vue-element-admin vs vue-manage-system
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
Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI.
Open source · MIT
A Vue 3 + Element Plus admin dashboard template written in TypeScript.
The short answer
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
Choose vue-manage-system if you need…
- Developers who need a quick starting point for an internal admin dashboard
- Freelancers or agencies delivering admin panels on a tight schedule
- Students learning how Vue 3, Pinia and TypeScript fit together in a real project
- Teams already using Element Plus who want a ready layout with menus and themes
Side-by-side
| vue-element-admin | vue-manage-system | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Other | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 90.1k | 19.6k |
| 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 | 2 years ago | 2 years ago |
What each one is
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.
vue-manage-system
This is a starter template for building admin or back-office web pages, the kind with login screens, tables, forms, charts and permission settings. It is built with Vue 3, Pinia for state, Element Plus for interface components, and TypeScript. The README says it is meant to be a general-purpose base that you copy and adapt for your own project rather than a finished product.
Best for
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
vue-manage-system
- Developers who need a quick starting point for an internal admin dashboard
- Freelancers or agencies delivering admin panels on a tight schedule
- Students learning how Vue 3, Pinia and TypeScript fit together in a real project
- Teams already using Element Plus who want a ready layout with menus and themes
Strengths
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
vue-manage-system
- Covers many common admin screens (dashboard, tables, forms, charts, editors, uploads) in one template
- Uses widely adopted tools (Vue 3, Pinia, Element Plus, TypeScript, Vite) that are well documented elsewhere
- MIT license permits use in commercial projects, and the README is explicit about delivering projects quickly
Not ideal for
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
vue-manage-system
- People who need a backend or database out of the box: the README only covers the front-end template, and points to a separate project (tsrpc-manage-system) for backend features
- Non-developers who want a no-code tool, since setup requires Node.js and running commands
- Teams using Vue 2, because the README directs them to an older tagged version (V4.2.0) for that
Trade-offs
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
vue-manage-system
- The README says node 14.18+ is needed because it uses Vite 3, which is an older toolchain; newer Node versions or dependency updates may need checking
- The last push shown is from August 2024, so recent maintenance activity is unclear
- The README is brief and mixes Chinese-language sections; English documentation is linked separately and its completeness is not verified here
Getting started
vue-element-admin
Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/PanJiaChen/vue-element-admin.gitInstall dependencies
npm installvue-manage-system
Clone the template
git clone https://github.com/lin-xin/vue-manage-system.gitEnter the project folder
cd vue-manage-systemFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between vue-element-admin and vue-manage-system?
vue-element-admin: Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI. vue-manage-system: A Vue 3 + Element Plus admin dashboard template written in TypeScript. vue-element-admin suits developers building internal admin dashboards in vue, while vue-manage-system suits developers who need a quick starting point for an internal admin dashboard.
Are vue-element-admin and vue-manage-system free?
vue-element-admin: Free and open source. vue-manage-system: Free and open source.
Is vue-element-admin or vue-manage-system more popular?
vue-element-admin has more GitHub stars (90.1k) than vue-manage-system (19.6k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to vue-element-admin and vue-manage-system?
Other options people compare them with include vue-admin-template, Vben Admin, SoybeanAdmin, react-admin, vue-pure-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.