react-big-calendar vs fullcalendar vs vue-cal
JavaScript Calendar Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-big-calendarfullcalendarvue-calSimilar Packages:
What's JavaScript Calendar Libraries?

JavaScript calendar libraries are essential tools for developers looking to implement scheduling and event management features in web applications. These libraries provide a range of functionalities, including month, week, and day views, event creation and management, and customization options. They simplify the process of displaying and interacting with dates and events, making them invaluable for applications that require robust calendar functionality. Each library has its own strengths and weaknesses, catering to different frameworks and use cases, which makes understanding their features crucial for effective selection.

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react-big-calendar356,7518,1332.59 MB3845 days agoMIT
fullcalendar147,56619,006982 kB1,0318 months agoMIT
vue-cal19,4591,256610 kB962 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-big-calendar vs fullcalendar vs vue-cal

Framework Compatibility

  • react-big-calendar:

    React Big Calendar is specifically designed for React applications. It utilizes React's component-based architecture, making it easy to integrate and customize within React projects, ensuring a smooth development experience for React developers.

  • fullcalendar:

    FullCalendar is framework-agnostic and can be integrated with various JavaScript frameworks, including React, Vue, and Angular. It provides official wrappers for these frameworks, allowing developers to leverage its features seamlessly within their applications.

  • vue-cal:

    Vue Cal is tailored for Vue.js applications. It leverages Vue's reactivity and component system, providing a simple and efficient way to implement calendar functionalities within Vue projects.

Customization and Extensibility

  • react-big-calendar:

    React Big Calendar provides a flexible API for customization, allowing developers to easily modify the appearance and behavior of the calendar. It supports custom components for events and toolbars, enabling tailored user experiences without compromising performance.

  • fullcalendar:

    FullCalendar offers extensive customization options, allowing developers to modify styles, event rendering, and behavior. It supports custom views, themes, and plugins, enabling developers to extend its functionality to meet specific requirements.

  • vue-cal:

    Vue Cal is designed with customization in mind, offering a range of props and slots to modify its appearance and functionality. Developers can easily create custom event templates and styles, making it adaptable to various design needs.

Event Management

  • react-big-calendar:

    React Big Calendar offers a straightforward approach to event management, with built-in support for event creation, editing, and deletion. It provides a simple API for handling events, making it easy to implement custom logic for event interactions.

  • fullcalendar:

    FullCalendar excels in event management, providing features like drag-and-drop, event resizing, and comprehensive event handling options. It allows for easy integration with external data sources, making it suitable for applications that require dynamic event updates.

  • vue-cal:

    Vue Cal supports basic event management features, including event creation and editing. While it may not be as feature-rich as FullCalendar, it provides essential functionalities that are easy to implement and customize for Vue applications.

Performance

  • react-big-calendar:

    React Big Calendar is designed with performance in mind, minimizing re-renders and optimizing rendering processes. Its use of React's virtual DOM helps maintain high performance, especially in applications with frequent updates and interactions.

  • fullcalendar:

    FullCalendar is optimized for performance, handling large datasets efficiently. It employs virtual scrolling and lazy loading techniques to ensure smooth interactions, even with numerous events, making it suitable for complex applications.

  • vue-cal:

    Vue Cal is lightweight and performs well in most scenarios, but may not be as optimized for very large datasets compared to FullCalendar. It is suitable for applications with moderate event loads, ensuring a responsive user experience.

Learning Curve

  • react-big-calendar:

    React Big Calendar is relatively easy to learn for developers familiar with React. Its API is straightforward, and the documentation provides clear examples, making it accessible for those looking to implement calendar functionalities quickly.

  • fullcalendar:

    FullCalendar has a moderate learning curve due to its extensive features and customization options. Developers may need to invest time in understanding its API and configuration to fully leverage its capabilities, especially for complex implementations.

  • vue-cal:

    Vue Cal is designed to be user-friendly, with a gentle learning curve for Vue developers. Its simplicity and clear documentation make it easy to get started, allowing developers to implement calendar features without extensive overhead.

