Vue Admin Better 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 template with Element UI, built to skip heavy abstraction and long build waits.
Open source · MIT
Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI.
The short answer
Choose Vue Admin Better if you need…
- Front-end developers with about a year of experience who want an admin panel starting point
- Teams already using Vue 2 and Element UI
- Developers who want to read and customize the template source
- Projects that need role-based permissions and multiple layouts or themes
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
| Vue Admin Better | vue-element-admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | Other |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 18.9k | 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 | 17 days ago | 2 years ago |
What each one is
Vue Admin Better
Vue Admin Better is a starter template for building back-office admin panels (dashboards with menus, pages and permissions) using Vue 2 and Element UI. The README says it avoids over-wrapping the code so projects stay simple to read and change. It is MIT licensed and includes features such as RBAC with JWT permission control and dynamic backend-driven routes.
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
Vue Admin Better
- Front-end developers with about a year of experience who want an admin panel starting point
- Teams already using Vue 2 and Element UI
- Developers who want to read and customize the template source
- Projects that need role-based permissions and multiple layouts or themes
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
Vue Admin Better
- Includes RBAC with JWT, dynamic routes, and multiple permission modes according to the README
- MIT license, and the README states the open-source version is free for commercial use
- Ships with many example pages and a large set of configuration options (README claims 40+ pages and 50+ settings)
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
Vue Admin Better
- People who need Vue 3 specifically: the README points to separate repositories for Vue 3 with Element Plus or Arco Design
- Beginners new to Vue, since the README lists Vue.js experience as a prerequisite
- Anyone who needs a non-Vue admin framework
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
Vue Admin Better
- The README is in Chinese and the top-level description is mostly promotional; some sections point to paid versions and community links
- Targets Vue 2 and Element UI in this repository; Vue 3 is maintained in separate repositories
- The README's install command uses a specific third-party npm mirror URL that you may need to change
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
Vue Admin Better
Clone the project
git clone -b master https://github.com/zxwk1998/vue-admin-better.gitInstall dependencies
pnpm i --registry=http://mirrors.cloud.tencent.com/npm/vue-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 Vue Admin Better and vue-element-admin?
Vue Admin Better: A Vue 2 admin dashboard template with Element UI, built to skip heavy abstraction and long build waits. vue-element-admin: Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI. Vue Admin Better suits front-end developers with about a year of experience who want an admin panel starting point, while vue-element-admin suits developers building internal admin dashboards in vue.
Are Vue Admin Better and vue-element-admin free?
Vue Admin Better: Free and open source. vue-element-admin: Free and open source.
Is Vue Admin Better or vue-element-admin more popular?
vue-element-admin has more GitHub stars (90.1k) than Vue Admin Better (18.9k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Vue Admin Better and vue-element-admin?
Other options people compare them with include Vben Admin, SoybeanAdmin, iView Admin, Ant Design Vue Pro, Vuestic 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.