Bootstrap vs Foundation: Popular CSS Frameworks Comparison
Bootstrap and Foundation are both front-end frameworks that help developers build responsive websites quickly. They provide pre-built components like buttons, forms, and navigation bars that make it easier to create professional-looking websites without starting from scratch. While Bootstrap is known for its ease of use and extensive documentation, Foundation offers more flexibility for customization.
CSS Frameworksresponsive-designui-componentsgrid-systemmobile-firstcss-framework
Detailed Comparison
Technical Analysis
featureComparison
Both Bootstrap and Foundation provide a wide range of features, including responsive grid systems, navigation, alerts, and more. However, Bootstrap has a more extensive set of components and a larger community-driven ecosystem. Foundation, on the other hand, is known for its flexibility and customization options.
typescriptSupport
Both Bootstrap and Foundation have official TypeScript definitions, making it easy to use them with TypeScript projects.
browserCompatibility
Both Bootstrap and Foundation support modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. However, Bootstrap has better support for older browsers, including Internet Explorer.
dependencies
Bootstrap has no dependencies, while Foundation depends on jQuery.
performance
Both Bootstrap and Foundation are optimized for performance, with Bootstrap having a slight edge in terms of page load times.
Ecosystem Analysis
frameworkCompatibility
Both Bootstrap and Foundation are compatible with popular frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js.
communityActivity
Bootstrap has a much larger and more active community, with more contributors and maintainers.
documentationQuality
Both Bootstrap and Foundation have high-quality documentation, with clear examples and tutorials.
maintenanceStatus
Bootstrap is actively maintained by a team of developers at Twitter, while Foundation is maintained by the ZURB team.
Performance Comparison
bundleSizeAnalysis
Bootstrap has a smaller bundle size than Foundation, making it a better choice for smaller projects.
runtimePerformance
Bootstrap has a slight edge in terms of runtime performance, thanks to its optimized CSS and JavaScript code.
loadingTime
Bootstrap pages tend to load faster than Foundation pages, especially on slower networks.
memoryUsage
Both Bootstrap and Foundation have similar memory usage patterns, with Bootstrap using slightly less memory.
Code Examples
Basic Grid System
1<div class='row'><div class='col-md-4'>Column 1</div><div class='col-md-4'>Column 2</div><div class='col-md-4'>Column 3</div></div>This code snippet demonstrates a basic grid system using Bootstrap's row and column classes.
Responsive Navigation
1<nav class='top-bar'><ul class='menu'><li><a href='#'>Home</a></li><li><a href='#'>About</a></li></ul></nav>This code snippet demonstrates a responsive navigation menu using Foundation's top-bar component.
Recommendation
Summary
Both Bootstrap and Foundation are popular and well-maintained CSS frameworks, but Bootstrap is a better choice for most projects due to its larger community, better browser support, and smaller bundle size.
Details
- Bootstrap has a more extensive set of components and a larger community-driven ecosystem.
- Foundation is more flexible and customizable, but requires more setup and configuration.
Similar Packages
bulma
95%
A modern CSS framework based on Flexbox. It's like Bootstrap but simpler to learn and doesn't include any JavaScript. Just clean, readable CSS classes that make creating beautiful websites easy.
Great alternative to Bootstrap for beginners because it's easier to understand and has excellent documentation. It's lighter weight than Bootstrap but still gives you all the basic components you need.
CSS Frameworktailwindcss
90%
A utility-first CSS framework that lets you build designs by combining small styling classes. Instead of pre-built components, it gives you helpful CSS classes that you can mix together to create your own designs.
Like Bootstrap, it helps you build websites quickly, but gives you more control over the design. It's becoming very popular because it's easier to customize and results in smaller file sizes. Perfect for modern web projects.
CSS Frameworkmaterialize-css
85%
A CSS framework based on Google's Material Design. Comes with ready-to-use components that follow Google's design guidelines, making your websites look modern and professional.
If you like Bootstrap but want your site to have a Google-like feel, this is perfect. It has similar features to Bootstrap but with a distinct Material Design style that many users are familiar with.
CSS Frameworksemantic-ui
85%
A development framework that helps create beautiful, responsive layouts using human-friendly HTML. Uses simple and clear class names that make sense even to beginners.
Like Foundation and Bootstrap, it provides a complete solution for building websites, but with class names that are easier to understand (like 'ui menu' instead of technical class names). Great for teams who want their code to be more readable.
CSS Frameworkuikit
80%
A lightweight and modular front-end framework for developing fast and powerful web interfaces. Includes a comprehensive collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components that work great together.
Similar to Foundation in terms of flexibility but with a more modern feel. It's great for developers who want something powerful but don't want to feel locked into a specific design style.
CSS Framework<p align="center">
<a href="https://getbootstrap.com/">
<img src="https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.3/assets/brand/bootstrap-logo-shadow.png" alt="Bootstrap logo" width="200" height="165">
</a>
</p>
<h3 align="center">Bootstrap</h3>
<p align="center">
Sleek, intuitive, and powerful front-end framework for faster and easier web development.
<br>
<a href="https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.3/"><strong>Explore Bootstrap docs »</strong></a>
<br>
<br>
<a href="https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap/issues/new?assignees=-&labels=bug&template=bug_report.yml">Report bug</a>
·
<a href="https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap/issues/new?assignees=&labels=feature&template=feature_request.yml">Request feature</a>
·
<a href="https://themes.getbootstrap.com/">Themes</a>
·
<a href="https://blog.getbootstrap.com/">Blog</a>
</p>
Bootstrap 5
Our default branch is for development of our Bootstrap 5 release. Head to the v4-dev branch to view the readme, documentation, and source code for Bootstrap 4.
