Head-to-Head: Linaria vs Pure.css Analysis

@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

purecss

v3.0.0(almost 2 years ago)

This package was last published over a year ago. It may not be actively maintained.The package doesn't have any types definitionsNumber of direct dependencies: 0Monthly npm downloads

PureCSS is a set of small, responsive CSS modules that can be used to quickly build clean and minimalistic web interfaces. It provides a lightweight and modular approach to styling web pages, focusing on simplicity and performance. PureCSS offers a grid system, buttons, forms, tables, and other essential components for creating modern and responsive layouts.

Alternatives:
bulma+
tailwindcss+
skeleton+
milligram+
tachyons+
spectre.css+
picnic+
base+
siimple+
primer-css+

Tags: cssresponsiveminimalisticmodulargrid-system

Fight!

Popularity

@linaria/core is a relatively newer package compared to PureCSS, which has been around for a longer time. PureCSS has gained a significant amount of popularity and has a large user base. However, @linaria/core is also gaining traction in the JavaScript community, especially among developers using CSS-in-JS solutions.

Size

@linaria/core is a lightweight CSS-in-JS library that focuses on generating minimal CSS. It allows you to extract only the CSS rules that are actually used, resulting in smaller bundle sizes. PureCSS, on the other hand, is a larger CSS framework that provides a set of pre-styled components and stylesheets, which can make the bundle size larger.

Flexibility

@linaria/core provides great flexibility when it comes to styling components. It allows you to write CSS directly in your JavaScript or TypeScript code using tagged template literals. Additionally, it supports standard CSS and CSS-in-JS approaches. PureCSS, on the other hand, offers ready-to-use components and stylesheets, which may limit customization options compared to @linaria/core.

Integration

@linaria/core seamlessly integrates with React, allowing you to write CSS-in-JS directly in your components. It also has support for other popular frameworks like Vue.js and Preact. PureCSS can be used with any front-end framework as it primarily relies on CSS classes and does not have tight integration with any specific framework.

Developer Experience

@linaria/core has a developer-friendly API and provides excellent tooling and support for TypeScript. It offers features like static extraction, hot module replacement, and automatic vendor prefixing. PureCSS provides a straightforward and simple approach to styling, but it may not offer the same level of tooling and developer experience as @linaria/core.

Customization

@linaria/core allows for greater customization as you have full control over the CSS you write. You can apply dynamic styles based on props, variables, or any logic. PureCSS, on the other hand, provides a predefined set of styles and components that may not be as customizable as working directly with @linaria/core.