AdminLTE vs Tabler
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
Free Bootstrap 5 admin dashboard template with responsive layouts and dark mode.
Open source · MIT
Free, open source Bootstrap 5 admin dashboard UI kit with dark mode and RTL support.
The short answer
Choose AdminLTE if you need…
- Developers building an internal admin panel or back-office tool quickly
- Teams that already use Bootstrap and want a consistent dashboard look
- Developers who want a template in their framework, such as React, Vue, Laravel or Django, via the listed sibling editions
- Projects that need dark mode and right-to-left (RTL) layout out of the box
Choose Tabler if you need…
- Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards quickly
- Teams already comfortable with Bootstrap who want ready-made components
- Projects that need dark mode or right-to-left (RTL) layouts
- Developers using a framework such as React, Vue or Laravel who want a styled UI base
Side-by-side
| AdminLTE | Tabler | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 45.7k | 42k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Astro | Astro |
| Last code update | 5 days ago | 7 days ago |
What each one is
AdminLTE
AdminLTE is a free, MIT-licensed set of ready-made dashboard pages and components built on Bootstrap 5.3, used as the starting point for admin panels and back-office screens. It is responsive across phone and desktop sizes and uses vanilla JavaScript without jQuery. People use it to avoid designing an admin interface from scratch.
Tabler
Tabler is a set of ready-made layouts, components and demo pages for building admin panels, dashboards and web apps. It is built on Bootstrap 5 and ships as CSS and JavaScript you can load from a CDN or install with npm. It is useful for people who want a polished interface without designing every screen from scratch.
Best for
AdminLTE
- Developers building an internal admin panel or back-office tool quickly
- Teams that already use Bootstrap and want a consistent dashboard look
- Developers who want a template in their framework, such as React, Vue, Laravel or Django, via the listed sibling editions
- Projects that need dark mode and right-to-left (RTL) layout out of the box
Tabler
- Developers building internal admin panels or dashboards quickly
- Teams already comfortable with Bootstrap who want ready-made components
- Projects that need dark mode or right-to-left (RTL) layouts
- Developers using a framework such as React, Vue or Laravel who want a styled UI base
Strengths
AdminLTE
- Ships a broad set of prebuilt admin pages and components, reducing starting effort
- Available through CDN, npm and Composer, so it fits several workflows
- Released under the MIT license, which permits commercial use
Tabler
- Free and MIT-licensed, with a large set of demo pages and components listed in the README
- Includes dark mode and RTL versions of its stylesheets
- Works with plain HTML and with many common frameworks, with setup guides in the docs
Not ideal for
AdminLTE
- People who want a finished application with a backend, database or login system already built, since this is a front-end template
- Projects not using Bootstrap, since the template is built on Bootstrap 5.3 and its styles would need to be adapted
- Designers looking for a fully custom visual identity, as the default look is a standard admin theme
Tabler
- People who want a finished app with no coding, since it is a UI kit rather than a ready-to-use product
- Projects that do not use Bootstrap and do not want to adopt its styling system
- Teams that need a design system built from scratch rather than a pre-styled one
Trade-offs
AdminLTE
- The README describes a documentation overhaul and frequent releases, so checking the version you use against the changelog is advisable
- Being a template, most of its value is in its look and layout; you still need to supply the data and server logic
- The README's development section lists specific Node.js version requirements that you must match to build from source
Tabler
- Depends on Bootstrap 5, so you inherit its structure and conventions
- The README is truncated, so details about the full feature list and browser support are not confirmed here
- Bundled plugins add to the package and you must choose which stylesheets to load
Getting started
AdminLTE
Install from npm (version 4)
npm install admin-lte@4Install from Composer
composer require almasaeed2010/adminlteTabler
Install the package with npm
npm install @tabler/coreAdd the Tabler skill for a coding agent
npx skills add tabler/tablerFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between AdminLTE and Tabler?
AdminLTE: Free Bootstrap 5 admin dashboard template with responsive layouts and dark mode. Tabler: Free, open source Bootstrap 5 admin dashboard UI kit with dark mode and RTL support. AdminLTE suits developers building an internal admin panel or back-office tool quickly, while Tabler suits developers building internal admin panels or dashboards quickly.
Are AdminLTE and Tabler free?
AdminLTE: Free and open source. Tabler: Free and open source.
Is AdminLTE or Tabler more popular?
AdminLTE has more GitHub stars (45.7k) than Tabler (42k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to AdminLTE and Tabler?
Other options people compare them with include Gentelella, Bootstrap, Bootswatch, Bootstrap Table, SoybeanAdmin.
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.