Ant Design Vue Pro vs vue-element-admin
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A Vue 2 admin dashboard starter kit built on the Ant Design Vue component library.
Open source · MIT
Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI.
The short answer
Choose Ant Design Vue Pro if you need…
- Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards on Vue 2
- Teams already using or wanting to use Ant Design Vue components
- Developers who want a starting layout with charts (via AntV G2 / Viser-vue) and common UI pieces
- People maintaining an existing Vue 2 codebase that needs this style of admin UI
Choose vue-element-admin if you need…
- Developers building internal admin dashboards in Vue
- Teams that want a Element UI based layout with login and permissions already sketched out
- Developers who want working example pages for tables, forms and editors to adapt
- Developers learning how a larger Vue single-page app can be structured
Side-by-side
| Ant Design Vue Pro | vue-element-admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | Other |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 10.9k | 90.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | Vue | Vue |
| Last code update | 14 months ago | 2 years ago |
What each one is
Ant Design Vue Pro
This is a ready-made starter project for building enterprise admin dashboards and back-office web apps with Vue 2 and the Ant Design Vue component library. It provides a working project layout you clone, install, and customize rather than building the admin structure from scratch. The README describes it as an out-of-box UI solution and boilerplate.
vue-element-admin
vue-element-admin is a starter codebase for building admin websites, the back-office pages where people manage data, users and settings. It uses Vue for the interface and element-ui for ready-made components, and includes sample pages such as login, tables, charts and editors. Developers use it as a starting point so they don't have to build login, routing and layout from scratch.
Best for
Ant Design Vue Pro
- Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards on Vue 2
- Teams already using or wanting to use Ant Design Vue components
- Developers who want a starting layout with charts (via AntV G2 / Viser-vue) and common UI pieces
- People maintaining an existing Vue 2 codebase that needs this style of admin UI
vue-element-admin
- Developers building internal admin dashboards in Vue
- Teams that want a Element UI based layout with login and permissions already sketched out
- Developers who want working example pages for tables, forms and editors to adapt
- Developers learning how a larger Vue single-page app can be structured
Strengths
Ant Design Vue Pro
- Gives a complete starting structure for admin-style apps instead of a blank project
- Built on the established Ant Design Vue component library with documented demo and docs site
- MIT licensed and widely starred, with documentation and a live preview available
vue-element-admin
- Covers many common admin needs in one codebase, such as permissions, i18n, multi-level routing and Excel export
- Built on well-known tools (Vue, vuex, vue-router, axios, element-ui, Mock.js) with a large existing community
- MIT licensed with a live demo and documentation site
Not ideal for
Ant Design Vue Pro
- Projects that need Vue 3: the README points to a separate Vue 3 version for that
- Anyone needing old-browser support beyond what is listed: the README lists IE10 and Edge, plus the last 2 versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera
- Non-developers who want a finished app without setting up a development environment
vue-element-admin
- Non-developers who want a finished tool to install and use, since this is code to build from
- Projects that need React or another framework, because the README only covers Vue
- Projects that must support Internet Explorer, since the README says low-version browsers are not supported and the browser table is inconsistent on this point
- Anyone who needs the latest Vue 3 stack, since the README badges show Vue 2.6.10 and element-ui 2.7.0
Trade-offs
Ant Design Vue Pro
- Targets Vue 2, which is an older major version; the README directs Vue 3 users elsewhere
- The README is brief on architecture and features, so details must be checked in the docs site
- Relies on yarn and an older toolchain (Vue CLI 3, webpack, eslint), which may need upkeep
vue-element-admin
- Built on Vue 2 and element-ui 2 per the README badges, which are older than current defaults
- The README contradicts itself on i18n: it says master no longer supports i18n after v4.1.0, yet the feature list includes I18n
- Feature list is long, so you will likely need to remove parts you don't use
Getting started
Ant Design Vue Pro
Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/vueComponent/ant-design-vue-pro.gitEnter the project folder
cd ant-design-vue-provue-element-admin
Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/PanJiaChen/vue-element-admin.gitInstall dependencies
npm installFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ant Design Vue Pro and vue-element-admin?
Ant Design Vue Pro: A Vue 2 admin dashboard starter kit built on the Ant Design Vue component library. vue-element-admin: Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI. Ant Design Vue Pro suits developers building internal admin panels or dashboards on vue 2, while vue-element-admin suits developers building internal admin dashboards in vue.
Are Ant Design Vue Pro and vue-element-admin free?
Ant Design Vue Pro: Free and open source. vue-element-admin: Free and open source.
Is Ant Design Vue Pro or vue-element-admin more popular?
vue-element-admin has more GitHub stars (90.1k) than Ant Design Vue Pro (10.9k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Ant Design Vue Pro and vue-element-admin?
Other options people compare them with include Vue Admin Better, iView Admin, Vuestic Admin, CoreUI Free Bootstrap Admin Template, Vben Admin.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.