January 4, 2026
Monkey business in the engine zoo
JavaScript engines zoo – Compare every JavaScript engine
Safari’s speed shocker, Chrome takes heat, and a tiny indie engine stuns everyone
TLDR: A new comparison of JavaScript engines has commenters claiming Safari’s JavaScriptCore beats Google’s V8, while Meta’s Static Hermes surprises by winning without just-in-time tricks on Apple chips. The thread debates V8’s missing tail-call feature and marvels at one-dev Brimstone’s near-ES6 completeness—big implications for apps and dev tools.
The “JavaScript engines zoo” dropped a chart-packed smackdown, and the comments lit up. The shocker: Safari’s JavaScriptCore is clocking wins over Google’s V8, cue Chrome fans clutching pearls. One user gasped, “JavaScriptCore consistently outperformed V8,” while another noted SpiderMonkey (Firefox’s engine) is “not up there,” sending Mozilla diehards into damage control mode. Drama level: spicy.
Then came the indie plot twist. Brimstone — built by a single dev with a fraction of V8’s code — is reportedly “97% compatible with ES6,” the big 2015 feature set. Commenters called it a “staggering accomplishment,” fueling memes about one hero coder dunking on the giants. Meanwhile, V8’s “98% ES6” sparked a nerd fight over tail call optimization — a feature that makes certain repeating functions more efficient. Translation: it’s the sock missing from Chrome’s laundry.
Finally, Meta’s Static Hermes enters like a new boss: with just-in-time (JIT) compilation turned off (a speed trick that compiles code on the fly), folks say it outperforms both V8 and JavaScriptCore on Apple Silicon (Apple’s chips). React Native devs cheered, predicting faster mobile apps. The crowd summed it up: engines racing, fans feuding, and an underdog flexing — pure internet sports.
Key Points
- •The article compares JavaScript engines using attributes such as language, JIT availability, active years, ECMAScript support, compatibility percentages, repository activity, company, license, and usage contexts.
- •JavaScriptCore (Apple) is C++-based with JIT, active since 2001, supports ESnext, shows 100% compatibility entries, is licensed under LGPL-2.0, and powers Safari/WebKit.
- •V8 (Google) is C++-based with JIT, active since 2008, supports ESnext, shows 100%, 98%, and 100% compatibility entries, is licensed under BSD-3, and powers Chrome and Node.js.
- •Chakra (Microsoft) is C++-based with JIT, active 2015–2021, supports ES2019, shows 100%, 96%, and 50% compatibility entries, is licensed under MIT, and powered Microsoft Edge Legacy.
- •The comparison includes numeric metrics for each engine alongside ownership and licensing details, highlighting standards support and lifecycle status.