angular2-notifications vs ngx-toastr vs sweetalert2
Notification and Alert Libraries for Angular Applications
angular2-notificationsngx-toastrsweetalert2Similar Packages:

Notification and Alert Libraries for Angular Applications

angular2-notifications, ngx-toastr, and sweetalert2 are all popular npm packages used to display user feedback in web applications, but they serve different interaction patterns and design goals. angular2-notifications provides a flexible system for managing toast-style notifications with built-in positioning and stacking. ngx-toastr is an Angular wrapper around the lightweight toastr library, offering simple, non-blocking toast messages with minimal configuration. sweetalert2 delivers rich, modal-style alerts that pause user interaction until dismissed, supporting complex content like inputs, images, and dynamic updates. All three integrate well with Angular but differ significantly in UX philosophy, API structure, and use cases.

Npm Package Weekly Downloads Trend

3 Years

Github Stars Ranking

Stat Detail

Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
angular2-notifications0742244 kB812 years agoMIT
ngx-toastr02,586175 kB782 months agoMIT
sweetalert2018,0591.23 MB68 days agoMIT

Notification Patterns Compared: angular2-notifications vs ngx-toastr vs sweetalert2

When building Angular applications, choosing the right user feedback mechanism depends on whether you need non-blocking toasts or blocking modals. Let’s compare how these three libraries handle real-world scenarios.

📣 Core Interaction Model: Toasts vs Modals

angular2-notifications and ngx-toastr both implement toast notifications — small, transient messages that appear briefly without stopping user interaction. They auto-dismiss and stack in corners of the screen.

sweetalert2, by contrast, shows modal dialogs that overlay the entire UI and require user action (like clicking “OK” or “Cancel”) before continuing. This is critical for confirmations or data entry prompts.

// angular2-notifications: non-blocking toast
this.notificationsService.success('Title', 'Message');

// ngx-toastr: non-blocking toast
this.toastr.success('Message', 'Title');

// sweetalert2: blocking modal
await Swal.fire('Title', 'Message', 'success'); // pauses execution until closed

⚙️ Setup and Module Integration

All three require Angular module registration, but their initialization differs.

angular2-notifications uses a dedicated <simple-notifications> component in your app root:

<!-- app.component.html -->
<simple-notifications [options]="notificationOptions"></simple-notifications>
// app.module.ts
import { SimpleNotificationsModule } from 'angular2-notifications';
@NgModule({
  imports: [SimpleNotificationsModule.forRoot()]
})

ngx-toastr injects styles globally and doesn’t require a template element:

// app.module.ts
import { ToastrModule } from 'ngx-toastr';
@NgModule({
  imports: [
    ToastrModule.forRoot({
      timeOut: 3000,
      positionClass: 'toast-top-right'
    })
  ]
})

sweetalert2 needs no Angular module setup but requires importing CSS:

// In your component
import Swal from 'sweetalert2';

💡 Note: sweetalert2 is framework-agnostic, so it works in any JS environment, not just Angular.

🎨 Customization and Content Flexibility

angular2-notifications supports custom templates via @Input() bindings and allows per-notification overrides:

this.notificationsService.html(
  '<b>Custom HTML</b>',
  { type: 'success', timeOut: 5000 }
);

ngx-toastr offers limited HTML support and relies on predefined types (success, error, etc.). Custom components require extending base classes.

