Skip to content

vue-pure-admin vs Vben 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.

vue-pure-admin

Open source · MIT

An open-source admin dashboard template built with Vue 3, Vite, Element Plus and TypeScript.

Vben Admin

Open source · MIT

A free Vue 3 admin dashboard template built with Vite, TypeScript, and a monorepo layout.

The short answer

Choose vue-pure-admin if you need…

  • Developers starting a new internal admin or back-office project with Vue 3
  • Teams already comfortable with Element Plus and TypeScript
  • Chinese-speaking developers, since the README and docs are primarily in Chinese
  • Developers who want a template with a live demo to judge before adopting

Choose Vben Admin if you need…

  • Developers starting a new Vue 3 admin or back-office project
  • Teams that want TypeScript and Vite already set up
  • Developers learning how a larger Vue admin project is structured
  • Projects that need built-in internationalization and theming

Side-by-side

vue-pure-adminVben Admin
TypeAppApp
PriceFree and open sourceFree and open source
LicenceMITMIT
GitHub stars20.7k33.7k
Setup difficultyIntermediateIntermediate
How you get itClone and build from sourceClone and build from source
Main languageVueTypeScript
Last code update25 days ago4 days ago

What each one is

vue-pure-admin

vue-pure-admin is a ready-to-use template for back-office management systems, the kind of dashboards with menus, tables and forms used internally by businesses. It is written in ESM-style code with Vue 3, Vite, Element Plus, TypeScript and Pinia, and the README says it also works on mobile. Developers use it as a starting point so they do not have to build the basic admin layout from scratch.

Vben Admin

Vue Vben Admin is a free, open source starter template for building back-office admin panels, the kind of web dashboards used to manage data and users. It is built on Vue 3, Vite, and TypeScript, and the README says it can also be used as a learning reference. Developers typically clone it as a starting point instead of building an admin interface from scratch.

Best for

vue-pure-admin

  • Developers starting a new internal admin or back-office project with Vue 3
  • Teams already comfortable with Element Plus and TypeScript
  • Chinese-speaking developers, since the README and docs are primarily in Chinese
  • Developers who want a template with a live demo to judge before adopting

Vben Admin

  • Developers starting a new Vue 3 admin or back-office project
  • Teams that want TypeScript and Vite already set up
  • Developers learning how a larger Vue admin project is structured
  • Projects that need built-in internationalization and theming

Strengths

vue-pure-admin

  • The README describes a full set of current tools (Vue 3, Vite, TypeScript, Pinia, Tailwind CSS) and a live preview is linked
  • MIT license and a large community: about 20,700 stars and a recent push date
  • Multiple setup routes are documented: a CLI scaffold, git clone, and Docker

Vben Admin

  • Uses current mainstream tools: Vue 3, Vite, and TypeScript
  • Includes built-in features for themes, internationalization, and route-based permissions, per the README
  • Released under the permissive MIT license

Not ideal for

vue-pure-admin

  • People who need a finished product without coding, because it is a developer template that must be installed and customized
  • Teams standardized on React or another UI library, since it is built on Vue and Element Plus
  • Projects that need a lean base; the README points to a separate slimmed-down version for real projects, which suggests the full version carries extra features

Vben Admin

  • Non-developers who want a ready-to-use dashboard with no setup, because it requires cloning and running a development toolchain
  • Projects on older Vue 2 stacks, since the README says version 5.0 is not compatible with previous versions and the old code lives on a separate v2 branch
  • Teams that need Internet Explorer support, since the README states it supports modern browsers only

Trade-offs

vue-pure-admin

  • Much of the README and documentation is in Chinese; the English README is linked separately and was not reviewed here
  • The README mentions a separate slimmed-down version for production use, so the full template may include more than most projects need
  • The README does not describe its own testing, security or upgrade policy, so those should be checked directly

Vben Admin

  • The README says version 5.0 is not compatible with earlier versions, so older tutorials or code may not apply
  • Setup assumes familiarity with the command line, pnpm, and Node tooling
  • The README is truncated and light on detailed architecture or API documentation, so you will rely on the external docs site

Getting started

vue-pure-admin

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/pure-admin/vue-pure-admin.git

Install dependencies

pnpm install
Step-by-step guide: how to use vue-pure-admin

Vben Admin

Get the project code

git clone https://github.com/vbenjs/vue-vben-admin.git

Enable corepack and install dependencies

npm i -g corepack pnpm install
Step-by-step guide: how to use Vben Admin

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between vue-pure-admin and Vben Admin?

vue-pure-admin: An open-source admin dashboard template built with Vue 3, Vite, Element Plus and TypeScript. Vben Admin: A free Vue 3 admin dashboard template built with Vite, TypeScript, and a monorepo layout. vue-pure-admin suits developers starting a new internal admin or back-office project with vue 3, while Vben Admin suits developers starting a new vue 3 admin or back-office project.

Are vue-pure-admin and Vben Admin free?

vue-pure-admin: Free and open source. Vben Admin: Free and open source.

Is vue-pure-admin or Vben Admin more popular?

Vben Admin has more GitHub stars (33.7k) than vue-pure-admin (20.7k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.

What are other alternatives to vue-pure-admin and Vben Admin?

Other options people compare them with include SoybeanAdmin, vue-manage-system, Vue Admin Better, Supermemory, vue-element-admin.

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.