ag-grid vs datatables.net vs gridjs vs handsontable vs react-data-grid vs react-table vs table
JavaScript Data Grid Libraries for Web Applications
Search packages..
ag-griddatatables.netgridjshandsontablereact-data-gridreact-tabletableSimilar Packages:

JavaScript Data Grid Libraries for Web Applications

ag-grid, datatables.net, gridjs, handsontable, react-data-grid, and react-table are JavaScript libraries for displaying and interacting with tabular data in web applications. They provide features like sorting, filtering, pagination, and editing, but differ significantly in architecture, framework integration, performance characteristics, and licensing. The table package is a Node.js utility for formatting data in terminal output and is not intended for browser-based UIs.

Npm Package Weekly Downloads Trend

3 Years

Github Stars Ranking

Stat Detail

Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
ag-grid015,101-1178 years agoMIT
datatables.net0561.09 MB0a month agoMIT
gridjs04,6781.37 MB952 years agoMIT
handsontable021,81724.8 MB38211 hours agoSEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.txt
react-data-grid07,584412 kB723 months agoMIT
react-table027,777940 kB368-MIT
table0972335 kB31a year agoBSD-3-Clause

JavaScript Data Grid Libraries: A Technical Comparison for Professional Developers

When building data-intensive web applications — dashboards, admin panels, financial tools, or CRMs — choosing the right grid library is a foundational architectural decision. The packages ag-grid, datatables.net, gridjs, handsontable, react-data-grid, react-table, and table each offer different trade-offs in rendering strategy, framework integration, feature depth, and developer ergonomics. Let’s examine them through real-world engineering lenses.

🧱 Core Architecture: Virtualized Rendering vs DOM-Based Tables

ag-grid, react-data-grid, and gridjs use virtualized rendering: they only render rows currently visible in the viewport, enabling smooth performance with tens of thousands of records.

// ag-grid (React)
import { AgGridReact } from 'ag-grid-react';

<AgGridReact
  rowData={largeDataSet}
  columnDefs={columns}
  domLayout="autoHeight"
/>

// react-data-grid
import DataGrid from 'react-data-grid';

<DataGrid
  columns={columns}
  rows={rows}
  rowHeight={35}
/>

// gridjs (vanilla JS)
new gridjs.Grid({
  columns: ['Name', 'Email'],
  data: fetchData(),
  pagination: true
}).render(document.getElementById("wrapper"));

In contrast, datatables.net and handsontable manipulate the full HTML <table> DOM, which can cause performance issues beyond ~1,000 rows unless server-side processing is used.

// datatables.net
$('#myTable').DataTable({
  data: localData,
  columns: [
    { title: 'Name' },
    { title: 'Position' }
  ]
});

// handsontable
const hot = new Handsontable(container, {
  data: spreadsheetData,
  colHeaders: true,
  rowHeaders: true,
  contextMenu: true
});

react-table is not a UI component at all — it’s a headless hook that provides state and logic; you render the table yourself using standard HTML or custom components.

// react-table
const {
  getTableProps,
  getTableBodyProps,
  headerGroups,
  rows,
  prepareRow
} = useReactTable({ columns, data });

<table {...getTableProps()}>
  <thead>
    {headerGroups.map(headerGroup => (
      <tr {...headerGroup.getHeaderGroupProps()}>
        {headerGroup.headers.map(column => (
          <th {...column.getHeaderProps()}>{column.render('Header')}</th>
        ))}
      </tr>
    ))}
  </thead>
  <tbody {...getTableBodyProps()}>
    {rows.map(row => {
      prepareRow(row);
      return (
        <tr {...row.getRowProps()}>
          {row.cells.map(cell => <td {...cell.getCellProps()}>{cell.render('Cell')}</td>)}
        </tr>
      );
    })}
  </tbody>
</table>

table is a Node.js utility for formatting tabular data in terminals — not a browser-based UI library. It should not be considered for frontend grid implementations.

⚠️ Important: The table npm package is deprecated for browser use. Its documentation states it is intended for CLI output. Do not use it to build interactive web tables.