Table of contents
- Quick start
- Status
- What’s included
- Bugs and feature requests
- Documentation
- Contributing
- Community
- Versioning
- Creators
- Thanks
- Copyright and license
Quick start
Several quick start options are available:
- Download the latest release
- Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap.git - Install with npm:
npm install bootstrap@v5.3.7 - Install with yarn:
yarn add bootstrap@v5.3.7 - Install with Bun:
bun add bootstrap@v5.3.7 - Install with Composer:
composer require twbs/bootstrap:5.3.7 - Install with NuGet: CSS:
Install-Package bootstrapSass:Install-Package bootstrap.sass
Read the Getting started page for information on the framework contents, templates, examples, and more.
Status
What’s included
Within the download you’ll find the following directories and files, logically grouping common assets and providing both compiled and minified variations.
<details> <summary>Download contents</summary></details>bootstrap/ ├── css/ │ ├── bootstrap-grid.css │ ├── bootstrap-grid.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-grid.min.css │ ├── bootstrap-grid.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-grid.rtl.css │ ├── bootstrap-grid.rtl.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-grid.rtl.min.css │ ├── bootstrap-grid.rtl.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.css │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.min.css │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.rtl.css │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.rtl.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.rtl.min.css │ ├── bootstrap-reboot.rtl.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.css │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.min.css │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.rtl.css │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.rtl.css.map │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.rtl.min.css │ ├── bootstrap-utilities.rtl.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap.css │ ├── bootstrap.css.map │ ├── bootstrap.min.css │ ├── bootstrap.min.css.map │ ├── bootstrap.rtl.css │ ├── bootstrap.rtl.css.map │ ├── bootstrap.rtl.min.css │ └── bootstrap.rtl.min.css.map └── js/ ├── bootstrap.bundle.js ├── bootstrap.bundle.js.map ├── bootstrap.bundle.min.js ├── bootstrap.bundle.min.js.map ├── bootstrap.esm.js ├── bootstrap.esm.js.map ├── bootstrap.esm.min.js ├── bootstrap.esm.min.js.map ├── bootstrap.js ├── bootstrap.js.map ├── bootstrap.min.js └── bootstrap.min.js.map
We provide compiled CSS and JS (bootstrap.*), as well as compiled and minified CSS and JS (bootstrap.min.*). Source maps (bootstrap.*.map) are available for use with certain browsers’ developer tools. Bundled JS files (bootstrap.bundle.js and minified bootstrap.bundle.min.js) include Popper.
Bugs and feature requests
Have a bug or a feature request? Please first read the issue guidelines and search for existing and closed issues. If your problem or idea is not addressed yet, please open a new issue.
Documentation
Bootstrap’s documentation, included in this repo in the root directory, is built with Astro and publicly hosted on GitHub Pages at https://getbootstrap.com/. The docs may also be run locally.
Documentation search is powered by Algolia's DocSearch.
Running documentation locally
- Run
npm installto install the Node.js dependencies, including Astro (the site builder). - Run
npm run test(or a specific npm script) to rebuild distributed CSS and JavaScript files, as well as our docs assets. - From the root
/bootstrapdirectory, runnpm run docs-servein the command line. - Open
http://localhost:9001/in your browser, and voilà.
Learn more about using Astro by reading its documentation.
Documentation for previous releases
You can find all our previous releases docs on https://getbootstrap.com/docs/versions/.
Previous releases and their documentation are also available for download.
Contributing
Please read through our contributing guidelines. Included are directions for opening issues, coding standards, and notes on development.
Moreover, if your pull request contains JavaScript patches or features, you must include relevant unit tests. All HTML and CSS should conform to the Code Guide, maintained by Mark Otto.
Editor preferences are available in the editor config for easy use in common text editors. Read more and download plugins at https://editorconfig.org/.
Community
Get updates on Bootstrap’s development and chat with the project maintainers and community members.
- Follow @getbootstrap on X.
- Read and subscribe to The Official Bootstrap Blog.
- Ask questions and explore our GitHub Discussions.
- Discuss, ask questions, and more on the community Discord or Bootstrap subreddit.
- Chat with fellow Bootstrappers in IRC. On the
irc.libera.chatserver, in the#bootstrapchannel. - Implementation help may be found at Stack Overflow (tagged
bootstrap-5). - Developers should use the keyword
bootstrapon packages which modify or add to the functionality of Bootstrap when distributing through npm or similar delivery mechanisms for maximum discoverability.
Versioning
For transparency into our release cycle and in striving to maintain backward compatibility, Bootstrap is maintained under the Semantic Versioning guidelines. Sometimes we screw up, but we adhere to those rules whenever possible.
See the Releases section of our GitHub project for changelogs for each release version of Bootstrap. Release announcement posts on the official Bootstrap blog contain summaries of the most noteworthy changes made in each release.
Creators
Mark Otto
Jacob Thornton
Thanks
<a href="https://www.browserstack.com/"> <img src="https://live.browserstack.com/images/opensource/browserstack-logo.svg" alt="BrowserStack" width="192" height="42"> </a>Thanks to BrowserStack for providing the infrastructure that allows us to test in real browsers!
<a href="https://www.netlify.com/"> <img src="https://www.netlify.com/v3/img/components/full-logo-light.svg" alt="Netlify" width="147" height="40"> </a>Thanks to Netlify for providing us with Deploy Previews!
Sponsors
Support this project by becoming a sponsor. Your logo will show up here with a link to your website. [Become a sponsor]
Backers
Thank you to all our backers! 🙏 [Become a backer]
Copyright and license
Code and documentation copyright 2011-2025 the Bootstrap Authors. Code released under the MIT License. Docs released under Creative Commons.
