vue-admin-template 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 minimal Vue admin dashboard starter with Element UI, axios, and lint setup.
Open source · MIT
Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI.
The short answer
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
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
| vue-admin-template | vue-element-admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Other |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 20.4k | 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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
vue-admin-template
Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/PanJiaChen/vue-admin-template.gitEnter the project directory
cd vue-admin-templatevue-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 vue-admin-template and vue-element-admin?
vue-admin-template: A minimal Vue admin dashboard starter with Element UI, axios, and lint setup. vue-element-admin: Front-end starter template for admin dashboards, built on Vue and Element UI. vue-admin-template suits developers starting a new internal admin panel or back-office tool in vue, while vue-element-admin suits developers building internal admin dashboards in vue.
Are vue-admin-template and vue-element-admin free?
vue-admin-template: Free and open source. vue-element-admin: Free and open source.
Is vue-admin-template or vue-element-admin more popular?
vue-element-admin has more GitHub stars (90.1k) than vue-admin-template (20.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to vue-admin-template and vue-element-admin?
Other options people compare them with include SoybeanAdmin, Vuex, Pinia, Element, Element Plus.
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.