How to Choose: react-big-calendar vs fullcalendar vs vue-cal
  • react-big-calendar:

    Choose React Big Calendar if you are building a React application and need a calendar component that is easy to integrate, supports responsive design, and provides a clean API for handling events, with a focus on performance and simplicity.

  • fullcalendar:

    Choose FullCalendar if you need a feature-rich, highly customizable calendar solution that works well with various frameworks and offers extensive options for event management, including drag-and-drop functionality and integration with external data sources.

  • vue-cal:

    Choose Vue Cal if you are developing a Vue.js application and require a lightweight calendar component that is easy to customize and offers a straightforward API, along with features like event dragging and customizable templates.

README for react-big-calendar

react-big-calendar

An events calendar component built for React and designed for modern browsers (read: not IE) and uses flexbox over the classic tables-caption approach.

Big Calendar Demo Image

DEMO and Docs

Inspired by Full Calendar.

Use and Setup

yarn add react-big-calendar or npm install --save react-big-calendar

Include react-big-calendar/lib/css/react-big-calendar.css for styles, and make sure your calendar's container element has a height, or the calendar won't be visible. To provide your own custom styling, see the Custom Styling topic.

Starters

Run examples locally

$ git clone git@github.com:jquense/react-big-calendar.git
$ cd react-big-calendar
$ yarn
$ yarn storybook

Localization and Date Formatting

react-big-calendar includes four options for handling the date formatting and culture localization, depending on your preference of DateTime libraries. You can use either the Moment.js, Globalize.js, date-fns, Day.js localizers.

Regardless of your choice, you must choose a localizer to use this library:

Moment.js

import { Calendar, momentLocalizer } from 'react-big-calendar'
import moment from 'moment'

const localizer = momentLocalizer(moment)

const MyCalendar = (props) => (
  <div>
    <Calendar
      localizer={localizer}
      events={myEventsList}
      startAccessor="start"
      endAccessor="end"
      style={{ height: 500 }}
    />
  </div>
)

Globalize.js v0.1.1

import { Calendar, globalizeLocalizer } from 'react-big-calendar'
import globalize from 'globalize'

const localizer = globalizeLocalizer(globalize)

const MyCalendar = (props) => (
  <div>
    <Calendar
      localizer={localizer}
      events={myEventsList}
      startAccessor="start"
      endAccessor="end"
      style={{ height: 500 }}
    />
  </div>
)

date-fns v2

import { Calendar, dateFnsLocalizer } from 'react-big-calendar'
import format from 'date-fns/format'
import parse from 'date-fns/parse'
import startOfWeek from 'date-fns/startOfWeek'
import getDay from 'date-fns/getDay'
import enUS from 'date-fns/locale/en-US'

const locales = {
  'en-US': enUS,
}

const localizer = dateFnsLocalizer({
  format,
  parse,
  startOfWeek,
  getDay,
  locales,
})

const MyCalendar = (props) => (
  <div>
    <Calendar
      localizer={localizer}
      events={myEventsList}
      startAccessor="start"
      endAccessor="end"
      style={{ height: 500 }}
    />
  </div>
)

Day.js

Note that the dayjsLocalizer extends Day.js with the following plugins:

import { Calendar, dayjsLocalizer } from 'react-big-calendar'
import dayjs from 'dayjs'

const localizer = dayjsLocalizer(dayjs)

const MyCalendar = (props) => (
  <div>
    <Calendar
      localizer={localizer}
      events={myEventsList}
      startAccessor="start"
      endAccessor="end"
      style={{ height: 500 }}
    />
  </div>
)

Custom Styling

Out of the box, you can include the compiled CSS files and be up and running. But, sometimes, you may want to style Big Calendar to match your application styling. For this reason, SASS files are included with Big Calendar.

  @import 'react-big-calendar/lib/sass/styles';
  @import 'react-big-calendar/lib/addons/dragAndDrop/styles'; // if using DnD

SASS implementation provides a variables file containing color and sizing variables that you can update to fit your application. Note: Changing and/or overriding styles can cause rendering issues with your Big Calendar. Carefully test each change accordingly.

Join The Community

Help us improve Big Calendar! Join us on Slack. (Slack invite links do expire. If you can't get in, just file an issue and we'll get a new link.)

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