Fractal vs Histoire

Fractal7.7Visit Histoire7.6Visit

Higher score Fractal #7 in Component Libraries Software 7.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Fractal

vs

Histoire #8 in Component Libraries Software 7.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Histoire

• Fractal fits best

  Teams documenting template-based component libraries

• Histoire fits best

  Vue or Svelte teams creating interactive stories

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Side by side

Feature	Fractal 7.7/10 Visit ↗	Histoire 7.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.7	7.6
Ranking	#7 in Component Libraries Software	#8 in Component Libraries Software
Best for	Teams documenting template-based component libraries	Vue or Svelte teams creating interactive stories
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs, Community	Docs, Community
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features Fractal 2/3 · Histoire 2/3
Component documentation	✓	✓
Visual workbench	✓	✓
Version history	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Framework support	Handlebars, Mustache, Nunjucks, Twig	Vue 3, Svelte 3
Deployment options	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Access controls	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Organizes simple or compound components with variants and preview data Offers a browser UI, component notes, related files and static HTML export Includes Handlebars, Mustache, Nunjucks and Twig adapters plus CLI and API	Isolate components and organize interactive variants in grids Add Markdown docs, controls, and copyable source examples Support CI visual snapshots with Percy and Lost Pixel
Cons	The official GitHub repository has been archived and made read-only Focused on template-engine adapters rather than a broad framework ecosystem Self-hosted deployment means teams manage their own hosting	Framework support is limited to Vue 3 and Svelte 3 Requires installation and serving within a project Self-hosted deployment with docs and community support
Our verdict	Fractal is an open-source Node.js tool for building and documenting website component libraries and design systems. It suits teams that want a browsable catalogue of template-based components, their variants, preview data, files and… Read the review →	Histoire is an open-source tool for building browser-based stories around UI components, aimed at teams creating component libraries or design systems with Vue 3 or Svelte 3. Developers can show components across use cases, work on them in… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Fractal — where it wins

  • Organizes simple or compound components with variants and preview data
  • Offers a browser UI, component notes, related files and static HTML export
  • Includes Handlebars, Mustache, Nunjucks and Twig adapters plus CLI and API

  Where it doesn't

  • The official GitHub repository has been archived and made read-only
  • Focused on template-engine adapters rather than a broad framework ecosystem
  • Self-hosted deployment means teams manage their own hosting

• Histoire — where it wins

  • Isolate components and organize interactive variants in grids
  • Add Markdown docs, controls, and copyable source examples
  • Support CI visual snapshots with Percy and Lost Pixel

  Where it doesn't

  • Framework support is limited to Vue 3 and Svelte 3
  • Requires installation and serving within a project
  • Self-hosted deployment with docs and community support

• Fractal7.7/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source toolkit for documenting template-based components, with an archived repository.

  Visit FractalFull verdict →
• Histoire7.6/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source story tool for documenting and previewing Vue 3 and Svelte 3 components.

  Visit HistoireFull verdict →