// Basic usage only
this.toastr.info('Plain text or <em>minimal HTML</em>', 'Title');

sweetalert2 excels at rich content — you can embed inputs, images, and even update content dynamically after opening:

const { value: email } = await Swal.fire({
  title: 'Enter your email',
  input: 'email',
  inputPlaceholder: 'example@domain.com'
});

// Later, update an open alert
Swal.update({
  title: 'Processing...',
  allowEscapeKey: false,
  showConfirmButton: false
});

🔄 Programmatic Control and Lifecycle

angular2-notifications returns a unique ID for each notification, allowing manual removal:

const id = this.notificationsService.success('Title', 'Message');
// Later
this.notificationsService.remove(id);

ngx-toastr returns a Toast instance with methods like close():

const toast = this.toastr.warning('Will auto-close');
toast.onHidden.subscribe(() => console.log('Gone'));

sweetalert2 provides full promise-based control and exposes methods like close(), disableButtons(), and reactive updates:

Swal.fire({
  title: 'Loading...',
  didOpen: () => {
    Swal.showLoading();
    fetchData().then(result => {
      Swal.update({
        title: 'Done!',
        text: result,
        icon: 'success'
      });
    });
  }
});

🧪 Testing and Debugging Considerations

  • angular2-notifications: Requires mocking the NotificationsService in unit tests. The DOM-based component can complicate shallow rendering.
  • ngx-toastr: Easier to test since toasts are appended to the body; you can spy on ToastrService methods.
  • sweetalert2: Use Swal.mixin({ ... }) for consistent defaults, and leverage Swal.isVisible() in E2E tests to wait for modals.

⚠️ Maintenance and Deprecation Status

As of 2024, angular2-notifications shows signs of reduced maintenance. Its last major update was years ago, and it hasn’t fully embraced modern Angular features like standalone components. While not officially deprecated, it’s risky for new greenfield projects.

ngx-toastr and sweetalert2 are both actively maintained, with regular releases and strong community support.

🆚 Summary: When to Use Which

Use CaseBest ChoiceWhy
Auto-dismissing status messagesngx-toastrLightweight, simple, zero-template setup
Custom-styled toasts with dynamic contentangular2-notificationsFlexible templating and positioning (but verify maintenance status)
User confirmations, input promptssweetalert2Modal behavior, rich interactivity, active development
Critical alerts requiring acknowledgmentsweetalert2Blocks UI until resolved
High-volume notification systemsngx-toastrEfficient DOM handling and stacking

💡 Final Recommendation

  • For most Angular apps needing simple toasts, go with ngx-toastr — it’s reliable, minimal, and integrates cleanly.
  • If you require modal dialogs with user input, sweetalert2 is the clear winner and works great alongside Angular.
  • Avoid angular2-notifications in new projects unless you have legacy compatibility needs or can commit to maintaining a fork. Its architecture feels dated compared to modern alternatives.

Remember: toasts should inform; modals should demand action. Choose the tool that matches your user experience intent.

How to Choose: angular2-notifications vs ngx-toastr vs sweetalert2

  • angular2-notifications:

    Choose angular2-notifications if you need a highly customizable notification system with fine-grained control over positioning, animation, and lifecycle management within an Angular application. It’s ideal when you want to manage multiple notification types (success, error, info, warn) with custom templates or dynamic behavior without relying on global DOM manipulation. However, note that the package has not seen active maintenance in recent years, so evaluate its long-term viability for new projects.

  • ngx-toastr:

    Choose ngx-toastr if you want a lightweight, battle-tested toast notification solution that’s easy to set up and integrates seamlessly with Angular’s change detection. It’s perfect for standard use cases like showing brief success or error messages that auto-dismiss and don’t interrupt user flow. Its simplicity and minimal footprint make it a solid choice for teams prioritizing stability and low cognitive overhead.

  • sweetalert2:

    Choose sweetalert2 when you need modal dialogs that require explicit user interaction—such as confirmations, form prompts, or critical alerts. It shines in scenarios where you must pause the application flow until the user responds, and it supports rich content including inputs, checkboxes, and dynamic updates. While not Angular-specific, it works well in Angular apps via service wrappers and is actively maintained with a robust feature set.

README for angular2-notifications

Angular2-Notifications

A light and easy to use notifications library for Angular 2. It features both regular page notifications (toasts) and push notifications.

