SweetAlert2 vs toastr
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 customizable, accessible replacement for JavaScript's built-in popup boxes, with no dependencies.
Open source · MIT
A small jQuery library for showing non-blocking pop-up toast notifications on web pages.
The short answer
Choose SweetAlert2 if you need…
- Web developers who want nicer popups than the browser's built-in alert and confirm boxes
- Teams adding confirmation dialogs before destructive actions like deleting data
- Projects that need accessible modal dialogs without pulling in extra libraries
- Developers who want prebuilt themes that match frameworks such as Bootstrap or Material UI
Choose toastr if you need…
- Web developers who already use jQuery and want simple on-screen notifications
- Developers maintaining existing jQuery-based sites
- Teams who want a small, customizable notification library they can extend
Side-by-side
| SweetAlert2 | toastr | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 18.1k | 12.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 9 days ago | 4 years ago |
What each one is
SweetAlert2
SweetAlert2 is a JavaScript library that shows popup dialogs, alerts, confirmations, prompts and toast notifications on a web page. It replaces the plain browser alert and confirm boxes with styled, responsive ones that follow WAI-ARIA accessibility conventions. The README says it has zero dependencies.
toastr
Toastr is a JavaScript library that shows short, non-blocking notification messages (toasts) on a web page, such as info, success, warning, or error messages. Developers call a simple function like toastr.success with a message, and the notification appears and disappears without stopping the user from continuing to use the page. The README says jQuery is required.
Best for
SweetAlert2
- Web developers who want nicer popups than the browser's built-in alert and confirm boxes
- Teams adding confirmation dialogs before destructive actions like deleting data
- Projects that need accessible modal dialogs without pulling in extra libraries
- Developers who want prebuilt themes that match frameworks such as Bootstrap or Material UI
toastr
- Web developers who already use jQuery and want simple on-screen notifications
- Developers maintaining existing jQuery-based sites
- Teams who want a small, customizable notification library they can extend
Strengths
SweetAlert2
- The README describes it as zero dependencies
- Built to be accessible with WAI-ARIA support
- Customizable and includes several prebuilt theme CSS files in the latest release
toastr
- Simple API with info, success, warning, and error methods, as shown in the README
- Options for timeouts, progress bars, close buttons, callbacks, and right-to-left layouts
- Available through npm, yarn, NuGet, Bower, and CDNs
Not ideal for
SweetAlert2
- Projects that do not run JavaScript in a browser, since it is a front-end popup library
- Anyone who needs a fully custom dialog system built from scratch, as this library brings its own look and behavior
- Non-developers who want a no-code tool; using it requires writing code
toastr
- Projects that do not use jQuery, since the README says jQuery is required
- Developers who want a modern, actively updated library, since the last push was in February 2023
- Apps that need notifications beyond the page itself, such as native system alerts
Trade-offs
SweetAlert2
- The README is truncated and does not show the full API, so the depth of customization is hard to judge from it alone
- Much of the README is sponsor listings, which makes the documentation harder to scan
- Its popups are a visual style choice; teams wanting a specific design system may still need to adapt the styles
toastr
- Requires jQuery, which adds a dependency to your project
- Last push was 2023-02-27 and the README lists version 2.1.4 while the latest release is 2.1.1, so maintenance status and version alignment are unclear
- README includes a deprecation notice for older animation options that must be replaced
Getting started
SweetAlert2
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sweetalert2/sweetalert2toastr
Install with npm
npm install --save toastrInstall with yarn
yarn add toastrFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between SweetAlert2 and toastr?
SweetAlert2: A customizable, accessible replacement for JavaScript's built-in popup boxes, with no dependencies. toastr: A small jQuery library for showing non-blocking pop-up toast notifications on web pages. SweetAlert2 suits web developers who want nicer popups than the browser's built-in alert and confirm boxes, while toastr suits web developers who already use jquery and want simple on-screen notifications.
Are SweetAlert2 and toastr free?
SweetAlert2: Free and open source. toastr: Free and open source.
Is SweetAlert2 or toastr more popular?
SweetAlert2 has more GitHub stars (18.1k) than toastr (12.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to SweetAlert2 and toastr?
Other options people compare them with include SweetAlert, Sonner, Chakra UI, BootstrapVue, downshift.
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.