Syncfusion vs. Other Angular UI Libraries: Why We Chose Syncfusion in a Large Project

We evaluated multiple Angular UI libraries—Angular Material, PrimeNG, Kendo UI, and Syncfusion—for a large enterprise project. Here's why Syncfusion was the winner.

When building a large-scale enterprise application, every technology choice matters—especially when it comes to the UI library. In our recent project—a full-stack application using Angular 17, .NET 8, SQL Server, and Azure—we evaluated several Angular UI libraries before ultimately choosing Syncfusion.

This post explains why we made that decision, how Syncfusion compared to others, and what we learned in the process.

Project Overview

We were tasked with building an internal enterprise dashboard with:

• Large data grids (1k+ rows),


• Complex forms and reporting,


• Real-time updates using SignalR,


• Document generation (PDF/Excel),


• Role-based dashboards with configurable widgets.

We evaluated the following Angular UI libraries:

1. Syncfusion

• Provides over 80+ UI components covering essential and advanced needs.


• Best suited for enterprise applications and data visualization.


• Supports Angular, React, Vue, and Blazor.


• Offers both free (community edition) and paid versions.


• Advanced Grid features: Virtual scrolling, pagination, CRUD operations, filtering, and exporting.


• Rich Data Visualization: Charts, Gauges, Maps, and Pivot Tables.


• Robust Document Processing: PDF Viewer, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint processing components.

2. PrimeNG

• Open-source with a large community support.


• Provides extensive UI elements for forms, tables, and charts.


• Integrated with PrimeFlex for CSS utilities.


• Rich themes and animations.

3. NG-Zorro

• Based on Ant Design, optimized for business applications.


• Developed and maintained by Alibaba.


• Strong focus on enterprise UI components.


• Internationalization (i18n) support.

4. Angular Material

• Official UI library from Google.


• Implements Material Design principles.


• Provides a minimalistic yet powerful UI component suite.


• Best suited for modern, lightweight applications.

5. Kendo UI for Angular

• Commercial library with dedicated support.


• Highly performance-optimized for large datasets.


• Extensive documentation and enterprise-level features.

6. DevExtreme for Angular

• Best suited for high-performance and data-heavy applications.


• Offers charts, grids, interactive UI elements.


• Optimized for seamless cross-platform development.

What We Looked For

Here were our key evaluation criteria:

Side-by-Side Comparison

Why We Chose Syncfusion

1. Enterprise-Ready Components

Syncfusion's Angular UI suite includes over 80+ components, covering everything from simple inputs to advanced modules like Spreadsheet, Scheduler, Pivot Table, and PDF Viewer.

Use Case: We used the Syncfusion Grid extensively for features like:

• Infinite scrolling


• Virtualization


• Excel-like filtering


• Custom templates


• Row drag & drop
  We also leveraged their Scheduler, DocumentEditor, and Rich Text Editor with minimal configuration.

2. Performance with Large Datasets

We benchmarked grid rendering with ~10,000 records. While other libraries struggled, Syncfusion Grid performed with smooth scrolling and real-time updates.

We combined:

• Angular’s OnPush change detection,


• Syncfusion’s enableVirtualization and lazyLoad,


• Server-side paging via .NET API.
  Result: Great UX without performance issues.

3. Seamless Angular 17 Integration

• Full support for Angular Standalone Components
  


• 
  Signal compatibility


• Tree-shakable modules (after selective imports)


• Reactive forms and template-driven forms support
  This made our Angular 17 migration much easier.

4. Reporting & Document Generation

• Syncfusion’s PDF, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint libraries integrated easily with .NET backend.


• Saved development time for invoice/reporting modules.

5. Support and Documentation

• Detailed API docs, working stackblitz examples, active ticket support.


• Resolved a blocker within 24 hours via their enterprise support.

6. Unified Design Language

• Custom themes and theme studio allowed consistent branding across the app.

7. Licensing Fit Our Needs

• Flat licensing per developer—easy to budget.


• No hidden costs based on usage or app size.

Syncfusion with Angular

1. Installation

Install the complete UI library:

npm install @syncfusion/ej2-angular-ui-components 

2. Importing Syncfusion Module

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';

import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';

import { GridModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-grids';

@NgModule({

 declarations: [/* Components */],

 imports: [BrowserModule, GridModule],

 bootstrap: [/* Root Component */]

})

export class AppModule {}

3. Component Usage Examples

1. Grid Example

<ejs-grid [dataSource]="data" allowPaging="true">

<e-columns>

<e-column field="id" headerText="ID"></e-column>

<e-column field="name" headerText="Name"></e-column>

<e-column field="age" headerText="Age"></e-column>

</e-columns>

</ejs-grid>

export class AppComponent {

 data = [

   { id: 1, name: 'John Doe', age: 28 },

   { id: 2, name: 'Jane Doe', age: 25 },

 ];

}

2. Dropdown Example

<ejs-dropdownlist id="dropdown" [dataSource]="countries"></ejs-dropdownlist>

export class AppComponent {

 countries = ['USA', 'India', 'Canada', 'Germany'];

}

3. DatePicker Example

<ejs-datepicker></ejs-datepicker>

Using Syncfusion with Other Frameworks

Syncfusion provides UI components that are compatible with multiple frameworks beyond Angular, including React, and Vue. Below are step-by-step guides for integrating **Syncfusion **with these frameworks.

1. React

npm install @syncfusion/ej2-react-grids

import { GridComponent, ColumnsDirective, ColumnDirective } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-grids';

<GridComponent dataSource={data} allowPaging={true}>

<ColumnsDirective>

<ColumnDirective field='id' headerText='ID' />

<ColumnDirective field='name' headerText='Name' />

</ColumnsDirective>

</GridComponent>

2. Vue

npm install @syncfusion/ej2-vue-grids

<template>

<ejs-grid :dataSource="data" :allowPaging="true">

<e-columns>

<e-column field='id' headerText='ID'></e-column>

<e-column field='name' headerText='Name'></e-column>

</e-columns>

</ejs-grid>

</template>

Advantages and Disadvantages of Syncfusion

Advantages

• Wide range of enterprise-ready components


• High performance with large datasets


• Supports Angular, React, Vue, Blazor


• Extensive documentation and support

Disadvantages

• Advanced features require a paid license

Conclusion

• Syncfusion is ideal for enterprise and data-heavy applications


• PrimeNG and Angular Material are great for general UI needs


• Choose based on your project’s size, complexity, and budget