Head-to-Head: Emotion vs Linaria Analysis

@emotion/css

v11.13.0(7 days ago)

This package is actively maintained.Types definitions are bundled with the npm packageNumber of direct dependencies: 5Monthly npm downloads

@emotion/css is a popular CSS-in-JS library that allows developers to style their components using JavaScript. It provides a powerful and flexible way to manage styles by enabling the use of template literals for writing CSS directly within JavaScript code. @emotion/css offers features like nested selectors, global styles, and theming support, making it easy to create dynamic and responsive styles for web applications.

Alternatives:
styled-components+
linaria+
goober+
stitches+
twin.macro+
emotion+
@emotion/react+
aphrodite+
glamor+
styletron+

Tags: css-in-jsstylingjavascriptreactive-stylestheming

@linaria/core

v6.2.0(3 months ago)

This package is actively maintained.Types definitions are bundled with the npm packageNumber of direct dependencies: 1Monthly npm downloads

@linaria/core is a zero-runtime CSS-in-JS library that offers a seamless way to style your components using JavaScript. It allows you to write CSS directly in your JavaScript files, eliminating the need for a build step or runtime CSS processing. Linaria provides excellent performance by extracting styles at build time and generating minimal CSS output.

Alternatives:
styled-components+
emotion+
jss+
aphrodite+
glamor+
goober+
stitches+
styletron-react+
treat+
typestyle+

Tags: css-in-jsstylingzero-runtimebuild-time-extractionperformance

Fight!

Popularity

Both @emotion/css and @linaria/core are popular choices for styling in modern JavaScript projects. @emotion/css, which is a part of Emotion CSS-in-JS library, has a larger user base and is more widely recognized in the community.

Bundle Size

@linaria/core is known for its small bundle size as it uses a static extraction approach. It leverages Babel plugin to extract CSS during the build process, resulting in minimal runtime overhead. On the other hand, @emotion/css has a larger bundle size, especially when used along with other Emotion packages.

Developer Experience

@emotion/css provides a more intuitive and flexible API that resembles regular CSS syntax. It supports CSS-in-JS features like nested selectors, media queries, and keyframes. @linaria/core, on the other hand, uses a familiar CSS and JavaScript syntax. It allows you to write CSS directly in your JavaScript files using template literals, making it easier to keep the styles close to the relevant components.

Performance

In terms of runtime performance, @linaria/core tends to perform better as it extracts the CSS during the build process and removes the need for runtime CSS-in-JS processing. @emotion/css, although performant, may have a slightly higher runtime cost due to its more advanced features and runtime CSS injection.

Features

@emotion/css provides a comprehensive set of features and supports advanced styling capabilities such as theming, style composition, and global styles. @linaria/core, on the other hand, focuses on simplicity and provides basic styling functionalities without additional advanced features.

Integration and Ecosystem

@emotion/css has a rich ecosystem and integrates well with popular frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular. It also provides tools like Emotion UI and Emotion Theming for enhanced styling capabilities. @linaria/core, while primarily designed for React, can be used with any JavaScript framework or even in pure JavaScript projects.

Maintenance

Both packages are actively maintained and have regular updates from their respective maintainers. @emotion/css is backed by a larger community and has a longer track record, making it more established and somewhat more reliable in terms of long-term maintenance and support.