esbuild vs SWC
Two ultra-fast native bundler/transpilers powering modern toolchains.
| Metric | evanw/esbuild ★ 40k · MIT · Go | swc-project/swc ★ 34k · Apache-2.0 · Rust |
|---|---|---|
| Trust score | 59 | 83 |
| Safety | 12 | 73 |
| Popularity | 92 | 91 |
| Maintenance | 100 | 100 |
| Lightweight | 80 | 80 |
By VOUCH's overall trust score, swc-project/swc edges ahead (83/100). Both are viable — pick based on the factors that matter to you.
esbuild vs SWC: which should you choose?
esbuild, written in Go, is an extremely fast bundler and minifier that underpins tools like Vite for development. SWC, written in Rust, is a fast transpiler and bundler used by Next.js and as a Babel replacement. Choose esbuild for blazing bundling and simplicity; choose SWC when you need a fast, extensible Babel/transpilation layer with plugin support.
Scores above are computed live from evanw/esbuild and swc-project/swc using OSSF Scorecard, GitHub activity, popularity, and footprint signals.