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Browserify vs Google Closure Compiler

Browserify

browserify.org

Google Closure Compiler

developers.google.com

Side by side

FigureBrowserifyGoogle Closure Compiler
Price from—Free
Free plan—Yes
Free trial——
Open source——
WebYes—
Windows—Yes
macOS—Yes
Linux—Yes
Self-hosted—Yes
Plans published01
Spec score · JavaScript Build Tools7.5 (#15)8.1 (#6)
PurposeBrowserify lets you use Node-style require() in browser code by bundling dependencies.Closure Compiler optimizes JavaScript by analyzing it, removing dead code, rewriting and minimizing what remains, and checking syntax, references, and types.

Plans

Browserify

No plans published.

Browserify pricing →

Google Closure Compiler

  • Closure CompilerFree

Google Closure Compiler pricing →

In their own words

Browserify

Browserify has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit browserify.org

Google Closure Compiler

Google Closure Compiler optimizes JavaScript by analyzing code, removing dead code, and rewriting and minimizing what remains. It can also check syntax, references, and types, and warn about illegal JavaScript, risky operations, and common pitfalls. Google says smaller output files can help applications load faster and reduce bandwidth needs. Compilation options include WHITESPACE_ONLY, SIMPLE, and ADVANCED; the repository README also lists BUNDLE. ADVANCED applies aggressive transformations and symbol renaming to improve compression, so preserving program behavior requires care. The project is available as a command-line Java application, a library used through Bazel, and an NPM package. Released JARs are distributed through Maven. The repository documents Maven, NPM, Bazel, command-line Java, and a NodeJS API. Building the compiler requires Java 21 or later, NodeJS, Git, and Bazelisk. Its input restrictions include use of goog.module() and goog.require(), and ES6 import/export support is not actively maintained. The NPM packages are built and distributed by an open source contributor, not Google. The compiler is free.

Visit developers.google.com