numeral vs accounting vs currency.js vs format-number vs intl vs numbro
Number Formatting and Currency Handling Libraries
numeralaccountingcurrency.jsformat-numberintlnumbroSimilar Packages:

Number Formatting and Currency Handling Libraries

These libraries provide utilities for formatting numbers, currencies, and performing mathematical operations in JavaScript. While some focus on lightweight formatting, others offer robust currency math or localization features. Modern development often favors native APIs, but these packages remain relevant for legacy support or specific functional needs like immutable currency objects.

Npm Package Weekly Downloads Trend

3 Years

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Stat Detail

Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
numeral2,481,4979,706-3459 years agoMIT
accounting04,979-14512 years ago-
currency.js03,382-615 years agoMIT
format-number050-69 years agoBSD-3-Clause
intl01,691-7910 years agoMIT
numbro01,1421.27 MB2692 years agoMIT

Number Formatting and Currency Handling: Architecture Comparison

These libraries solve number display and math problems in JavaScript, but they take different approaches. Some focus on simple string formatting, while others handle currency math with precision. Modern browsers also provide native tools that replace many of these needs. Let's compare how they tackle common engineering tasks.

⚠️ Maintenance Status: Active vs Unmaintained

Before writing code, check if the library is still safe to use. Several options here are no longer updated.

accounting is unmaintained.

  • Last update was years ago.
  • Use only for legacy support.
// accounting: No recent updates
// npm install accounting
var accounting = require('accounting');

currency.js is actively maintained.

  • Regular updates for currency data.
  • Safe for new projects.
// currency.js: Active development
// npm install currency.js
import currency from 'currency.js';

format-number is stable but minimal.

  • Rarely changes because it is simple.
  • Low risk but low feature set.
// format-number: Stable minimalism
// npm install format-number
var formatNumber = require('format-number');

intl is a polyfill for legacy browsers.

  • Native Intl is preferred now.
  • Only use for old browser support.
// intl: Polyfill package
// npm install intl
require('intl');

numbro is actively maintained.

  • Fork of numeral with fixes.
  • Safe for long-term use.
// numbro: Active fork
// npm install numbro
import numbro from 'numbro';

numeral is unmaintained.

  • No updates since 2017.
  • Do not use in new projects.
// numeral: Unmaintained
// npm install numeral
var numeral = require('numeral');

🔢 Formatting Syntax: How to Display Numbers

Each library has a different way to turn raw numbers into readable strings.

accounting uses specific format strings for money.

  • Focuses on currency symbols and decimals.
// accounting: Money format
accounting.formatMoney(1234567.89, "$ ", 2);
// Output: "$ 1,234,567.89"

currency.js chains format methods on objects.

  • Immutable currency object handles display.
// currency.js: Chain format
currency(1234567.89).format();
// Output: "$1,234,567.89"

format-number uses a configuration object.

  • Simple key-value pairs for style.
// format-number: Config object
formatNumber(1234567.89, { round: 2, thousand: ',' });
// Output: "1,234,567.89"

intl relies on native API constructors.

  • Standard browser implementation.
// intl: Native constructor
new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US').format(1234567.89);
// Output: "1,234,567.89"

numbro uses format strings similar to Excel.

  • Flexible pattern matching.
// numbro: Format string
numbro(1234567.89).format('$0,0.00');
// Output: "$1,234,567.89"

numeral uses the same format strings as numbro.

  • Legacy syntax still widely known.
// numeral: Legacy format string
numeral(1234567.89).format('$0,0.00');
// Output: "$1,234,567.89"

💰 Currency Handling: Math and Precision

Handling money requires more than just formatting. You need to avoid floating-point errors.

accounting does not handle math.

  • It is purely for display strings.
  • You must do math separately.
// accounting: No math support
var total = 10.50 + 20.30; // Manual math
accounting.formatMoney(total);

currency.js handles math internally.

  • Uses integer cents to avoid errors.
  • Safe for addition and subtraction.
// currency.js: Built-in math
currency(10.50).add(20.30).format();
// Output: "$30.80" (Precise)

format-number does not handle math.

  • Pure formatting utility only.
  • No currency logic included.
// format-number: No math support
var total = 10.50 + 20.30; // Manual math
formatNumber(total);

intl does not handle math.

  • Focuses on localization standards.
  • Math must be done with standard JS.
// intl: No math support
var total = 10.50 + 20.30; // Manual math
new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US').format(total);

numbro supports basic math operations.

  • Can multiply, divide, and add.
  • Still uses floating-point numbers.
// numbro: Basic math
numbro(10.50).add(20.30).format();
// Output: "30.80" (Floating point)

numeral supports basic math operations.

  • Same as numbro but unmaintained.
  • Risk of floating-point issues.
// numeral: Basic math
numeral(10.50).add(20.30).format();
// Output: "30.80" (Floating point)

🌍 Localization: Supporting Multiple Languages

Global apps need to show numbers correctly for different regions.

accounting has limited locale support.

