How does Svelte differ from React and Vue?

The fundamental difference is the compilation approach. React and Vue ship a framework runtime to the browser — the virtual DOM, reconciliation algorithm, and reactive system run in the user's browser on every interaction. Svelte compiles components to plain JavaScript at build time — the browser executes only the minimal update logic needed, with no runtime overhead. Practical differences: Svelte has no virtual DOM (direct DOM updates), smaller bundle sizes (no framework runtime), less boilerplate (reactivity via assignment, not useState/ref), and scoped styles by default. Tradeoffs: smaller ecosystem than React, fewer job postings, and the compilation model can make debugging more complex. Svelte is excellent for performance-critical or bundle-size-sensitive applications.