Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Leaving jQuery behind with Backbone.Native

Backbone.Native is a lightweight JavaScript library that replaces jQuery as a dependency for Backbone.js applications. Designed for developers building on modern browsers, it provides only the essential functionality… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Leaving jQuery behind with Backbone.Native launched in 2013; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1
Vue Native▲423
A framework to build Native Mobile apps using JavaScript.
2018 · vue-native.io · its alternatives →
2
React Native▲362
Build native mobile experiences with Javascript
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
3
NativeBase v3▲351
Mobile first, accessible components for React Native & Web
2021 · nativebase.io · its alternatives →
4
App.js▲100
library for creating mobile webapps behave like native apps
2014 · its alternatives →
5
Auto-generate vanilla JavaScript alternatives for jQuery methods▲137
Automatically finds jQuery methods from existing projects and generates vanilla js alternatives. - sachinchoolur/jquery-to-javascript-converter
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
6
Todos: Backbone.js example + Google App Engine (Python)▲38
Backbone.js with Google App Engine. Contribute to ccarpenterg/todolist development by creating an account on GitHub.
2011 · github.com · its alternatives →
7
Bootstrap 5▲252
World's most popular framework. Stable vanilla JS release!
2021 · mdbootstrap.com · its alternatives →
8WJ
Way.js – Simple, persistent, framework-agnostic two-way databinding▲162
2014 · gwendall.github.io · its alternatives →
9BS
Backbone-serverside - flexible backbone dev for crawlers and browsers▲27
2013 · blog.sc5.fi · its alternatives →
10IR
I rewrote the Backbone.js Todo example▲55
2013 · ahamlett.com · its alternatives →
11
Next.js 13▲323
Build powerful & dynamic web applications – without limits
2022 · nextjs.org · its alternatives →
12
Tiny jQuery alternative with inline Locality of Behavior▲30
🗿 Mini jQuery alternative. Dependency-free animations. Locality of Behavior. Use one element or arrays transparently. Pairs with htmx. Vanilla querySelector() but better! - gnat/surreal
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
Umbrella JS, a 2.5kb jQuery alternative▲132
:umbrella: Lightweight javascript library for DOM manipulation and events
2018 · umbrellajs.com · its alternatives →
14
Skruv – No-dependency, no-build, small JavaScript framework▲123
No-dependency, no-build, small JS view-library/framework-ish-thing.
2021 · skruv.io · its alternatives →
15
CalDOM: An agnostic, reactive and minimalist JavaScript UI library▲107
An agnostic, reactive & minimalist (3kb) JavaScript UI library with direct access to native DOM.
2021 · caldom.org · its alternatives →
16
Native SDK▲196
Toolkit for building native desktop apps
Jul 2026 · native-sdk.dev · its alternatives →
17
Minified.js – a fully-featured, 4K alternative to jQuery and MooTools▲158
2013 · minifiedjs.com · its alternatives →
18
Another JS framework - Backbone with HTML5 states▲5
I started working on Sweet.js about a month ago. It is inspired by Backbone.js. Sweet.js supports HTML5 states, so that you don’t have to go through work arounds like these. Sweet.js is not a MVC framework, but it has a views similar to... | Varuna Jayasiri | Programmer
2013 · vpj.svbtle.com · its alternatives →
19
Store.js v2.0 – Cross-browser storage for all use cases▲162
Cross-browser storage for all use cases, used across the web. - marcuswestin/store.js
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
20
µJS, a 5KB alternative to Htmx and Turbo with zero dependencies▲161
I built µJS because I wanted AJAX navigation without the verbosity of HTMX or the overhead of Turbo. It intercepts links and form submissions, fetches pages via AJAX, and swaps fragments of the DOM. Single tag, one call to `mu.init()`. No build step, no dependencies. Key features: patch mode (update multiple fragments in one request), SSE support, DOM morphing via idiomorph, View Transitions, prefetch on hover, polling, and full HTTP verb support on any element. At ~5KB gzipped, it's smaller than HTMX (16KB) and Turbo (25KB), and works with any backend: PHP, Python, Go, Ruby, whatever.…
Mar 2026 · mujs.org · its alternatives →
21
Nerv – A fast React alternative, compatible with IE8 and React 16▲133
A blazing fast React alternative, compatible with IE8 and React 16. - NervJS/nerv
2018 · github.com · its alternatives →
22
Swap.js – a JavaScript micro-framework (HTML fragments over the wire)▲127
Hi HN! I created this lib in the need of a simple and tiny framework to easily do AJAX-style navigation / replacement of fragments in the page, in a web application. For people who don't want to use client-side-rendering and complex frameworks à la React, there are nowadays a few "HTML-over-the-wire" libraries, like HTMX, Unpoly or this super-tiny one Swap.js :) One other key thing is that no external tool is needed: no bundler, no webpack, no TypeScript compiler, no minification needed. Just write HTML, JS (+ your preferred server-side language: PHP, Python, etc.) and it works. The…
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
Nativefier – Wrap any web page natively▲162
Make any web page a desktop application. Contribute to nativefier/nativefier development by creating an account on GitHub.
2016 · github.com · its alternatives →
24
Espresso.js – React Meets Backbone for a Minimal MVC▲41
Super minimal MVC library. Contribute to akrymski/espresso.js development by creating an account on GitHub.
2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

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