# QML 21 Hacker News commenters recommended QML and 16 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Declarative UI language from Qt that people use with C++ logic to build fast, animated interfaces; critics say its JavaScript side and tooling are weak. ## Why people recommend it - Clean split between C++ logic and UI (4 comments): "I love the separation between the logic being written in C++ and UI in QML I think it's absolutely a great combo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46419914)) "These days you write the logic in C++ and UI in QML which is a very pleasent experience." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48168973)) "allows better separation of business logic (written in C++) and graphical interface" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45849492)) - Quick to build animated, pixel-perfect UIs (5 comments): "It is far simpler to create amazing pixel perfect UIs with drooling-inducing animations in QML." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46870745)) "QML is a great language for writing beautiful, responsive, modern UI with animations easily" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46186013)) "simple things like your mentioned watchface idea are really quick to do in QML" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47053925)) - Easy to learn, quick to be productive (2 comments): "I think QML is very easy to get started with and you should just give it a go." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46297484)) "I'd picked up QML pretty quickly and got productive faster than WPF/XAML" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49773673)) - Readable and lean on devices (2 comments): "Qt is very close to native C++, so both are actually quite lean and fast on these devices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47059922)) "Haven't seen any other come even remotely close to the readability of Qml." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142502)) ## What people warn about - JavaScript part is weak or messy (4 comments): "For simple stuff, qml is OK/better (except the JS part)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47600399)) "QML is complete trash. It's fine for simple UIs with minimal logic and prototypes but for anything beyond that you'll always need to implement the logic in C++" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46419803)) "Qt Qml (essentially object embedded javascript, capturing js and all of callback hell in single swoop) slapped on top of C++" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46485240)) - Mobile performance is janky (2 comments): "jankier on mobile than Flutter or Swift would be" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46483640)) "starting a new mobile UI with QML these days is just madness IMHO" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46538070)) - Not a native look and feel (2 comments): "does not provide native look and feel and requires (or at least used to require) a lot of manual work" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664712)) "QML is an entirely separate widget toolkit that really isn't a great fit for desktop programs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47689431)) - Weak tooling and no compile-time checks (2 comments): "The real problem is when you change your properties or your underlying types or the methods, their names or signatures and NOTHING tells you which part of your QML code will be affected." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46419978)) "doesn't integrate with the wider JS tooling" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47665590)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Qt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/qt.md): 191 recommend - [GTK](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gtk.md): 85 recommend - [Windows Forms](https://hackerapproved.com/p/winforms.md): 76 recommend - [SwiftUI](https://hackerapproved.com/p/swiftui.md): 75 recommend - [Tcl/Tk](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tcl-tk.md): 61 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "QML", https://hackerapproved.com/p/qml/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).