dayjs vs date-fns vs moment vs luxon vs date-fns-tz vs @js-temporal/polyfill: Which is Better JavaScript Date and Time Libraries?

Package	Downloads	Stars	Size	Issues	Publish	License

dayjs	20,803,370	46,537	670 kB	991	6 days ago	MIT
date-fns	20,477,772	34,364	22.2 MB	729	5 months ago	MIT
moment	20,467,779	47,934	4.35 MB	253	8 months ago	MIT
luxon	8,604,825	15,200	4.48 MB	182	23 days ago	MIT
date-fns-tz	2,954,261	1,039	218 kB	67	4 months ago	MIT
@js-temporal/polyfill	128,374	510	3.67 MB	45	a year ago	ISC

Package

Downloads

Stars

Size

Issues

Publish

License

dayjs

20,803,370

46,537

670 kB

991

6 days ago

MIT

date-fns

20,477,772

34,364

22.2 MB

729

5 months ago

MIT

moment

20,467,779

47,934

4.35 MB

253

8 months ago

MIT

luxon

8,604,825

15,200

4.48 MB

182

23 days ago

MIT

date-fns-tz

2,954,261

1,039

218 kB

4 months ago

MIT

@js-temporal/polyfill

128,374

510

3.67 MB

a year ago

ISC

Size and Performance

dayjs: Day.js is extremely lightweight, with a size of around 2KB, making it one of the fastest date libraries available, ideal for performance-sensitive applications.
date-fns: Date-fns is modular, allowing you to import only the functions you need, which keeps the bundle size minimal and enhances performance, especially in large applications.
moment: Moment.js is the largest among these libraries, and while it offers comprehensive features, its size can lead to performance issues in modern applications.
luxon: Luxon is larger than some alternatives but offers extensive features, making it suitable for applications where rich date handling is necessary, though it may impact performance slightly.
date-fns-tz: Date-fns-tz adds minimal overhead to date-fns while providing essential time zone functionalities, ensuring performance remains a priority.
@js-temporal/polyfill: @js-temporal/polyfill is designed to be lightweight and efficient, providing a modern API without unnecessary overhead, making it suitable for performance-critical applications.

Time Zone Handling

dayjs: Day.js has a timezone plugin that allows for basic time zone handling, but it may not be as robust as dedicated libraries like date-fns-tz or Luxon.
date-fns: Date-fns does not natively support time zones, but can be extended with date-fns-tz for time zone handling, providing flexibility depending on project needs.
moment: Moment.js has built-in support for time zones through the moment-timezone package, making it a comprehensive solution for applications that need extensive time zone functionalities.
luxon: Luxon excels in time zone handling, providing built-in support for time zones and localization, making it a strong choice for applications requiring advanced date-time features.
date-fns-tz: Date-fns-tz is specifically designed for time zone support, enabling accurate conversions and manipulations, making it essential for applications dealing with multiple time zones.
@js-temporal/polyfill: @js-temporal/polyfill supports time zones through the Temporal API, allowing for precise and flexible date-time manipulations across different zones, making it ideal for global applications.

API Design and Usability

dayjs: Day.js mimics the Moment.js API, making it easy for developers transitioning from Moment.js to adopt it without a steep learning curve, while still being lightweight and efficient.
date-fns: Date-fns provides a functional programming style, which can be more intuitive for developers who prefer a modular approach, allowing for easy chaining of functions.
moment: Moment.js has a straightforward API that is widely recognized and used, but its size and complexity can be overwhelming for new developers.
luxon: Luxon's API is rich and expressive, providing a clear and powerful way to handle dates and times, though it may require some learning for those used to simpler libraries.
date-fns-tz: Date-fns-tz extends the date-fns API seamlessly, making it easy to integrate time zone functionalities without altering the familiar date-fns usage patterns.
@js-temporal/polyfill: @js-temporal/polyfill offers a modern API that is intuitive and easy to use, aligning with the latest JavaScript standards, making it user-friendly for developers familiar with ES6+ features.

