The best javascript engines, according to hackers
7 javascript engines recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedV8 JavaScript engine59 people recommend it
- Least regretQuickJS33 recommend, 8 criticize
All javascript engines
- V8 JavaScript engineFast, widely deployed JavaScript engine from Google that people praise for performance and sandboxing. Caveats: large, complex C++ codebase with an unstable embedding API and recurring JIT-related security bugs.59recommend
- QuickJSSmall, self-contained, fast C JavaScript engine by Fabrice Bellard that matches almost all of ES2025 and is easy to embed. Critics say it is much slower than JIT engines such as V8.33recommend
- MicroQuickJSTiny JavaScript engine for microcontrollers and embedding, praised for its small memory use and sandboxing. Main caveat: it implements only a subset of JavaScript close to ES5.19recommend
- JavaScriptCoreApple's JavaScript engine, used by WebKit and Bun, with well-tuned JIT performance and a long track record on consumer devices.14recommend
- Boa JavaScript engineRecommended for being standards-conforming and very easy to embed in Rust apps; the most common caveat is slow performance compared with V8 and other engines.14recommend
- SpiderMonkeyMozilla's JavaScript engine that people find well maintained and self-contained; the most common caveat is that it is slower than V8.8recommend
- Brimstone JavaScript engineRust JavaScript engine that passes about 97% of the ES2025 spec, described as faster than alternatives and built by one developer. Critics note heavy unsafe code and no license.8recommend