  • You must manually configure symbols.
  • Hard to scale for many countries.
// accounting: Manual locale
accounting.settings.currency.symbol = "€";
accounting.formatMoney(1000);

currency.js allows custom locale settings.

  • You pass options during creation.
  • Good for specific currency needs.
// currency.js: Custom options
currency(1000, { symbol: '€', precision: 2 }).format();

format-number has no built-in locales.

  • You configure separators manually.
  • Not suitable for i18n heavy apps.
// format-number: Manual config
formatNumber(1000, { thousand: '.', decimal: ',' });

intl excels at localization.

  • Built-in data for hundreds of locales.
  • Best choice for global apps.
// intl: Native locale support
new Intl.NumberFormat('de-DE').format(1000);
// Output: "1.000"

numbro supports many languages.

  • Load language files as needed.
  • Good balance of features and size.
// numbro: Language load
numbro.language('de-DE');
numbro(1000).format();

numeral supports many languages.

  • Same as numbro but outdated data.
  • Risk of missing new locale standards.
// numeral: Language load
numbro.language('de-DE');
numeral(1000).format();

📊 Summary: Key Differences

Featureaccountingcurrency.jsformat-numberintlnumbronumeral
Status❌ Unmaintained✅ Active⚠️ Stable✅ Native✅ Active❌ Unmaintained
Math❌ None✅ Precise❌ None❌ None⚠️ Float⚠️ Float
i18n⚠️ Manual⚠️ Custom❌ None✅ Best✅ Good✅ Good
Use CaseLegacy MoneyFintech/CartsSimple DisplayGlobal AppsFormattingLegacy Format

💡 The Big Picture

currency.js is the top choice for financial logic.

  • It prevents math errors that cause real money loss.
  • Use it for carts, invoices, and balances.

intl (Native) is the top choice for display.

  • It requires no extra packages in modern browsers.
  • Use it for general number formatting in UI.

numbro is the fallback for complex formatting.

  • Use it if you need features native Intl lacks.
  • It is safer than numeral for long-term support.

numeral and accounting should be avoided.

  • They are unmaintained and pose security risks.
  • Migrate existing projects to numbro or native APIs.

Final Thought: For most modern apps, combine native Intl for display with currency.js for money math. This mix gives you precision without unnecessary dependencies.

How to Choose: numeral vs accounting vs currency.js vs format-number vs intl vs numbro

  • numeral:

    Do not choose numeral for new projects as it is unmaintained and has known issues with localization and bundle size. It was popular historically but is now considered deprecated in favor of numbro or native APIs. Only use it if you are maintaining an existing system that cannot be refactored.

  • accounting:

    Choose accounting only for legacy projects that require simple currency formatting without heavy dependencies. It is unmaintained and lacks modern localization features, so avoid it for new development. Use it if you need a quick fix for an old codebase that already relies on its specific API.

  • currency.js:

    Choose currency.js when you need immutable currency objects that handle math operations safely without floating-point errors. It is ideal for e-commerce carts, invoicing, or financial dashboards where precision matters. It combines formatting and calculation in one lightweight package.

  • format-number:

    Choose format-number if you need a minimalistic function to format numbers with separators and decimals without extra features. It is suitable for simple displays where localization is handled elsewhere or is not required. Avoid it for complex currency logic or internationalization needs.

  • intl:

    Choose the intl npm package only if you must support very old browsers that lack native Intl support. For all modern projects, use the built-in browser Intl API instead of this polyfill package. Relying on this package in new apps adds unnecessary weight and maintenance overhead.

  • numbro:

    Choose numbro if you need the feature set of numeral but require active maintenance and bug fixes. It is a community-driven fork that supports formatting, parsing, and basic math operations. It is a safer bet than numeral for long-term projects requiring extensive number formatting.

README for numeral

Numeral.js

A javascript library for formatting and manipulating numbers.

Website and documentation

Travis Build Status

Master Build Status

Develop Build Status

NPM

NPM

#CDNJS

CDNJS

Contributing

Important: Please create your branch from and submit pull requests to the develop branch. All pull requests must include the appropriate tests.

  1. Fork the library

  2. Install grunt

  3. Run npm install to install dependencies

  4. Create a new branch from develop

  5. Add your tests to the files in /tests

  6. To test your tests, run grunt

  7. When all your tests are passing, run grunt dist to compile and minify all files

  8. Submit a pull request to the develop branch.

Formats

Formats now exist in their own files and act more or less as plugins. Check out the bytes format for an example of how to create one.

Locales

When naming locale files use the ISO 639-1 language codes supplemented by ISO 3166-1 country codes when necessary.

Locale translations will not be merged without unit tests.

See the english unit tests for an example.

