Home
DevOps
Build, Test, Deploy
Javascript Testing Framework

AVA vs Mocha

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

AVA
104
181
+ 1
33
Mocha
3.5K
2.5K
+ 1
425
Add tool

AVA vs Mocha: What are the differences?

What is AVA? A refined, futuristic test runner. Even though JavaScript is single-threaded, IO in Node.js can happen in parallel due to its async nature. AVA takes advantage of this and runs your tests concurrently, which is especially beneficial for IO heavy tests. In addition, test files are run in parallel as separate processes, giving you even better performance and an isolated environment for each test file.

What is Mocha? Simple, flexible, fun javascript test framework for node.js & the browser. Mocha is a feature-rich JavaScript test framework running on node.js and the browser, making asynchronous testing simple and fun. Mocha tests run serially, allowing for flexible and accurate reporting, while mapping uncaught exceptions to the correct test cases.

AVA and Mocha can be categorized as "Javascript Testing Framework" tools.

"Simple and fast" is the primary reason why developers consider AVA over the competitors, whereas "Open source" was stated as the key factor in picking Mocha.

AVA and Mocha are both open source tools. Mocha with 18K GitHub stars and 2.43K forks on GitHub appears to be more popular than AVA with 16.4K GitHub stars and 1.07K GitHub forks.

Sellsuki, Onedio, and triGo GmbH are some of the popular companies that use Mocha, whereas AVA is used by Taboola, Becual.com, and Navendis. Mocha has a broader approval, being mentioned in 397 company stacks & 268 developers stacks; compared to AVA, which is listed in 12 company stacks and 10 developer stacks.

Decisions about AVA and Mocha
Abigail Watson
| 2 upvotes · 120.1K views
Chose
Mocha
over
Jasmine
Cucumber
at
()

We use Mocha for our FDA verification testing. It's integrated into Meteor, our upstream web application framework. We like how battle tested it is, its' syntax, its' options of reporters, and countless other features. Most everybody can agree on mocha, and that gets us half-way through our FDA verification and validation (V&V) testing strategy.

See more
Get Advice from developers at your company using Private StackShare. Sign up for Private StackShare.
Learn More
Pros of AVA
Pros of Mocha
  • 13
    Simple and fast
  • 6
    Parallel test running
  • 5
    Open source
  • 3
    Promise support
  • 3
    Test code Instrumenting
  • 2
    Babel integration
  • 1
    ESM Ready
  • 136
    Open source
  • 100
    Simple
  • 81
    Promise support
  • 48
    Flexible
  • 28
    Easy to add support for Generators
  • 12
    For browser and server testing
  • 7
    Curstom assertion libraries
  • 4
    Works with Karma
  • 3
    No other better tools
  • 1
    Simple integration testing
  • 1
    Default reporter is nice, clean, and itemized
  • 1
    Simple setup
  • 1
    Works with saucelabs
  • 1
    Lots of tutorials and help online
  • 1
    Works with BrowserStack

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of AVA
Cons of Mocha
  • 1
    No built-in support for DOM
  • 1
    No source files compilation
  • 3
    Cannot test a promisified functions without assertion
  • 1
    Not as many reporter options as Jest
  • 1
    No assertion count in results

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

What is AVA?

Even though JavaScript is single-threaded, IO in Node.js can happen in parallel due to its async nature. AVA takes advantage of this and runs your tests concurrently, which is especially beneficial for IO heavy tests. In addition, test files are run in parallel as separate processes, giving you even better performance and an isolated environment for each test file.

What is Mocha?

Mocha is a feature-rich JavaScript test framework running on node.js and the browser, making asynchronous testing simple and fun. Mocha tests run serially, allowing for flexible and accurate reporting, while mapping uncaught exceptions to the correct test cases.

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

What companies use AVA?
What companies use Mocha?
See which teams inside your own company are using AVA or Mocha.
Sign up for Private StackShareLearn More

Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

What tools integrate with AVA?
What tools integrate with Mocha?
    No integrations found

    Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

    Blog Posts

    How Stream Built a Modern RSS Reader With JavaScript
    Jun 19 2018 at 3:02AM

    Stream

    +29
    15
    11156
    The HyperDev Tech Stack: Powering Over 1M Containers
    Aug 5 2016 at 4:07AM

    Glitch

    +33
    20
    1644
    What are some alternatives to AVA and Mocha?
    Jest
    Jest provides you with multiple layers on top of Jasmine.
    EVA
    Equipping you with hundreds of symbols and dozens or styles configurations, it makes sure the design stays consistent across all of your applications and platforms.
    Jasmine
    Jasmine is a Behavior Driven Development testing framework for JavaScript. It does not rely on browsers, DOM, or any JavaScript framework. Thus it's suited for websites, Node.js projects, or anywhere that JavaScript can run.
    Cypress
    Cypress is a front end automated testing application created for the modern web. Cypress is built on a new architecture and runs in the same run-loop as the application being tested. As a result Cypress provides better, faster, and more reliable testing for anything that runs in a browser. Cypress works on any front-end framework or website.
    Chai
    It is a BDD / TDD assertion library for node and the browser that can be delightfully paired with any javascript testing framework. It has several interfaces that allow the developer to choose the most comfortable. The chain-capable BDD styles provide an expressive language & readable style, while the TDD assert style provides a more classical feel.
    See all alternatives

    Related Comparisons

    Jest vs MochaAVA vs JestJasmine vs MochaCypress vs Jest vs MochaJasmine vs Mocha vs QUnit

    Trending Comparisons

    Django vs Laravel vs Node.jsBootstrap vs Foundation vs Material-UINode.js vs Spring BootFlyway vs LiquibaseAWS CodeCommit vs Bitbucket vs GitHub

    Top Comparisons

    HipChat vs Mattermost vs SlackBitbucket vs GitHub vs GitLabBootstrap vs MaterializePostman vs Swagger UI