Link copied to clipboard # Play vs Vaadin Comparison - What are their main differences? Share [ Export ](/compare/play/vaadin/export.csv) PlayVaadin[+ Add Product](#) Reviews **Play** [ 4.1/5(13) ](https://www.g2.com/products/play/reviews#reviews) **Vaadin** [ 4.1/5(36) ](https://www.g2.com/products/vaadin/reviews#reviews) Pricing **Play** No pricing available **Vaadin** Free Trial **Free** · Free **Pricing Insights** from reviews Time to Implement **Play** 5 months Based on 5 responses **Vaadin** Not enough reviews yet Return on Investment **Play** Not enough reviews yet **Vaadin** Not enough reviews yet Perceived Cost **Play** Not enough reviews yet **Vaadin** $$$$$ Average Discount **Play** Not enough reviews yet **Vaadin** Not enough reviews yet Pros & Cons **Play** Not enough data **Vaadin** Not enough data Screenshots **Play** No screenshot available **Vaadin** ![Vaadin screenshot](https://images.g2crowd.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=600,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,/https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/attachment/file/111090/components-1.png) Ratings Meets Requirements **Play** 7.8 7.813 **Vaadin** 8.4 8.429 Ease of Use **Play** 7.4 7.413 **Vaadin** 8.4 8.430 Ease of Setup **Play** 8.3 8.36 **Vaadin** 8.5 8.513 Ease of Admin **Play** 6.7 6.76 **Vaadin** 8.3 8.311 Quality of Support **Play** 7.4 7.49 **Vaadin** 8.3 8.328 Has the product been a good partner in doing business? **Play** 8.0 8.05 **Vaadin** 8.2 8.210 Product Direction (% positive) **Play** 7.3 7.313 **Vaadin** 8.0 8.029 User Insights Reviewers' Company Size [![Play](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_8a8a88df35b9711a9c49924c14b28b44/play.png "Play")](https://www.g2.com/products/play/reviews) Play Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 53.8% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 15.4% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 30.8% [![Vaadin](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/3eafadce7e5a72d053cf43e5a41bce36/vaadin%282%29.svg "Vaadin")](https://www.g2.com/products/vaadin/reviews) Vaadin Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.) 51.4% Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) 25.7% Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.) 22.9% Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 53.8% 51.4% Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 15.4% 25.7% Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 30.8% 22.9% Reviewers' Industry [![Play](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_8a8a88df35b9711a9c49924c14b28b44/play.png "Play")](https://www.g2.com/products/play/reviews) Play Internet 38.5% Program Development 15.4% Computer Software 15.4% Think Tanks 7.7% Newspapers 7.7% Other 15.4% [![Vaadin](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/3eafadce7e5a72d053cf43e5a41bce36/vaadin%282%29.svg "Vaadin")](https://www.g2.com/products/vaadin/reviews) Vaadin Information Technology and Services 22.9% Computer Software 22.9% Financial Services 11.4% Banking 8.6% Marketing and Advertising 5.7% Other 28.6% FAQs ## Play vs Vaadin FAQs Generated using AI Last updated: August 16, 2026 ### What is the difference between Play vs Vaadin? Play and Vaadin are rated equally by G2 reviewers, but Vaadin stands out for its slightly higher Ease of Setup and a stronger focus on rapid UI development in Java. | | [Play](https://www.g2.com/products/play/reviews) | [Vaadin](https://www.g2.com/products/vaadin/reviews) | | --- | --- | --- | | G2 Rating (reviews) | 4.1/5 (13 reviews) | 4.1/5 (36 reviews) | | Ease of Setup score | 8.3 | 8.5 | | Quality of Support score | 7.4 | 8.3 | | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength | Asynchronous, high-performance web development with strong Scala and Akka integration | Rapid UI development in pure Java, large component library, and easy migration from Swing | ### How do the pricing models of Play and Vaadin compare? Vaadin is rated higher for value, with reviewers expressing greater satisfaction with its pricing compared to Play. - **Play:** Reviewers do not cite pricing as a standout strength or weakness in recent feedback. - **Vaadin:** In recent reviews, several reviewers highlight that Vaadin's free version enables the creation of quality applications, though some mention higher costs for advanced features. ### What are the best alternatives to Play and Vaadin? The top three alternatives to Play and Vaadin are Spring, JHipster, and Grails. | Product | G2 Rating (reviews) | Largest Segment | Pricing Insight | Top Reviewer-Cited Strength | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Play](https://www.g2.com/products/play/reviews) | 4.1/5 (13 reviews) | — | — | Asynchronous, high-performance web development with strong Scala and Akka integration | | [Vaadin](https://www.g2.com/products/vaadin/reviews) | 4.1/5 (36 reviews) | — | Free version enables rapid UI development in Java | Rapid UI development in pure Java, large component library, and easy migration from Swing | | [spring.io](https://www.g2.com/products/spring-io/reviews) | 4.5/5 (320 reviews) | Enterprise | — | Comprehensive, widely adopted Java framework with strong community support | | [JHipster](https://www.g2.com/products/jhipster/reviews) | 4.4/5 (97 reviews) | Small-Business | — | Rapid application generation and modern