Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Simulating 20M Particles in JavaScript

Had some fun with shared array buffers over many months of free time. Skip to the end to play around with the final app. Open to ideas on how to simulate more whilst staying in js land.

This project demonstrates a particle simulation system built in JavaScript using shared array buffers to handle 20 million particles. It allows users to experiment with the interactive simulation and explore how to… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Simulating 20M Particles in JavaScript launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   particles.js▲113

   A lightweight JavaScript library for creating particles.

   2014 · vincentgarreau.com · its alternatives →

2. 2A2
   A 2D Physics Simulator in JavaScript▲126

   2017 · htmlpreview.github.io · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Simple 2D car physics with JavaScript▲308

   2020 · pakastin.github.io · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Pts.js – A library for visualization and creative coding▲611

   Pts is a javascript library for visualization and creative-coding.

   2018 · ptsjs.org · its alternatives →

5. 5
   I've been making JavaScript sandbox alone for 6 years▲397

   Hi HN! Thanks for your attention to my post. It was a big challenge to run most of Node.js packages in browser, fast moreover. Virtual File system, resolve import/export. I got cold many times, depressions, burned out, yet still alive and finished it. Many guys helped me with an advice. Many users give a lot of positive feedback. There are 200,000 monthly unique users. I work full time now because of the freemium business model. To be honest - I am happy after many years of hard work.

   2022 · playcode.io · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Fast.js – faster reimplementations of native JavaScript functions▲323

   Faster user-land reimplementations for several common builtin native JavaScript functions. - codemix/fast.js

   2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7AS
   A Stargate in 140 chars of JavaScript▲377

   2020 · dwitter.net · its alternatives →

8. 8
   1 KB JavaScript framework for building front-end applications▲216

   1kB-ish JavaScript framework for building hypertext applications - hyperapp/hyperapp

   2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   1 KB JavaScript library for building front end apps▲242

   1kB-ish JavaScript framework for building hypertext applications - hyperapp/hyperapp

   2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10OS
    Open source balloon simulation with Three.js▲307

    2019 · alexanderperrin.com.au · its alternatives →

11. 11
    HyperApp – 1k JavaScript framework for building web applications▲303

    1kB-ish JavaScript framework for building hypertext applications - hyperapp/hyperapp

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    288 Analog Clocks Give Digital Time▲117

    JS/ReactJS simulation of A Million Times

    2017 · clocks.80limit.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Umbrella JS, a 2.5kb jQuery alternative▲132

    :umbrella: Lightweight javascript library for DOM manipulation and events

    2018 · umbrellajs.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    1kb JavaScript library for building front end applications▲187

    1kB-ish JavaScript framework for building hypertext applications - hyperapp/hyperapp

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Small project on particle animation, genetic algorithms and plain JS▲15

    Genetic Algorithms, Mutation, Crossover, Mating, Particle Animation, Gaming, Learning, P5JS, Fun Project - dg92/ant_sugar

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    NotebookJS▲109

    Scientific computation for JavaScript

    2016 · datazar.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    1 KB JavaScript library for building applications▲116

    1kB-ish JavaScript framework for building hypertext applications - hyperapp/hyperapp

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    WebGPU Particles Simulation▲41

    This is a small particles simulation that can run either with WebGPU (GPU Compute) or with the CPU, and it can be changed in real time

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Million.js▲153

    A fast, <1kb virtual DOM

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Particle Simulation with OpenGL compute shader – 8M particles▲29

    Particle accelleration with OpenGL 4.3, using the compute shader to calculate particle movement on graphics hardware. - MauriceGit/Partikel_accelleration_on_GPU

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    JavaScript PubSub in 163 Bytes▲104

    pubsub in <100 bytes. Contribute to hassanshaikley/pico-pubsub development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Million.js v2.0.0▲98

    An extremely fast virtual DOM - React up to 70% faster

    2023 · millionjs.org · its alternatives →

23. 23
    WebGL-Based Cloth Simulation▲42

    A prototype implementation of cloth simulation. It uses the soft body dynamics support in ammo.js.

    2020 · playcanv.as · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Stochastic – JavaScript library for simulating stochastic processes▲55

    Simulation of common stochastic processes with native JavaScript - NathanEpstein/stochastic

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →