iView Admin vs vue-admin-template
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 built on the iView UI library.
Open source · MIT
A minimal Vue admin dashboard starter with Element UI, axios, and lint setup.
The short answer
Choose iView Admin if you need…
- Developers building an internal admin panel on Vue 2
- Teams already using the iView component library
- Developers who want a reference for permissions, routing and i18n in a Vue admin app
- Projects that need table export and common admin components out of the box
Choose vue-admin-template if you need…
- Developers starting a new internal admin panel or back-office tool in Vue
- Teams already familiar with Vue and Element UI
- People who want a small base project to extend with their own pages and logic
Side-by-side
| iView Admin | vue-admin-template | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 16.3k | 20.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | Vue | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 4 years ago | 3 years ago |
What each one is
iView Admin
iView Admin is a starter template for building back-office management websites, the kind with login pages, menus, tables and forms. It is built with Vue.js 2 and the iView component library, so developers can begin from a working layout instead of building one from scratch. The README lists features such as permission control, i18n, dynamic routing, table export to CSV/XLS and error pages.
vue-admin-template
This is a starter template for building admin dashboards with Vue. It bundles Element UI components, axios for calling servers, icon fonts, and lint checks so you do not have to wire these up yourself. The README describes it as minimal, so it is meant to be a clean base rather than a finished product.
Best for
iView Admin
- Developers building an internal admin panel on Vue 2
- Teams already using the iView component library
- Developers who want a reference for permissions, routing and i18n in a Vue admin app
- Projects that need table export and common admin components out of the box
vue-admin-template
- Developers starting a new internal admin panel or back-office tool in Vue
- Teams already familiar with Vue and Element UI
- People who want a small base project to extend with their own pages and logic
Strengths
iView Admin
- Covers many common admin needs such as login, permissions, i18n and error pages in one template
- Uses the MIT license, which permits commercial use and modification
- Has a public preview and documentation site to evaluate it before adopting
vue-admin-template
- Simple, small starting point with Element UI, axios, and lint already set up
- Has a live demo and documentation linked from the README
- MIT licensed, so it can be used in commercial work
Not ideal for
iView Admin
- Projects that need Vue 3, since the README describes Vue 2.0 only
- Non-developers who want a ready-made tool without coding, because it is a template to run and modify
- Teams that prefer a different UI library, because the components depend on iView
vue-admin-template
- Non-developers who need a ready-made dashboard with no coding (the README assumes you run npm commands and edit code)
- Projects that need TypeScript out of the box (the README points to a separate TypeScript template instead)
- Projects needing built-in role-based route permissions in this branch (the README says that lives in a separate permission-control branch)
Trade-offs
iView Admin
- The README shows Vue 2 and iView 3.x; the project's last push was in May 2022, so dependencies may be dated
- Documentation is linked externally and the README itself gives only basic setup steps
- The README mentions a Travis CI badge that may no longer reflect current build status
vue-admin-template
- The README describes it as minimal, so you will add most features yourself
- The README notes the current version uses vue-cli and an older branch is needed for the non-vue-cli version
- Browser support is listed as IE10+ and recent browser versions, which may matter for modern tooling choices
Getting started
iView Admin
Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/iview/iview-admin.gitInstall dependencies
npm installvue-admin-template
Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/PanJiaChen/vue-admin-template.gitEnter the project directory
cd vue-admin-templateFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between iView Admin and vue-admin-template?
iView Admin: A Vue 2 admin dashboard template built on the iView UI library. vue-admin-template: A minimal Vue admin dashboard starter with Element UI, axios, and lint setup. iView Admin suits developers building an internal admin panel on vue 2, while vue-admin-template suits developers starting a new internal admin panel or back-office tool in vue.
Are iView Admin and vue-admin-template free?
iView Admin: Free and open source. vue-admin-template: Free and open source.
Is iView Admin or vue-admin-template more popular?
vue-admin-template has more GitHub stars (20.4k) than iView Admin (16.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to iView Admin and vue-admin-template?
Other options people compare them with include vue-element-admin, Ant Design Pro, react-admin, Vue Admin Better, Ant Design Vue Pro.
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.