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

Bulma

755
854
+ 1
38
Foundation

1.2K
1.2K
+ 1
740
Add tool

Bulma vs Foundation: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this markdown code, the key differences between Bulma and Foundation will be presented. Both Bulma and Foundation are popular front-end frameworks used for website development. The following paragraphs will outline the specific differences between the two frameworks.

  1. Flexibility: Bulma is highly flexible and allows for easy customization. It provides a wide range of utilities and components that can be easily modified to suit specific design requirements. On the other hand, Foundation offers a more structured and comprehensive framework with pre-designed templates and components that may be more suitable for projects requiring less customization.

  2. Grid System: Bulma utilizes a simple and intuitive Flexbox-based grid system, which makes it easier to create responsive layouts. It allows for easy reordering of grid columns and provides a straightforward syntax for creating complex grid structures. In contrast, Foundation uses a responsive floating grid system that offers more control over the grid structure but may require a steeper learning curve for beginners.

  3. Design Philosophy: Bulma follows a modern and minimalistic design philosophy, focusing on providing a clean and elegant aesthetic. It offers a limited number of predefined styles and encourages developers to customize the design according to their needs. On the other hand, Foundation aims to provide a comprehensive design library with a wide variety of predefined styles and components, allowing developers to quickly create visually appealing websites without extensive customization.

  4. Documentation and Community: Bulma has a well-documented and user-friendly website, providing extensive guides, examples, and documentation for developers to easily understand and utilize the framework. It has a growing community that actively contributes to its development and provides support to fellow users. In comparison, Foundation also has comprehensive documentation and a supportive community, but its resources may be slightly less extensive than those of Bulma.

  5. JavaScript Integration: Bulma is a pure CSS framework and does not rely on any JavaScript for its functionality. While it provides some optional JavaScript components, they are not required for basic usage. In contrast, Foundation incorporates JavaScript heavily into its framework, providing a range of interactive components and features out of the box. This makes Foundation a suitable choice for projects that require extensive JavaScript functionality.

  6. Size and Performance: Bulma is known for its lightweight nature and minimal file size. It prioritizes performance by delivering only the necessary styles, resulting in faster load times. On the other hand, Foundation may have a larger file size due to its comprehensive feature set, which may impact performance to some extent. However, with proper customization and optimization, both frameworks can be used to create high-performing websites.

In summary, Bulma offers high flexibility, a simple Flexbox-based grid system, a minimalistic design philosophy, extensive documentation, limited JavaScript integration, and lightweight performance. In contrast, Foundation provides a structured framework, a responsive floating grid system, a comprehensive design library, slightly less extensive documentation, extensive JavaScript integration, and a slightly larger file size.

Advice on Bulma and Foundation
Daniel Hernández Alcojor
Frontend Developer at atSistemas · | 8 upvotes · 1M views
Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrapBulmaBulma
and
UIkItUIkIt

I'm building, from scratch, a webapp. It's going to be a dashboard to check on our apps in New Relic and update the Apdex from the webapp. I have just chosen Next.js as our framework because we use React already, and after going through the tutorial, I just loved the latest changes they have implemented.

But we have to decide on a CSS framework for the UI. I'm partial to Bulma because I love that it's all about CSS (and you can use SCSS from the start), that it's rather lightweight and that it doesn't come with JavaScript clutter. One of the things I hate about Bootstrap is that you depend on jQuery to use the JavaScript part. My boss loves UIkIt, but when I've used it in the past, I didn't like it.

What do you think we should use? Maybe you have another suggestion?

See more
Replies (7)
Recommends
on
UIkItUIkIt

I have used bulma in several projects. We could not customize with the websites very well. Also when we need "quick solutions" Bulma is not suitable (I mean basic animations, to-top buttons, transparent navbar solutions etc. For these solutions, you need extra js codes).

Everybody knows about Bootstrap (heavy but popular).

Now we start a new project with UI kit, I like it. Pros: It is fast and lightweight and imho it has very good UI. Cons: Small community. Documentation.

Check this link for kick-off. https://github.com/zzseba78/Kick-Off

Maybe it is helpful.

See more
Damien Lucchese
Recommends
on
BulmaBulma

Been checking out Bulma, myself, and really dig it. I like that it's a great base level jumping off point. You can get a layout going with it, pretty quickly, and then customize as you want. It definitely sounds like it's the one you're leaning towards but a big factor would be who will be using it most? Your boss, yourself, others? Whichever you like best, you'll prob be most productive with but if in the end your boss says it has to be UIkit, then best to be open-minded and give it another shot. Sometimes you may not jive with new tools in your stack, at first, but then they can become tools you learn to love. Best to you in your decision! Take care & keep safe.