🔌 Framework Integration: React-First vs Universal vs jQuery Legacy

react-table and react-data-grid are built exclusively for React, leveraging hooks and functional components. They integrate cleanly into modern React architectures.

ag-grid offers official wrappers for React, Angular, and Vue, but its core is framework-agnostic. This gives flexibility but adds abstraction layers.

gridjs is framework-agnostic by design and works in vanilla JS, React, Vue, etc., via simple initialization.

datatables.net originated as a jQuery plugin. While it now supports non-jQuery usage, much of its ecosystem (plugins, extensions) still assumes jQuery. This can complicate integration in modern SPAs.

handsontable provides React, Angular, and Vue wrappers, but its core API is imperative and object-oriented, which can feel out of place in declarative frameworks.

✍️ Editing Capabilities: Inline Editors vs Spreadsheet Experience

If your app requires Excel-like editing, handsontable is purpose-built for this:

new Handsontable(container, {
  data: initialData,
  columns: [
    { type: 'text' },
    { type: 'numeric', numericFormat: { pattern: '0,0.00' } },
    { type: 'date', dateFormat: 'MM/DD/YYYY' }
  ],
  contextMenu: true,
  undo: true
});

ag-grid also supports rich cell editors (dropdowns, sliders, custom React components):

const columnDefs = [
  {
    field: 'country',
    cellEditor: 'agSelectCellEditor',
    cellEditorParams: { values: ['US', 'UK', 'CA'] }
  }
];

react-data-grid allows custom editor components per column:

const columns = [
  {
    key: 'status',
    name: 'Status',
    editor: <DropDownEditor options={['Active', 'Inactive']} />
  }
];

gridjs supports basic inline editing but lacks advanced cell types:

new gridjs.Grid({
  columns: [{ name: 'Name', editable: true }],
  data: [...]
});

datatables.net requires the separate Editor extension (commercial license) for robust editing. The free version has minimal editing support.

react-table leaves editing entirely to you — you must build input controls and state management yourself.

📊 Feature Completeness: Out-of-the-Box vs Composable

Featureag-griddatatables.netgridjshandsontablereact-data-gridreact-tabletable
Sorting✅✅✅✅✅✅ (logic)❌
Filtering✅✅✅✅✅✅ (logic)❌
Pagination✅✅✅✅✅✅ (logic)❌
Row Grouping✅✅ (plugin)❌✅✅✅ (plugin)❌
Tree Data✅❌❌✅✅✅ (plugin)❌
Excel Export✅ (core)✅ (plugin)✅✅❌❌❌
Custom Cell Renderers✅✅✅✅✅✅❌
Server-Side Operations✅✅✅✅✅✅❌

Note: react-table provides hooks for these features but no UI; you implement visuals.

🎨 Styling and Theming

  • ag-grid: Ships with multiple built-in themes (Balham, Alpine, Material). Customization requires overriding CSS variables or classes.
  • datatables.net: Uses legacy CSS; theming often involves deep overrides.
  • gridjs: Modern CSS with easy theme customization via config.
  • handsontable: Full theming system with skin support.
  • react-data-grid: Minimal default styles; designed to be styled with CSS-in-JS or Tailwind.
  • react-table: No styles — complete control.

💼 Licensing Considerations

  • ag-grid: Free "Community" version lacks advanced features (row grouping, Excel export, server-side row model). Enterprise features require paid license.
  • handsontable: Free for non-commercial use; commercial projects need a license.
  • datatables.net: Core is MIT, but powerful extensions (Editor, SearchBuilder) are proprietary.
  • gridjs, react-data-grid, react-table: Fully MIT licensed — free for any use.
  • table: MIT, but irrelevant for browser UI.

🛠️ Real-World Selection Guidance

When to choose ag-grid

You need enterprise-grade features (grouping, pivoting, Excel export) and are willing to navigate licensing tiers. Ideal for financial or analytics dashboards where performance and functionality outweigh bundle size concerns.

When to choose datatables.net

You’re maintaining a legacy jQuery application or need quick integration with minimal setup. Avoid in new React/Vue/Angular SPAs unless you’re committed to managing jQuery alongside modern frameworks.

When to choose gridjs

You want a lightweight, modern, framework-agnostic grid with good defaults and MIT licensing. Great for internal tools or MVPs where you don’t need spreadsheet-level editing.

