rollup vs webpack
rollup is downloaded 2.4× more often than webpack (456,441,601 vs 193,238,293 per month), so it has the larger community and more answered questions online. rollup ships 87% less gzipped JavaScript (115.4 kB vs 887.2 kB), which matters if bundle size is a priority. Both projects are actively maintained.
| Metric | rollup | webpack |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly downloads | 110,570,244✓ | 45,317,862 |
| Monthly downloads | 456,441,601✓ | 193,238,293 |
| GitHub stars | 26,283 | 65,739✓ |
| Minified size | 416.6 kB✓ | 3630.8 kB |
| Minified + gzipped | 115.4 kB✓ | 887.2 kB |
| Dependencies | 1✓ | 23 |
| Open issues | 607 | 186✓ |
| Last commit | 2026-06-01✓ | 2026-05-31 |
| Latest version | 4.61.0 | 5.107.2 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
When to choose which
rollup
The bundler of choice for libraries.
Choose it when: Publishing libraries — clean ESM output and excellent tree-shaking. (Vite uses it under the hood for builds.)
- + Clean ESM output
- + Great tree-shaking
- + Plugin ecosystem
- - Less ideal for full apps directly
- - More config than Vite
webpack
The powerful, highly-configurable app bundler.
Choose it when: Complex application builds that need its mature plugin/loader ecosystem and fine-grained control.
- + Most flexible
- + Huge plugin/loader ecosystem
- + Battle-tested
- - Slow vs modern tools
- - Complex configuration
Feature comparison
| Feature | rollup | webpack |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Bundler | Bundler |
| Speed | Moderate | Moderate |
| Configuration | Configurable | Complex / powerful |
| Best for | Libraries | Applications |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
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[](https://devcompare.dev/compare/rollup-vs-webpack)Data from npm, Bundlephobia and GitHub. Last updated 2026-06-02.