Build Status NPM Version NPM Downloads

Push Notifications have been moved to a separate library ng-push

Table of Contents

Example

Take a look at the live demo here: Live Demo

Setup

Install the library

npm install --save angular2-notifications
# Or using Yarn for a faster installation
yarn add angular2-notifications

SystemJS

Map the library in your system.config.js if you're using SystemJs.

var map = {
    'angular2-notifications': 'node_modules/angular2-notifications'
}

var packages = {
    'angular2-notifications': { main: './dist/index.js', defaultExtension: 'js' }
}

Webpack

If you're using Webpack >= 2, just include the library in your main.ts or vendor.ts file

import 'angular2-notifications';

Setup

Import the SimpleNotificationsModule in to your root AppModule (it will not work if you try to import it into a shared module)

import { SimpleNotificationsModule } from 'angular2-notifications';

@NgModule({
    imports: [
        BrowserModule,
        // Animations need to be imported in to your project to use the library
        BrowserAnimationsModule, 
        SimpleNotificationsModule.forRoot()
    ],
    declarations: [AppComponent],
    bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }

Add the SimpleNotificationsComponent in to the component where you want to use the notifications. Or in your top level component for use in child components.

...
template: '<simple-notifications></simple-notifications>'
...

You will also need to use the NotificationsService in your component to create or remove the notifications.

...
constructor( private _service: NotificationsService ) {}
...

The create and destroy Event Emitters emit the notification that was created or destroyed you can utilise this functionality like this:

<simple-notifications [options]="options" (create)="created($event)" (destroy)="destroyed($event)"></simple-notifications>

If your app cannot find the built JS files for this package, you may need to tell your build script to scan the angular2-notifications directory. See the related issue #25. Example:

'angular2-notifications/*.+(js|js.map)',
'angular2-notifications/lib/*.+(js|js.map)'

Creating Notifications

This are the currently available access methods:

  • The access methods return the constructed notification along with the created id.
MethodDescription
success(title: any, content?: any, override?: any, context?: any)Creates a success notification with the provided title and content.
error(title: any, content?: any, override?: any, context?: any)Creates an error notification with the provided title and content.
alert(title: any, content?: any, override?: any, context?: any)Creates an alert notification with the provided title and content.
warn(title: any, content?: any, override?: any, context?: any)Creates a warn notification with the provided title and content.
info(title: any, content?: any, override?: any, context?: any)Creates an info notification with the provided title and content.
bare(title: any, content?: any, override?: any, context?: any)Creates a bare notification with the provided title and content. This notification type is best used when adding custom html.
create(title: any, content: any = '', type: string = 'success', override?: any, context?: any)Use this method to create any notification type ['success', 'error', 'alert', 'info', 'bare'].
html(html: any, type: string = 'success', override?: any, icon: string = 'bare', context?: any)Use this method to create a notification with custom html. By specifying an icon (success, error, alert, info or warn) you can use the default icons in addition to your custom html. If you do not explicitly pass an icon param no icon will be shown by default.
remove(id?: string)Removes the notification that has the provided id or removes all currently open notifications if no id was provided.

The title, content and html arguments can be a string, html string or TemplateRef. Now it's also possible to pass the datas (context) to the TemplateRef by using the optional context argument.

Example using TemplateRef

To use a TemplateRef in the title or content you need to create it in a component template:

<ng-template #example let-title="title">
    <p>{{title}}</p>
</ng-template>

Then you need to somehow get it to the component:

  title: string = 'Winter is coming';
  @ViewChild('example') example: TemplateRef<any>;

  open() {
    let context: any = {title: this.title};
    this._service.html(this.example, null, null, null, context);
  }

You could also pass the template through the open() method:

    open(temp: TemplateRef<any>) {
        this._service.html(temp, null, null, null, context);
    }

Subscribing to clicks

If you are interested in the clicks that happen on a notification you have the possibility to subscribe to a EventEmitter. The methods (success, error, alert, warn, info, bare, create and html) from the NotificationsService return an Object of type Notification.