When to choose handsontable

Your users expect an Excel-like experience: formulas, drag-to-fill, context menus, and complex cell types. Accept the licensing cost if your project is commercial.

When to choose react-data-grid

You’re in a React-only environment and need a balance of performance (virtualization), customization, and open-source freedom. Best when you want control without the complexity of headless libraries.

When to choose react-table

You need maximum design flexibility and already have a strong UI system (e.g., using Tailwind or a custom component library). You’re comfortable building table UI from scratch but want battle-tested logic for sorting, filtering, and pagination.

When NOT to choose table

Never use table for browser-based interactive grids. It’s a terminal formatting tool — including it in a frontend bundle adds unnecessary weight and provides zero interactivity.

🔚 Final Thoughts

There’s no universal “best” grid library — only the right tool for your constraints:

  • Need Excel fidelity? → handsontable
  • Building a React app with custom design? → react-table or react-data-grid
  • Want zero-config, good-enough grid? → gridjs
  • Working in enterprise with budget? → ag-grid
  • Maintaining legacy jQuery? → datatables.net

Avoid table entirely for web UIs. Evaluate based on your team’s framework expertise, design system maturity, data scale, and licensing tolerance.

How to Choose: ag-grid vs datatables.net vs gridjs vs handsontable vs react-data-grid vs react-table vs table

  • ag-grid:

    Choose ag-grid when you need a full-featured, high-performance grid with enterprise capabilities like row grouping, pivoting, and Excel export, and you're prepared to handle its dual licensing model (free Community vs paid Enterprise). It's well-suited for complex data analysis applications where out-of-the-box functionality reduces development time.

  • datatables.net:

    Choose datatables.net primarily for legacy jQuery projects or simple server-rendered pages where quick setup is valued over modern framework integration. Avoid it in new React, Vue, or Angular SPAs due to its jQuery roots and limited compatibility with component-based architectures.

  • gridjs:

    Choose gridjs when you need a lightweight, modern, framework-agnostic grid with MIT licensing and decent built-in features like sorting, pagination, and basic editing. It's ideal for internal tools or prototypes where you want minimal configuration and no licensing concerns.

  • handsontable:

    Choose handsontable when your application requires an Excel-like user experience with features such as formula support, drag-to-fill, context menus, and rich cell editors. Be aware that commercial projects require a paid license, but the spreadsheet fidelity may justify the cost.

  • react-data-grid:

    Choose react-data-grid for React-only applications that need virtualized rendering for large datasets, customizable components, and full MIT licensing. It strikes a balance between functionality and simplicity, making it suitable for dashboards and data-heavy interfaces without the overhead of larger libraries.

  • react-table:

    Choose react-table when you need maximum UI flexibility and already have a strong design system or component library. As a headless utility, it provides robust data logic (sorting, filtering, pagination) while leaving all rendering to you, which is perfect for branded or highly customized table implementations.

  • table:

    Do not choose table for browser-based interactive grids. It is a Node.js package designed exclusively for formatting tabular data in terminal/console output and provides no DOM rendering or user interaction capabilities. Using it in frontend code adds unnecessary bundle weight and offers no practical benefit.

Similar Npm Packages to ag-grid

ag-grid is a powerful and feature-rich data grid library for building interactive data tables in web applications. It is designed to handle large datasets efficiently and provides a wide range of functionalities, including sorting, filtering, pagination, and cell editing. With its extensive customization options and support for various frameworks, including React, Angular, and Vue, ag-grid is a popular choice for developers looking to create dynamic and responsive data grids.

While ag-grid offers a comprehensive solution for data grid needs, there are several alternatives available that cater to different requirements and preferences:

  • handsontable is a JavaScript data grid component that provides a spreadsheet-like experience for users. It is particularly well-suited for applications that require a familiar interface for data manipulation, such as Excel-like features. handsontable supports features like cell editing, data validation, and custom rendering, making it a great choice for applications that require an interactive and user-friendly data grid experience. Its flexibility and ease of use make it a popular option for developers who want to implement spreadsheet functionalities in their web applications.