Changelog

2.0.6

Bug fix: Multi letter currency symbols and spacing

Added: Formatting of numbers with leading zeros

New format: Basic Point

Option: Added scalePercentBy100 (default: true) option to turn on/off scaling percentages

2.0.4

Bug fix: Incorrect abbreviations for values rounded up #187

Bug fix: Signed currency is inconsistent #89

2.0.2

Bug fix: Updated module definitions

2.0.1

Bug fix: Fixed regression for webpack/browserify/rollup

2.0.0

2.0.0 brings a lot of breaking changes and a reorganization of the repo, but also simplifies the api as well as the creating of custom formats.

Breaking change / Feature: All formats are now separate files. This makes it easy to create custom formats, and will also allow for custom builds with only certain formats. (Note: The built numeral.js still contains all formats in the repo).

Breaking change / Feature: All formats and locales are now loaded using numeral.register(type, name, {})

Breaking change: All language now renamed to locale and standardized to all lowercase filenames

Breaking change: The locale function no longer loads locales, it only sets the current locale

Breaking change: The unformat function has been removed numeral().unformat(string) and now happens on numeral init numeral(string)

Breaking change / Feature: Bytes are now formatted as: b (base 1000) and ib (base 1024)

Breaking change: numeral(NaN) is now treated the same as numeral(null) and no longer throws an error

Feature: Exponential format using e+ or e-

Bug fix: Update to floating point helpers (Note: Numeral does not fix JS floating point errors, but look to our tests to see that it covers quite a few cases.)

1.5.6

Bug fix: numeral converts strings to numbers

Bug fix: Null values return same as 0

1.5.5

Contained breaking changes, recommended to use 1.5.6

Bug fix: Switch bytes back to b and change iecBinary to ib, and calculate both using 1024 for backwards compatibility

1.5.4

Contained breaking changes, recommended to use 1.5.6

Tests: Changed all tests to use Mocha and Chai

Tests: Added browser tests for Chrome, Firefox, and IE using saucelabs

Added reset function to reset numeral to default options

Added nullFormat option

Update reduce polyfill

Added Binary bytes

Bug fix: Fixes problem with many optional decimals

1.5.3

Added currency symbol to optionally appear before negative sign / open paren

Added float precision math support

Added specification of abbreviation in thousands, millions, billions

1.5.2

Bug fix: Unformat should pass through if given a number

Added a mechanism to control rounding behaviour

Added languageData() for getting and setting language props at runtime

1.5.1

Bug fix: Make sure values aren't changed during formatting

1.5.0

Add defaultFormat(). numeral().format() uses the default to format if no string is provided

.unformat() returns 0 when passed no string

Added languages.js that contains all languages

Bug fix: Fix bug while unformatting ordinals

Add format option to always show signed value

Added ability to instantiate numeral with a string value of a number

1.4.9

Bug fix: Fix bug while unformatting ordinals

1.4.8

Bug fix: Throw error if language is not defined

1.4.7

Bug fix: Fix typo for trillion

1.4.6

Bug fix: remove ' from unformatting regex that was causing an error with fr-ch.js

1.4.5

Add zeroFormat() function that accepts a string for custom formating of zeros

Add valueOf() function

Chain functionality to language function

Make all minified files have the same .min.js filename ending

1.4.1

Bug fix: Bytes not formatting correctly

1.4.0

Add optional format for all decimals

1.3.4

Remove AMD module id. (This is encouraged by require.js to make the module more portable, and keep it from creating a global)

1.3.3

AMD define() compatibility.

1.3.2

Bug fix: Formatting some numbers results in the wrong value. Issue #21

1.3.1

Bug fix: Minor fix to unformatting parser

1.3.0

Add support for spaces before/after $, a, o, b in a format string

Bug fix: Fix unformat for languages that use '.' in ordinals

Bug fix: Fix round up floating numbers with no precision correctly.

Bug fix: Fix currency signs at the end in unformat

1.2.6

Add support for optional decimal places

1.2.5

Add support for appending currency symbol

1.2.4

Add support for humanized filesizes

1.2.3

Bug Fix: Fix unformatting for languages that use '.' as thousands delimiter

1.2.2

Changed language definition property 'money' to 'currency'

1.2.1

Bug fix: Fix unformatting non-negative abbreviations

1.2.0

Add language support

Update testing for to include languages

1.1.0

Add Tests

Bug fix: Fix difference returning negative values

1.0.4

Bug fix: Non negative numbers were displaying as negative when using parentheses

1.0.3

Add ordinal formatting using 'o' in the format

1.0.2

Add clone functionality

1.0.1

Added abbreviations for thousands and millions using 'a' in the format

1.0.0

Initial release

Acknowlegements

Numeral.js, while less complex, was inspired by and heavily borrowed from Moment.js

License

Numeral.js is freely distributable under the terms of the MIT license.

Copyright (c) 2012 Adam Draper

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.