d2-admin 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 free, open-source admin dashboard template built with Vue for management systems.
Open source · MIT
Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI.
The short answer
Choose d2-admin if you need…
- Developers building internal admin or management dashboards
- Teams that want a ready-made layout with login, menus, and tabs
- Developers who already work with Vue and want sample code to learn from
- Projects that need data import/export to Excel or CSV
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
| d2-admin | vue-element-admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | Other |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 12.6k | 90.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | JavaScript | Vue |
| Last code update | 3 years ago | 2 years ago |
What each one is
d2-admin
D2Admin is a front-end starter kit for building back-office management systems, the kind of admin panels used to manage data and users. It bundles a Vue-based layout with many prebuilt pages, components, and sample code so developers can start from a working base instead of from scratch. The README says the first-screen JavaScript loaded locally is under 60kb.
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
d2-admin
- Developers building internal admin or management dashboards
- Teams that want a ready-made layout with login, menus, and tabs
- Developers who already work with Vue and want sample code to learn from
- Projects that need data import/export to Excel or CSV
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
d2-admin
- Free and MIT-licensed, with a large star count on GitHub
- Many built-in features listed in the README, such as themes, multi-language support, and search
- Documentation is hosted at d2.pub and live demos are linked from the README
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
d2-admin
- Non-developers who want a no-code dashboard tool, since it requires coding to set up and customize
- Projects that need a long-term maintained backend, because the README says community backends are not guaranteed to track the latest version
- Teams on a non-Vue stack, since the front end is built on Vue
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
d2-admin
- The last push shown is January 2024, so maintenance activity may be limited
- The README is truncated and lists many features with version tags, so it is hard to confirm current support for each one
- Requires Vue and front-end build knowledge to adapt and extend
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
d2-admin
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/d2-projects/d2-admin.gitvue-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 d2-admin and vue-element-admin?
d2-admin: A free, open-source admin dashboard template built with Vue for management systems. vue-element-admin: Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI. d2-admin suits developers building internal admin or management dashboards, while vue-element-admin suits developers building internal admin dashboards in vue.
Are d2-admin and vue-element-admin free?
d2-admin: Free and open source. vue-element-admin: Free and open source.
Is d2-admin or vue-element-admin more popular?
vue-element-admin has more GitHub stars (90.1k) than d2-admin (12.6k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to d2-admin and vue-element-admin?
Other options people compare them with include Ant Design Pro, vue-admin-template.
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.