Browserify vs esbuild
Browserify
browserify.org
esbuild
esbuild.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Browserify | esbuild |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · JavaScript Build Tools | 7.5 (#15) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Bundling | It recursively analyzes require() calls and bundles the dependency graph into a file that can be loaded with a script tag. | It bundles ESM and CommonJS modules, including CSS modules. |
| License | The GitHub repository identifies its license as MIT. | The repository provides esbuild under the MIT License, which permits use, copying, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and sale subject to the license conditions. |
| Purpose | Browserify lets you use Node-style require() in browser code by bundling dependencies. | esbuild is an extremely fast bundler for the web designed to improve build tool performance and be easy to use. |
Plans
In their own words
Browserify
Browserify has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
esbuild
esbuild is a free bundler for web projects, designed to improve build-tool performance while remaining easy to use. It bundles ESM and CommonJS modules, including CSS modules, with built-in support for JavaScript, CSS, TypeScript and JSX. Optimization features include tree shaking, minification and source maps; development tools include a local server, watch mode and plugins. Developers can use the command-line, JavaScript or Go interface. The recommended installation is the native executable installed with npm. An alternative WebAssembly package works across platforms, though it can be substantially slower than the native package. esbuild is MIT-licensed. It does not type-check TypeScript, and its FAQ recommends running tsc separately. The FAQ describes code-splitting support as primitive. The maintainer says the project receives periodic releases and is maintained, but active feature development is not underway. The FAQ also notes that a project primarily built by one developer may not fit organizations seeking a larger or more active community.