules.
    • API routes to build API endpoints within Next.js projects.
    • Image optimization via the built-in Image component.
    • Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) and on-demand revalidation.

Development Experience

  • Vite: Designed for fast for development builds, focusing on optimizing the developer experience with instant server start and hot module replacement.
  • Next.js: Focuses on productivity and scalability, providing a lot of built-in functionality (like hybrid static & server rendering) that can be crucial for complex applications. Full stack solution.

Production Readiness

  • Vite: While primarily focused on improving development experiences, Vite produces optimized production builds using Rollup.
  • Next.js: Highly optimized for production from the start, with features tailored for performance in real-world scenarios, including extensive support for SEO and server-side capabilities. Note: With deployment to Vercel is free and comes with additional free tooling such as website analytics and more.

Use Cases

  • Vite: Best for projects where you want a fast development server and are comfortable handling some aspects of your architecture separately (like SSR if using React).
  • Next.js: Ideal for projects that benefit from server-side rendering, static site generation, or need built-in API handling capabilities, especially when SEO and performance are critical. All in one solution.

Community and Ecosystem

  • Vite: Rapidly growing community, with increasing plugin ecosystem and integration examples.
  • Next.js: Established community, extensive documentation, and a wide range of plugins and integrations from both Vercel and third parties.

Verdict:

Vite: If you are looking for a fast and efficient build tool and development server, then Vite is a great option. It is also a good choice if you want to have more control over the development process.

Next.js: If you are looking for a React framework that offers a number of features for building server-rendered and statically generated web applications, then Next.js is a good choice. It is also a good choice if you want to use a framework with a large ecosystem and a large community. Next also is better for larger applications and is better for scalability.

Summary

In summary, choose Vite if you prioritize a quick setup and a fast development experience with fewer out-of-the-box features. Opt for Next.js 14 if you need a more feature-complete framework that supports complex scenarios like SSR, SSG, and API routes, all ready from the get-go.

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FAQ

Is Vite better than Nextjs?

Both are great and depends slightly on the websites focus. For most SPA apps Vite is the right choice. But for complex full stack apps with optimizations such as SSR and SSG then NextJS will be the right choice.

Is Vite and NextJS the same?

No, Vite is a build tool for fast and great developer experience. NextJS is a framework built on top of React with flexiblity and optimizations built in for the even the most complex apps.

What are the disadvantages of Vite for React?

Developers using Vite for React app development can run into disadvantages such as limited browser compatibility. It has a relatively smaller community compared to others popular tools and frameworks. Also Vite uses modern javascript based features which might not always be support by all browsers.