See more
Recommends
on
DiezDiez

I've moved away from the concept of UI kits. Not that many support CSS grid. A lot of the icons are easier to use in SVG. I've had success in the concept of design framework and design tokens. I build my brand identity in Figma, and extract in Diez. Then Diez integrates into React and SASS. Much easier because design is decoupled from software in a central authority, and software updates automatically from design changes.

See more
Recommends
on
BulmaBulma

Honestly - pick whatever you are the most comfortable with. You can achieve almost the same effects with different tools, so why not use something I like using?

See more
Recommends

I used UIKit and Bootstrap many times. I love Bootstrap for fast, easy layouts to web apps. Clean code, easiest and fastest way to write layouts for front end if you learned something before about Bootstrap. Now in React I use React-Boostrap too. About UIKit I can say its nice idea. It's easier than Bootstrap. This is good option for trainee developer to learn how u should create layout of your website, but for me UIKit have not enough functions. If you need to create something complicated, u have an error in your mind. You must create amazing code combinations for UIKit where in Bootstrap in the same ideas you have easy solutions.

See more
Tomer Fishaimer
Frontend Architect at Aqua Security · | 2 upvotes · 561.1K views
Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Actually it really depends on your needs, there are 3 types of UI frameworks you can use:

  1. A complete set of UI components like: https://react-bulma.dev/en/getting-started.

    Pros:

    Having a lot of pre-built UI components saves a lot of time

    Cons:

    need to learn the react framework and the bulma styles, and it's harder to customize to your needs

  2. A pure css framework, like Bulma, where you write all the components yourself.

    Pros:

    A lot of flexibility to build the components you need

    Cons:

    You are bound to Bulma classes and markup.

    Takes more time since you need to build the components

  3. A utility class framework like: https://tailwindcss.com/.

Pros:

Most flexible, mix and match classes as you like and build your own markup

Very easy to customize to your needs

Cons:

Might take time to get used to and takes more time since you need to build the components

If you choose options one, then it's just a matter of deciding what style you like (material,ant, bulma) and go with the library that implements it If you go with pure css and build your own components, I can't recommend tailwind enough, I've been finding myself building entire pages without writing a single line of css.

And if later on, the designer wants to make a change to some color, or size, I just need to change one value in the config file, and the entire app is updated.

See more
Manage your open source components, licenses, and vulnerabilities
Learn More
Pros of Bulma
Pros of Foundation
  • 12
    Easy setup
  • 6
    Easy-to-customize the sass build
  • 6
    Community-created themes
  • 5
    Responsive
  • 5
    Great docs
  • 4
    Easy to learn and use
  • 160
    Responsive grid
  • 93
    Mobile first
  • 80
    Open source
  • 75
    Semantic
  • 72
    Customizable
  • 52
    Quick to prototype
  • 50
    Simple ui
  • 45
    Fast
  • 44
    Best practices
  • 39
    Easy setup
  • 6
    Neutral style
  • 6
    HTML, SCSS and JS
  • 5
    Accessibility support
  • 5
    Professional
  • 3
    Xy grid
  • 2
    Sass
  • 2
    Every new version is smaller, smarter & more efficient
  • 1
    Robust

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of Bulma
Cons of Foundation
  • 2
    Not yet supporting Vue 3
  • 5
    Requires jQuery
  • 4
    Awful site

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

- No public GitHub repository available -

What is Bulma?

Bulma is a CSS framework based on Flexbox and built with Sass

What is Foundation?

Foundation is the most advanced responsive front-end framework in the world. You can quickly prototype and build sites or apps that work on any kind of device with Foundation, which includes layout constructs (like a fully responsive grid), elements and best practices.

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

What companies use Bulma?
What companies use Foundation?
Manage your open source components, licenses, and vulnerabilities
Learn More

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

What tools integrate with Bulma?
What tools integrate with Foundation?

Blog Posts

GitGitHubSlack+30
27
18680
What are some alternatives to Bulma and Foundation?
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is the most popular HTML, CSS, and JS framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
Material Design
Material Design is a unified system that combines theory, resources, and tools for crafting digital experiences.
Material
Express your creativity with Material, an animation and graphics framework for Google's Material Design and Apple's Flat UI in Swift.
UIkIt
UIkit gives you a comprehensive collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components which is simple to use, easy to customize and extendable.
Vuetify
Vuetify is a component framework for Vue.js 2. It aims to provide clean, semantic and reusable components that make building your application a breeze. Vuetify utilizes Google's Material Design design pattern, taking cues from other popular frameworks such as Materialize.css, Material Design Lite, Semantic UI and Bootstrap 4.
See all alternatives