  • react-data-grid is a lightweight and customizable data grid specifically built for React applications. It offers essential features like sorting, filtering, and editing, while maintaining a simple API that allows for easy integration into React projects. react-data-grid is ideal for developers looking for a straightforward solution to display and manipulate tabular data without the overhead of more complex libraries. Its performance and flexibility make it suitable for a variety of use cases, from simple data tables to more complex applications.

To see how ag-grid compares with handsontable and react-data-grid, check out the comparison: Comparing ag-grid vs handsontable vs react-data-grid.

Similar Npm Packages to datatables.net

datatables.net is a powerful jQuery plugin that provides advanced interaction controls for HTML tables. It enables features such as pagination, sorting, filtering, and searching, making it an excellent choice for developers who need to manage large datasets in a user-friendly manner. While datatables.net is a robust solution for table management, there are several alternatives in the JavaScript ecosystem that offer similar or enhanced functionality. Here are a few notable options:

  • ag-grid is a highly customizable and feature-rich data grid that supports both React and Angular applications. It provides advanced features such as grouping, pivoting, and server-side operations, making it suitable for enterprise-level applications. If you need a grid that can handle complex data interactions and offers extensive customization options, ag-grid is an excellent choice. Its performance and flexibility make it ideal for applications that require high data throughput and interactive features.

  • gridjs is a lightweight and flexible JavaScript library for creating data tables. It is designed to be simple to use while providing essential features such as sorting, pagination, and searching. Gridjs is framework-agnostic, meaning it can be easily integrated into any web application. If you are looking for a straightforward solution for displaying tabular data without the overhead of a more complex library, gridjs is a great option.

  • handsontable is a powerful data grid component that mimics the functionality of Excel. It allows users to edit, sort, and filter data in a spreadsheet-like interface. Handsontable is particularly useful for applications that require inline editing and complex data manipulation. If your project involves a lot of data entry or requires a spreadsheet-like experience, handsontable is an excellent choice.

  • react-table is a lightweight and flexible library for building tables in React applications. It provides a set of hooks to manage table state and rendering, allowing developers to create highly customizable table components. React-table is ideal for projects that require a React-specific solution and offers great flexibility in terms of styling and functionality. If you want to build a table component that is tailored to your application's needs, react-table is a solid option.

To explore how these libraries compare, check out the comparison: Comparing ag-grid vs datatables.net vs gridjs vs handsontable vs react-table.

Similar Npm Packages to gridjs

gridjs is a lightweight and flexible JavaScript table library that allows developers to create interactive and customizable tables in web applications. It is designed to be easy to use, offering features like sorting, pagination, and searching out of the box. Grid.js is particularly useful for developers looking for a simple yet powerful solution to display tabular data without the overhead of more complex libraries. Its modular architecture allows for easy integration with various frameworks, making it a versatile choice for many projects.

However, there are several alternatives to Grid.js that also provide robust table functionalities:

  • ag-grid is a highly feature-rich data grid library that offers extensive capabilities for building complex data tables. It supports a wide range of features, including filtering, sorting, grouping, and editing, making it suitable for enterprise-level applications. Ag-Grid is known for its performance and flexibility, allowing developers to customize the grid to meet specific requirements. If your project demands advanced features and high performance, ag-grid is an excellent choice.
  • handsontable is another powerful data grid library that focuses on providing a spreadsheet-like experience in web applications. It offers features such as data binding, cell editing, and validation, making it ideal for applications that require extensive data manipulation. Handsontable is particularly useful for applications that need to handle large datasets and provide users with a familiar interface for data entry and editing. If your application requires a spreadsheet-like functionality, Handsontable is a strong contender.

To compare these packages, check out the following link: Comparing ag-grid vs gridjs vs handsontable.

Similar Npm Packages to handsontable

handsontable is a powerful JavaScript data grid component for web applications. It provides an Excel-like experience for managing and displaying tabular data, making it an excellent choice for applications that require rich data manipulation features. With handsontable, developers can easily create interactive tables with functionalities such as sorting, filtering, and editing, all while maintaining a smooth user experience. Its flexibility and extensive API allow for customization, making it suitable for a wide range of use cases, from simple data displays to complex data management applications.

