Google Closure Compiler vs Rollup
Google Closure Compiler
developers.google.com
Rollup
rollupjs.orgSide by side
| Figure | Google Closure Compiler | Rollup |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · JavaScript Build Tools | 8.1 (#6) | 7.3 (#20) |
| Integrations | The repository documents a NodeJS API and use through Maven, NPM, Bazel, and command-line Java. | The site says Vite pre-configures Rollup with defaults and plugins, and names WMR as a project that adopted its plugin API. |
| Purpose | Closure Compiler optimizes JavaScript by analyzing it, removing dead code, rewriting and minimizing what remains, and checking syntax, references, and types. | Rollup is a JavaScript module bundler that compiles smaller code modules into libraries or applications. |
Plans
In their own words
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.