lodash vs remeda

utility

lodash

remeda

Lodash and Remeda are JavaScript utility libraries that provide helper functions for common data manipulation tasks like mapping, filtering, grouping, and transforming arrays and objects. Lodash, launched in 2012, has become the most widely adopted utility library with a massive collection of over 300 functions, optimized for performance and designed around imperative programming patterns. Remeda is a modern alternative built from the ground up for TypeScript, embracing functional programming principles with curried functions, immutability, and data-last argument order.

This comparison matters because choosing the right utility library affects your bundle size, developer experience, and code maintainability. Lodash targets teams working on large-scale applications needing battle-tested performance, comprehensive utilities, and compatibility with legacy JavaScript codebases. Remeda appeals to TypeScript-first teams who prioritize type safety, functional composition, smaller bundles, and modern development workflows where tree-shaking and immutability are first-class concerns.

Head-to-Head

Performance & Optimization→ lodash wins

lodash

Lodash delivers superior raw performance through extensive optimizations including lazy evaluation chains, memoization, and hand-tuned algorithms for large datasets. Benchmarks consistently show Lodash outperforming alternatives in iteration-heavy operations, making it the go-to choice for performance-critical applications processing substantial data volumes.

remeda

Remeda offers respectable performance with lazy evaluation support through pipe/createPipe for eligible functions, but prioritizes type safety and bundle efficiency over raw speed. It outperforms Ramda in most scenarios but trails Lodash's heavily optimized implementations, making it suitable for typical application workloads rather than extreme performance scenarios.

Bundle Size & Tree-Shaking→ remeda wins

lodash

Lodash's modular structure allows per-function imports, but its full bundle is substantial and tree-shaking effectiveness varies by bundler configuration. Individual functions can carry significant overhead (e.g., keyBy at 14KB), and developers must be disciplined about importing from specific paths rather than the main package to avoid bloat.

remeda

Remeda ships as a fully tree-shakeable ESM package by default with minimal implementation overhead per function. Its design philosophy explicitly avoids bloated utilities, resulting in significantly smaller final bundles when using modern bundlers like Webpack 5, Rollup, or Vite without requiring special import strategies.

TypeScript Integration→ remeda wins

lodash

Lodash includes TypeScript definitions via DefinitelyTyped, but they often require manual type annotations and don't provide the inference quality expected in modern TypeScript development. Generic type parameters can be verbose, and the imperative API design doesn't leverage TypeScript's type narrowing capabilities effectively.

remeda

Remeda is built TypeScript-first with exceptional type inference that automatically narrows types based on predicates, supports automatic overloading based on argument count, and eliminates the need for manual type annotations in most cases. The functional API design naturally aligns with TypeScript's strengths, making type errors clear and actionable.

API Design & Paradigm→ remeda wins

lodash

Lodash follows imperative patterns with data-first argument order, chainable sequences via _.chain(), and a comprehensive collection of 300+ functions covering arrays, objects, strings, functions, and collections. The lodash/fp module offers functional variants, but it's a secondary API that feels like an afterthought rather than core design.

remeda

Remeda embraces functional programming with curried functions, data-last argument order for natural composition via pipe, immutable operations by default, and fixed argument counts for predictability. The API is intentionally smaller and more focused, avoiding Lodash's sprawl while covering the most common use cases with composable primitives.

Ecosystem & Community→ lodash wins

lodash

Lodash dominates with massive adoption across millions of projects, extensive Stack Overflow coverage, comprehensive documentation, and a mature ecosystem of plugins and extensions. Its stability and ubiquity mean developers can find solutions quickly and onboard new team members with minimal friction.

remeda

Remeda has a smaller but growing community concentrated in the TypeScript ecosystem. Documentation is solid but coverage in tutorials and Stack Overflow is limited. The community is passionate and responsive on GitHub, but you'll find fewer pre-existing solutions and third-party resources compared to Lodash's extensive footprint.

Functional Composition→ remeda wins

lodash

Lodash's core API requires verbose nesting or explicit chaining constructs (_.chain()) for multi-step transformations. While lodash/fp provides curried variants with data-last ordering, it's not the default experience and requires importing from a separate module, creating inconsistency in codebases mixing both styles.

remeda

Remeda's design centers on composition with pipe as a first-class citizen, curried functions by default, and data-last ordering that makes chaining transformations natural and readable. Every function is built for composition from the ground up, eliminating the need for wrapper constructs and making complex data transformations more declarative.

Verdict

Choose Lodash when you're working on performance-critical applications processing large datasets, maintaining legacy JavaScript codebases without TypeScript, or need access to its comprehensive library of 300+ utilities including specialized string manipulation, deep object operations, and mathematical functions. Lodash's maturity, ubiquitous adoption, and extensive optimizations make it the pragmatic choice for teams prioritizing stability, hiring ease, and raw performance over modern developer experience concerns.

Choose Remeda for greenfield TypeScript projects where type safety, smaller bundle sizes, and functional programming patterns are priorities. Remeda shines in modern frontend applications using React, Vue, or Svelte with contemporary build tools, where its superior tree-shaking can meaningfully reduce bundle sizes and its type inference eliminates entire classes of runtime errors. If your team values immutability, declarative code through composition, and wants utility functions that feel native to TypeScript rather than retrofitted, Remeda delivers a significantly better developer experience that justifies its smaller ecosystem.

When to Use Each

If you are building a data-intensive dashboard processing thousands of rows with complex transformations → use Lodash because its performance optimizations and memoization capabilities will deliver measurably faster rendering and interaction times.

If you are building a TypeScript-first React application with strict bundle size requirements → use Remeda because its tree-shakeable design and native TypeScript support will reduce your bundle by 20-40% while providing superior type safety.

If you are maintaining a large enterprise codebase with mixed JavaScript/TypeScript and multiple teams with varying skill levels → use Lodash because its ubiquity means faster onboarding, more Stack Overflow answers, and consistent patterns your entire organization already understands.

If you are building a functional programming-heavy application with complex data transformation pipelines → use Remeda because its composition-first API, curried functions, and pipe operator make complex transformations more readable and maintainable than Lodash's imperative or chain-based approaches.

Learn More

lodash →remeda →

Head-to-Head

Performance & Optimization→ lodash wins

lodash

remeda

Bundle Size & Tree-Shaking→ remeda wins

lodash

remeda

TypeScript Integration→ remeda wins

lodash

remeda

API Design & Paradigm→ remeda wins

lodash

remeda

Ecosystem & Community→ lodash wins

lodash

remeda

Functional Composition→ remeda wins

lodash

remeda

Verdict

When to Use Each