Why I Started Using HTMX Alongside Vue.js (And Didn't Expect to Like It)

A few months ago, if someone had asked me whether I'd use HTMX, my answer would've been pretty simple:

"Probably not. I already use Vue."

I wasn't looking for another frontend tool. Vue already solved most of my problems.

But then I started building smaller internal tools and landing pages, and I kept asking myself:

Do I really need an entire SPA for this?

That question made me give HTMX a fair chance.

The thing that surprised me

The first thing I noticed wasn't performance.

It was how little JavaScript I had to write.

Something that normally required a fetch request, state management, loading indicators and DOM updates suddenly became this:

<button
  hx-get="/users"
  hx-target="#users">
  Load users
</button>

<div id="users"></div>

That's... kind of refreshing.

Does it replace Vue?

Not for me.

Vue is still my first choice whenever I'm building dashboards, complex interfaces or anything with a lot of client-side interaction.

HTMX shines somewhere else.

I started using it for:

Admin panels
Contact forms
CRUD pages
Landing pages
Small internal tools

Basically, projects where JavaScript isn't the product.

One thing people get wrong

I often see discussions like:

Vue vs React vs HTMX

Honestly, I don't think HTMX belongs in that comparison.

HTMX isn't trying to become another SPA framework.

It's closer to saying:

"What if HTML could do a little bit more?"

That's a very different philosophy.

What I learned

The biggest lesson wasn't that HTMX is better.

It was realizing that I had been reaching for SPAs by default.

Sometimes that's the right decision.

Sometimes it's unnecessary complexity.

Final thoughts

I'll keep using Vue for most of my work.

But now HTMX has earned a permanent place in my toolbox.

Not because it's trendy.

Because sometimes the simplest solution really is the best one.

Have you tried HTMX in a real project?

I'd love to hear where it worked well—or where it completely fell apart.