pell vs Tiptap
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 tiny, dependency-free rich text editor you can drop into a web page.
Open source · MIT
A headless rich text editor framework for JavaScript apps, with no built-in look.
The short answer
Choose pell if you need…
- Web developers who need a simple rich text box in a form or admin page
- Projects where a small file size matters more than many features
- Developers who want to customize toolbar buttons or style the editor with CSS or SCSS
- Projects that will convert the HTML output to Markdown with a converter such as Turndown
Choose Tiptap if you need…
- Developers building a custom text editor into a web product
- Teams using Vue, React, or plain JavaScript who want one editor across frameworks
- Projects that need full control over the editor's design
- Developers who want to add their own custom blocks or nodes
Side-by-side
| pell | Tiptap | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 12k | 38.9k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 2 years ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
pell
pell is a small JavaScript library that adds a basic WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) text editor to a web page. You give it an element and it shows toolbar buttons for common formatting such as bold, italic, lists, headings, links and images, and it reports the resulting HTML through a callback. It has no dependencies and is intended for simple editing needs rather than full-featured document editing.
Tiptap
Tiptap is an editor component you add to a web app so users can write formatted text, such as bold, lists, and headings. It is headless, meaning it ships without a ready-made user interface, so you design the look yourself. It is built on the ProseMirror library and extended through add-ons called extensions.
Best for
pell
- Web developers who need a simple rich text box in a form or admin page
- Projects where a small file size matters more than many features
- Developers who want to customize toolbar buttons or style the editor with CSS or SCSS
- Projects that will convert the HTML output to Markdown with a converter such as Turndown
Tiptap
- Developers building a custom text editor into a web product
- Teams using Vue, React, or plain JavaScript who want one editor across frameworks
- Projects that need full control over the editor's design
- Developers who want to add their own custom blocks or nodes
Strengths
pell
- Very small: the README reports about 1.38kB minified and gzipped
- No dependencies and written in plain JavaScript
- Customizable through the actions list, class names and SCSS variables
Tiptap
- Headless design gives full control over appearance and behavior
- Built on the established ProseMirror library and works across frameworks
- Large extension ecosystem with over 100 extensions listed in the docs
Not ideal for
pell
- Teams needing advanced editing features like tables, collaboration or plugins, since the README lists only the basic actions and no such features
- Projects that must support old browsers, because the README says IE 9 support is theoretical
- Anyone who needs a maintained v2 release, since the README points to a v2 working branch and project board without stating its status
Tiptap
- Non-developers who want a ready-made editor with no coding, because it requires building the interface yourself
- Projects that need the advanced paid features, since Pro Extensions require a valid subscription
Trade-offs
pell
- Feature set is basic; advanced features are not listed in the README
- The latest release shown is v1.0.6 and the last push was May 2024, so upkeep is unclear
- Relies on the browser's execCommand API, which the README links to MDN for reference
Tiptap
- Advanced features such as collaboration, commenting, and AI are in paid Pro Extensions that need a subscription
- Without a UI, you must write more code to get a finished editor
- Setup details beyond the README are only in the external documentation
Getting started
Tiptap
Install the agent skill (optional, from README)
npx skills add ueberdosis/tiptap --skill tiptapFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between pell and Tiptap?
pell: A tiny, dependency-free rich text editor you can drop into a web page. Tiptap: A headless rich text editor framework for JavaScript apps, with no built-in look. pell suits web developers who need a simple rich text box in a form or admin page, while Tiptap suits developers building a custom text editor into a web product.
Are pell and Tiptap free?
pell: Free and open source. Tiptap: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, pell or Tiptap?
pell is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Tiptap is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is pell or Tiptap more popular?
Tiptap has more GitHub stars (38.9k) than pell (12k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to pell and Tiptap?
Other options people compare them with include Trix, Milkdown, Vditor, wangEditor, Summernote.
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.