Localization and Internationalization

dayjs: Day.js supports localization through plugins, allowing for date formatting in various languages, although it may require additional setup compared to Luxon or Moment.js.
date-fns: Date-fns provides localization support through its functions, allowing developers to format dates according to different locales, which is essential for global applications.
moment: Moment.js offers extensive localization support, allowing developers to format dates in multiple languages, making it a good choice for applications that need to cater to diverse user bases.
luxon: Luxon has built-in support for localization and internationalization, making it easy to format dates and times according to different cultural norms, which is crucial for global applications.
date-fns-tz: Date-fns-tz inherits localization capabilities from date-fns, ensuring that time zone conversions respect local formats and conventions.
@js-temporal/polyfill: @js-temporal/polyfill supports localization through the Temporal API, allowing for easy formatting and manipulation of dates in various locales, making it suitable for international applications.

Maintenance and Community Support

dayjs: Day.js has a strong community and is actively maintained, ensuring that it stays relevant and updated with new features while keeping its lightweight nature.
date-fns: Date-fns is actively maintained with a growing community, providing regular updates and improvements, making it a reliable choice for new projects.
moment: Moment.js is in maintenance mode, meaning no new features will be added, which could be a concern for future-proofing applications, though it still has a large user base and extensive documentation.
luxon: Luxon is actively maintained by a dedicated team, ensuring it receives regular updates and improvements, making it a reliable choice for applications requiring advanced date handling.
date-fns-tz: Date-fns-tz is maintained alongside date-fns, ensuring compatibility and updates, making it a solid choice for projects needing time zone support.
@js-temporal/polyfill: @js-temporal/polyfill is actively maintained as part of the ECMAScript proposal, ensuring it stays updated with modern JavaScript standards and practices.

dayjs: Choose Day.js if you prefer a lightweight alternative to Moment.js with a similar API. It's perfect for projects that need a simple, fast, and immutable date library without the bloat, making it ideal for performance-sensitive applications.

date-fns: Choose date-fns for its modular design, allowing you to import only the functions you need, which keeps your bundle size small. It's great for projects that require a functional programming style and a wide range of date manipulation functions without the overhead of a larger library.

moment: Choose Moment.js if you are maintaining a legacy codebase that already uses it, or if you need a well-established library with a comprehensive feature set. However, be aware that Moment.js is larger and has been deprecated in favor of more modern alternatives.

luxon: Choose Luxon if you need a powerful library that provides rich date-time handling, including time zones and localization. It's suitable for applications that require advanced date manipulation and formatting capabilities, especially when working with internationalization.

date-fns-tz: Choose date-fns-tz if your application needs robust time zone support alongside the functionality of date-fns. This is particularly useful for applications that operate across multiple time zones and require accurate date-time conversions.

@js-temporal/polyfill: Choose @js-temporal/polyfill if you want to leverage the latest ECMAScript Temporal API features, which provide a modern and comprehensive approach to date and time handling. This is ideal for projects that require precision and future-proofing against the limitations of the native Date object.

Getting Started

Documentation

You can find more details, API, and other docs on day.js.org website.

Installation

npm install dayjs --save

API

It's easy to use Day.js APIs to parse, validate, manipulate, and display dates and times.

dayjs('2018-08-08') // parse dayjs().format('{YYYY} MM-DDTHH:mm:ss SSS [Z] A') // display dayjs().set('month', 3).month() // get & set dayjs().add(1, 'year') // manipulate dayjs().isBefore(dayjs()) // query

I18n

Day.js has great support for internationalization.

But none of them will be included in your build unless you use it.

import 'dayjs/locale/es' // load on demand dayjs.locale('es') // use Spanish locale globally dayjs('2018-05-05').locale('zh-cn').format() // use Chinese Simplified locale in a specific instance

Plugin

A plugin is an independent module that can be added to Day.js to extend functionality or add new features.

import advancedFormat from 'dayjs/plugin/advancedFormat' // load on demand dayjs.extend(advancedFormat) // use plugin dayjs().format('Q Do k kk X x') // more available formats

Usage Trend