stack integration | | [Grails](https://www.g2.com/products/grails/reviews) | 3.6/5 (33 reviews) | Small-Business | — | Groovy-based rapid development for Java applications | ### Which Java Web Frameworks features should I prioritize when comparing Play and Vaadin? Buyers comparing Play and Vaadin should prioritize Ease of Setup, Quality of Support, Ease of Use, Meets Requirements, and Ease of Admin. - **Ease of Setup:** Play 8.3, Vaadin 8.5 - **Quality of Support:** Play 7.4, Vaadin 8.3 - **Ease of Use:** Play 7.4, Vaadin 8.4 - **Meets Requirements:** Play 7.8, Vaadin 8.4 - **Ease of Admin:** Play 6.7, Vaadin 8.3 ### What are the pros and cons of Play vs Vaadin? Play's headline strength is asynchronous, high-performance web development, while Vaadin excels in rapid UI development in pure Java with a large component library. - **Play strengths:** Asynchronous by nature, strong Scala and Akka integration, rapid web development, easy setup for REST APIs and microservices. - **Play trade-offs:** Documentation can be lacking, slower dependency resolution with sbt, less popular than Spring or Java EE, learning curve for Scala DSL, fewer Java-specific components compared to competitors. - **Vaadin strengths:** Rapid UI development in Java, large library of components, easy migration from Swing, minimal need for JavaScript, strong integration with Java backend, suitable for enterprise and internal applications. - **Vaadin trade-offs:** Higher memory usage, scalability limitations for very large applications, less community support than major frameworks, documentation gaps, higher costs for advanced features, initial learning curve for large projects. ### Is Play or Vaadin better for small businesses? Vaadin is the better fit for small businesses, with more recent reviews highlighting its suitability for rapid development and migration from legacy Java applications. - **Play:** No data available for small-business segment share or recent small-business reviewer sentiment. - **Vaadin:** Recent reviews from small-business users praise Vaadin for enabling quick application development and easy migration from Java Swing, with several reviewers recommending it for small teams and projects. ### Which Java Web Frameworks platform has better integrations? Play and Vaadin are rated at parity for integrations, as neither product has recent reviewer-cited integration strengths or named third-party tools in the available data. - **Play:** No recent reviewer-cited integrations. - **Vaadin:** No recent reviewer-cited integrations. ### How do Play and Vaadin compare on customer support? Vaadin scores higher on Quality of Support, with a 0.9-point advantage over Play (8.3 vs 7.4). - **Play:** Reviewers describe support as generally helpful but note documentation gaps and slower response for complex issues. - **Vaadin:** Reviewers consistently praise Vaadin's approachable customer support and fast response times, though some mention limited community resources and documentation gaps. ### Which is easier to implement, Play or Vaadin? Vaadin and Play are rated at parity for Ease of Setup, with scores of 8.5 and 8.3 respectively, indicating both are easy to implement. - **Play:** Reviewers highlight quick environment setup, easy bootstrapping, and rapid prototyping, though some mention challenges with sbt and integration testing. - **Vaadin:** Reviewers cite fast initial setup, especially for Java developers, and rapid development of UI, with some noting a learning curve for large-scale projects. Alternatives **Play Alternatives** ![spring.io](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/13b10fbf78fe0ef9bab8268eb1f3d7aa/spring-io.svg "spring.io") [ spring.io ](/products/spring-io/reviews) ![Grails](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_36f1bae8310bb7a2f8417ff867932e4a/grails.png "Grails") [ Grails ](/products/grails/reviews) ![Eclipse Jetty](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_320b82979daacdc4cd4fab507d50195f/eclipse-jetty.jpeg "Eclipse Jetty") [ Eclipse Jetty ](/products/eclipse-jetty/reviews) ![JHipster](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_95c64c1be649c4ad42eba5485d80e94a/jhipster.png "JHipster") [ JHipster ](/products/jhipster/reviews) **Vaadin Alternatives** ![spring.io](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/13b10fbf78fe0ef9bab8268eb1f3d7aa/spring-io.svg "spring.io") [ spring.io ](/products/spring-io/reviews) ![JHipster](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_95c64c1be649c4ad42eba5485d80e94a/jhipster.png "JHipster") [ JHipster ](/products/jhipster/reviews) ![Jmix](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_91f6f287080cb65e412bfb8d4c704bd3/jmix.png "Jmix") [ Jmix ](/products/jmix/reviews) ![Apache Wicket](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/thumb_square/thumb_square_b4fa4b528db8ec19e04f4485c93361c8/apache-wicket.png "Apache Wicket") [ Apache Wicket ](/products/apache-wicket/reviews) ## Play vs Vaadin When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found Vaadin easier to use, set up, and administer. Reviewers also preferred doing business with Vaadin overall. - Reviewers felt that Vaadin meets the needs of their business better than Play. - When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that Vaadin is the preferred option. - For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Vaadin over Play.