One notable alternative to handsontable is ag-grid. Ag-grid is another feature-rich data grid library that offers a comprehensive set of functionalities for handling large datasets. It supports a variety of features such as virtual scrolling, row grouping, and custom cell rendering, making it a robust choice for enterprise-level applications. Ag-grid is designed for performance and scalability, allowing developers to efficiently manage and display large volumes of data without sacrificing speed or responsiveness. Its extensive documentation and support for various frameworks, including React, Angular, and Vue, make it a versatile option for developers.

To compare handsontable with ag-grid, check out the following link: Comparing ag-grid vs handsontable.

Similar Npm Packages to react-data-grid

react-data-grid is a powerful and flexible data grid component for React applications. It is designed to handle large datasets with high performance and provides a wide range of features such as sorting, filtering, and editing capabilities. This makes it an excellent choice for applications that require complex data manipulation and display. While react-data-grid is a robust solution, there are several alternatives in the React ecosystem that also offer grid functionalities. Here are a few notable options:

  • ag-grid-react is a feature-rich data grid component that provides extensive capabilities for handling large datasets. It supports a wide range of functionalities, including filtering, sorting, grouping, and custom cell rendering. ag-grid-react is particularly well-suited for enterprise applications that require advanced features and high performance. Its extensive API and customization options allow developers to create highly interactive and responsive data grids tailored to their specific needs.
  • material-table is a data table component built on top of Material-UI, which provides a clean and modern design. It offers a variety of features such as pagination, filtering, sorting, and inline editing, making it easy to create beautiful and functional data tables. If you are already using Material-UI in your application and want a data table that integrates seamlessly with its design system, material-table is an excellent choice.
  • react-table is a lightweight and flexible library for building tables in React applications. It provides a set of hooks that allow developers to create customizable and performant tables with features like sorting, filtering, and pagination. react-table is highly extensible, making it suitable for applications that require a tailored table solution without the overhead of a full-fledged data grid. If you prefer a more hands-on approach to building tables and want to maintain control over the rendering and functionality, react-table is a great option.

For a comprehensive comparison of these libraries, check out the following link: Comparing ag-grid-react vs material-table vs react-data-grid vs react-table.

Similar Npm Packages to react-table

react-table is a powerful and flexible library for building tables in React applications. It provides a set of hooks and utilities that allow developers to create highly customizable and performant tables with features like sorting, filtering, pagination, and more. React Table is designed to be lightweight and unopinionated, giving developers the freedom to implement their own styles and behaviors. While React Table is a popular choice for table management in React, there are several alternatives worth considering:

  • react-data-table-component is a feature-rich library that provides a straightforward way to create data tables in React. It comes with built-in features such as sorting, pagination, and row selection, making it easy to implement common table functionalities without much boilerplate code. If you are looking for a library that offers a more opinionated approach with ready-to-use components and built-in features, react-data-table-component is an excellent choice.
  • react-table-6 is an earlier version of the popular React Table library. While it shares many of the same features as the latest version, it may lack some of the optimizations and improvements found in the current version. If you are maintaining a legacy project that still uses this version, it may be necessary to continue using react-table-6, but for new projects, it is generally recommended to use the latest version of React Table.
  • react-table-v6 is another variant of the React Table library that emphasizes compatibility with older versions. Similar to react-table-6, it is primarily intended for projects that require backward compatibility. Developers should consider upgrading to the latest version of React Table for better performance and features, but if you are working with an existing codebase that relies on this version, it may still be relevant.

To see how these libraries compare, check out the comparison: Comparing react-data-table-component vs react-table vs react-table-6.

Similar Npm Packages to table

table is a lightweight npm package for generating formatted text-based tables in the terminal or console. It’s commonly used in Node.js environments for CLI tools, logging, or displaying structured data in a human-readable way. While table excels in simplicity and server-side output, it is not designed for interactive or browser-based data grids. For web applications requiring rich, interactive table components, several alternatives offer more advanced features like sorting, filtering, pagination, and editing.

