EJS vs Nunjucks

Side-by-side — pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and fit.

EJS

Simple unopinionated templating language for embedding JavaScript directly in HTML.

Nunjucks

Templating engine inspired by Jinja2 with inheritance and async support.

At a glance

Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From $0
Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From $0

Overview

One-liner

Simple unopinionated templating language for embedding JavaScript directly in HTML.

One-liner

Templating engine inspired by Jinja2 with inheritance and async support.

Maturity

Established

Maturity

Established

Open source

✓ Yes

Open source

✓ Yes

Pricing

Free tier

✓ Available

Open source — free to use

Free tier

✓ Available

Open source — free to use

Starts at

$0

Starts at

$0

Model

Flat rate

Model

Flat rate

Enterprise

✕ None

Enterprise

✕ None

Best for

✓ Best for

Developers building server-rendered apps who need a simple templating solution
Projects requiring easy integration of JavaScript and HTML without complex frameworks

✓ Best for

Web developers who need a flexible templating engine with async support
Projects requiring safe object handling to prevent XSS attacks
Teams building documentation sites that require template inheritance and dynamic content generation

Not ideal for

✕ Not for

Teams needing real-time data binding or client-side rendering capabilities
Complex web applications that require advanced framework integrations

✕ Not for

Projects needing real-time data binding or complex UI state management (use React/Vue instead)
Applications where performance is critical and templating overhead needs to be minimized

Strengths

↑ Strengths

Embeds JavaScript directly in HTML
Simple syntax for easy integration with web projects
Supports server-side rendering of dynamic content

↑ Strengths

Template inheritance
Asynchronous control structures
Extensive filter and function support
Safe object handling to prevent XSS attacks

Weaknesses

↓ Weaknesses

Limited advanced features compared to other templating engines
Security vulnerabilities if not properly sanitized
Performance limitations for large-scale applications

↓ Weaknesses

Steep learning curve for non-Python developers
Limited official documentation and community support
Performance issues with complex templates
Complex setup for server-side rendering
Full EJS profile →Full Nunjucks profile →