Svelte
Compiler-based JavaScript UI framework for building web apps, with SvelteKit as its app framework.
Loved for a pleasant developer experience that stays close to plain HTML, CSS and JS,1234 with easy reactivity and fast-loading sites.5678 The most common complaint is that its custom syntax leaves tooling behind,910 with weak JetBrains, Storybook and linter support.1112
Why people recommend it
Developer experience · 3
Commenters describe Svelte as a pleasure to use, a tool that disappears into the background.
“I love the hands-on developer experience of programming in Svelte.”
“when I use Svelte the tool "disappears into the background"”
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Close to web platform · 3
Writing Svelte feels similar to plain HTML, CSS and JS while still solving common problems.
“It's a pleasure to use, I especially like how similar it is to writing plain HTML / CSS / JS.”
“Svelte struck the right DX balance for me between helpful framework tools and features”
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“I use Svelte 5 (without SvelteKit) for my SPA's”
Speed · 3
Svelte sites are called very fast, with pages that load instantly and no virtual DOM overhead.
“The speed is what I love about Svelte websites. I checked out orb.net; the pages load instantly!”
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“I think solid and svelte are better”
Simple reactivity · 3
Reactivity is seen as easier than in React, with stores built in and runes making syntax clearer.
“If I have the choice I use Svelte because reactivity is much easier with it”
“for my latest project I started using Svelte and I love it.”
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“Runes allowed simpler Svelte syntax while making it more clear, consistent, flexible, and composable.”
SvelteKit apps · 3
SvelteKit is used for complex apps and SSR, including desktop and mobile apps via Wails or Capacitor.
“We use Svelte extensively at Orb.net for our website”
“I really like Svelte and have been using SvelteKit for more complex apps.”
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“Svelte is a good framework, but most of the DX praise comes from React folk.”
Caveats and dissent
Tooling support · 2
Its custom language means weak JetBrains support and poor integration with Storybook and linters.
“Svelte's biggest strength is also its biggest issue. Having a custom language means so much effort is needed to build and maintain custom tooling to support it.”
“Svelte, on the other hand, still works badly with Storybook and linters.”
Not for everyone · 2
Some commenters tried Svelte and it never clicked or they did not like it.
“I tried Svelte a couple times over the years, never really clicked for me though.”
“I didn’t really like Svelte”
Less polished · 1
One commenter who used both found Svelte less polished and comfortable to work with than Vue.
“Svelte is a good framework, but most of the DX praise comes from React folk.”
Not batteries-included · 1
SvelteKit lacks a built-in ORM, admin and auth, so one commenter returns to Django.
“I love Svelte and SvelteKit.”
Version changes · 2
Major-version changes put one user off, and another is checking upgrades for performance regressions.
“for my latest project I started using Svelte and I love it.”
“Trying to upgrade my data viz project [0] from Svelte 5.35.7 (pre async) to the latest version”
Often compared with
2 moved from React to SvelteVue10 comments mention both
1 moved from Vue to SvelteAstro5 comments mention both
1 moved from Svelte to Astro
1 moved from HTMX to Svelte
1 moved from Svelte to Solid
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- SvelteKit 3 12 mentions
- Does Anybody Actually Like React? 3 mentions
- Why don't more developers “use the platform”? 2 mentions
- Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (October 2026) 2 mentions
- Shopify acquires Tailwind 2 mentions
- Why Vanilla JavaScript 2 mentions
Data: svelte.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 34
“For web I'd probably also accept Vue, Svelte, or (simple) React.”
“I didn’t really like Svelte”
“I think solid and svelte are better”
“Svelte / Sveltekit helped programming "click" for me”
“Svelte's biggest strength is also its biggest issue. Having a custom language means so much effort is needed to build and maintain custom tooling to support it.”
“Svelte, on the other hand, still works badly with Storybook and linters.”
“for my latest project I started using Svelte and I love it.”
“Using Svelte in astro even feels nicer to me.”
“I love svelte, but I think in the world of agents programmer ergonomics is no longer relevant.”
“The speed is what I love about Svelte websites. I checked out orb.net; the pages load instantly!”
“Svelte is very fast and elegant.”
“I tried Svelte a couple times over the years, never really clicked for me though.”
“I love the hands-on developer experience of programming in Svelte.”
“Svelte is a good framework, but most of the DX praise comes from React folk.”
“We use Svelte extensively at Orb.net for our website”
“My stack of choice would be FastAPI + Svelte + PostgreSQL”
“Enjoy working with Python and Svelte the most”
“I've been using tailwind with svelte at work for years now”
“For personal projects, I love Svelte.”
“In web front-end dev, I'm using Svelte”
“I love Svelte and SvelteKit.”
“had to migrate to svelte for storybook for development”
“Svelte struck the right DX balance for me between helpful framework tools and features”
“I use Svelte 5 (without SvelteKit) for my SPA's”
“when I use Svelte the tool "disappears into the background"”
“Trying to upgrade my data viz project [0] from Svelte 5.35.7 (pre async) to the latest version”
“I really like Svelte and have been using SvelteKit for more complex apps.”
“All of my personal projects use Svelte, and I finally, blessedly applied for a job recently where Svelte was their frontend framework of choice.”
“If I have the choice I use Svelte because reactivity is much easier with it”
“It sits on the shoulder of Svelte and Threlte (Three.js) for most of the hard stuff.”
“It's a pleasure to use, I especially like how similar it is to writing plain HTML / CSS / JS.”
“Runes allowed simpler Svelte syntax while making it more clear, consistent, flexible, and composable.”
“I have a "forever project" written in TS and Svelte”
“I love Svelte and I just used it to implement the recent demo for pgflow”