  • ag-grid is a full-featured, enterprise-grade data grid for JavaScript and React applications. It supports advanced capabilities such as row grouping, pivoting, real-time updates, and Excel-like editing. ag-grid is ideal for complex dashboards and data-intensive applications but comes with a steeper learning curve and licensing considerations for commercial use.
  • datatables.net is a popular jQuery plugin that enhances HTML tables with dynamic features like search, pagination, and sorting. Though originally built for jQuery, it can be integrated into modern frameworks with some effort. It’s well-documented and widely used, especially in legacy or server-rendered applications.
  • gridjs is a modern, framework-agnostic JavaScript library for building interactive tables. It offers a clean API, supports React, Vue, and vanilla JS, and includes features like pagination, search, and custom cell rendering—all without external dependencies.
  • handsontable provides a spreadsheet-like experience in the browser, supporting features like cell formulas, drag-to-fill, and inline editing. It’s particularly useful for applications that require Excel-like functionality and data manipulation.
  • react-data-grid is a high-performance, customizable data grid built specifically for React. It focuses on performance with large datasets and offers features like column resizing, keyboard navigation, and cell editors while maintaining a relatively small bundle size.
  • react-table is a lightweight, headless utility for building powerful tables and datagrids in React. It doesn’t ship with any built-in UI, giving developers full control over styling and behavior. Its hook-based architecture makes it highly composable and suitable for custom design systems.

For a detailed feature and usage comparison, see: Comparing datatables.net vs gridjs vs handsontable vs react-data-grid vs react-table vs table.

README for ag-grid

alt text

CDNJS npm npm

ag-Grid

ag-Grid is a fully-featured and highly customizable JavaScript data grid. It delivers outstanding performance, has no 3rd party dependencies and integrates smoothly with all major JavaScript frameworks. Here's how our grid looks like with multiple filters and grouping enabled:

alt text

Features

Besides the standard set of features you'd expect from any grid:

  • Column Interactions (resize, reorder, and pin columns)
  • Pagination
  • Sorting
  • Row Selection

Here are some of the features that make ag-Grid stand out:

  • Grouping / Aggregation*
  • Custom Filtering
  • In-place Cell Editing
  • Records Lazy Loading *
  • Server-Side Records Operations *
  • Live Stream Updates
  • Hierarchical Data Support & Tree View *
  • Customizable Appearance
  • Customizable Cell Contents
  • Excel-like Pivoting *
  • State Persistence
  • Keyboard navigation
  • Data Export to CSV
  • Data Export to Excel *
  • Row Reordering
  • Copy / Paste
  • Column Spanning
  • Pinned Rows
  • Full Width Rows

* The features marked with an asterisk are available in the enterprise version only.

Check out developers documentation for a complete list of features or visit our official docs for tutorials and feature demos.

Looking for a framework specific solution?

Usage Overview

Install dependencies

$ npm i --save ag-grid

Add a placeholder to HTML

<div id="myGrid" style="height: 150px;width: 600px" class="ag-theme-balham"></div>

Import the grid and styles

import {Grid} from "ag-grid/main";

import "ag-grid/dist/styles/ag-grid.css";
import "ag-grid/dist/styles/ag-theme-balham.css";

Set configuration

const gridOptions = {
	columnDefs: [
		{headerName: 'Make', field: 'make'},
		{headerName: 'Model', field: 'model'},
		{headerName: 'Price', field: 'price'}
	],
	rowData: [
		{make: 'Toyota', model: 'Celica', price: 35000},
		{make: 'Ford', model: 'Mondeo', price: 32000},
		{make: 'Porsche', model: 'Boxter', price: 72000}
	]
};

Initialize the grid

let eGridDiv = document.querySelector('#myGrid');
new Grid(eGridDiv, this.gridOptions);

For more information on how to integrate the grid into your project see TypeScript - Building with Webpack 2.

Issue Reporting

If you have found a bug, please report them at this repository issues section. If you're using Enterprise version please use the private ticketing system to do that. For more information on support check out our dedicated page.

Asking Questions

Look for similar problems on StackOverflow using the ag-grid tag. If nothing seems related, post a new message there. Do not use GitHub issues to ask questions.

Contributing

ag-Grid is developed by a team of co-located developers in London. If you want to join the team check out our jobs listing or send your application to info@ag-grid.com.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.

npm-compare.com is an independent website designed to help developers choose the most suitable npm packages. We are not affiliated with npm, Inc, the official website for the npm registry. Note that npm is a registered trademark of npm, Inc. Please share your feedback via our GitHub repository. For more details, please refer to our Terms & Privacy.