const toast = this.notificationsService.success('Item created!', 'Click to undo...', {
      timeOut: 3000,
      showProgressBar: true,
      pauseOnHover: true,
      clickToClose: true
    });

The returned object has a click property with an EventEmitter on it which you can subscribe to. Your callback then gets notified with the click event at each click that happens on your Notification.

toast.click.subscribe((event) => {
    doSomething(event)
});

If you have configured the notification to close when the icon is clicked, an EventEmitter exists to listen for those clicks as well.

const toast = this.notificationsService.success('Item created!', 'Click to undo...', {
      timeOut: 3000,
      showProgressBar: true,
      pauseOnHover: true,
      clickToClose: false,
      clickIconToClose: true
    });

With the corresponding clickIcon property as above.

toast.clickIcon.subscribe((event) => {
    doSomething(event)
});

Options

Global options can be added in two ways. They can be passed through the forRoot() method on the module.

SimpleNotificationsModule.forRoot({
    ...options
})

You can also pass them in to the root component.

<simple-notifications [options]="options"></simple-notifications>

This are the current options that can be set globally:

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
position["top" or "bottom" or "middle", "right" or "left" or "center"]["bottom", "right"]Set the position on the screen where the notifications should display. Pass an array with two values example: ["top", "left"].
timeOutint0Determine how long a notification should wait before closing. If set to 0 a notification won't close it self.
showProgressBarbooleantrueDetermine if a progress bar should be shown or not.
pauseOnHoverbooleantrueDetermines if the timeOut should be paused when the notification is hovered.
lastOnBottombooleantrueDetermines if new notifications should appear at the bottom or top of the list.
clickToClosebooleantrueDetermines if notifications should close on click.
clickIconToClosebooleanfalseDetermines if notifications should close when user clicks the icon.
maxLengthint0Set the maximum allowed length of the content string. If set to 0 or not defined there is no maximum length.
maxStackint8Set the maximum number of notifications that can be on the screen at once.
preventDuplicatesbooleanfalseIf true prevents duplicates of open notifications.
preventLastDuplicatesboolean or stringfalseIf set to "all" prevents duplicates of the latest notification shown ( even if it isn't on screen any more ). If set to "visible" only prevents duplicates of the last created notification if the notification is currently visible.
theClassstringnullA class that should be attached to the notification. (It doesn't exactly get attached to the selector but to the first div of the template.)
rtlbooleanfalseAdds the class .rtl-mode to the notification aligning the icon to the left and adding direction: rtl
animate"fade" or "fromTop" or "fromRight" or "fromBottom" or "fromLeft" or "scale" or "rotate" or null"fromRight"Choose the type of animation or set the value to null not to display animations.
iconsIconsDefaultIconsOverrides the default icons

Icons

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
alertstringClockhtml string for alert icon
errorstringExclamation Pointhtml string for alert icon
infostringInfohtml string for alert icon
warnstringWarninghtml string for warning icon
successstringCheckhtml string for alert icon

Here is an example of passing the options to the component. You only pass the options you want changed. Options passed to the component are global. They apply to all of the notifications the get created.

...
template: '<simple-notifications [options]="options"></simple-notifications>'
...
public options = {
    position: ["bottom", "left"],
    timeOut: 5000,
    lastOnBottom: true
    ...
}

If you want a specific notification to have different options you can override them when calling any of the access methods by passing them to the override object. The following options can be overridden:

  • id
  • animate
  • timeOut
  • showProgressBar
  • pauseOnHover
  • clickToClose
  • clickIconToClose
  • maxLength
  • theClass
  • icon

This is an example of overriding global options:

this._notificationsService.success(
    'Some Title',
    'Some Content',
    {
        timeOut: 5000,
        showProgressBar: true,
        pauseOnHover: false,
        clickToClose: false,
        maxLength: 10
    }
)

Development

To generate all *.js, *.d.ts and *.metadata.json files:

$ npm run build

To lint all *.ts files:

$ npm run lint

License

MIT © Filip Lauc