Module Federation and traditional micro-frontend solutions (like qiankun and single-spa) have the following main differences:
1. Different Build Timing
- Module Federation: Generates independent build artifacts at build time, loads dynamically at runtime
- qiankun/single-spa: Requires building complete sub-applications, main application loads sub-applications via JS/CSS
2. Dependency Sharing Mechanism
- Module Federation: Natively supports dependency sharing, automatically manages version conflicts through shared configuration
- qiankun: Requires manual configuration of importMap or using sandbox to isolate dependencies
- single-spa: Depends on SystemJS module loader, requires additional dependency management configuration
3. Code Isolation Method
- Module Federation: Achieves isolation through Webpack's module system, uses singleton pattern when sharing dependencies
- qiankun: Uses JS sandbox (snapshot sandbox or proxy sandbox) to isolate global variables
- single-spa: Depends on SystemJS's module isolation mechanism
4. Development Experience
- Module Federation: Relatively simple configuration, deeply integrated with Webpack, supports HMR
- qiankun: Requires adapting sub-application lifecycle, relatively complex configuration
- single-spa: Steeper learning curve, requires understanding SystemJS and lifecycle
5. Performance Comparison
- Module Federation: Loads modules on demand, shared dependencies reduce duplicate code, better performance
- qiankun: Needs to load complete sub-applications, may have code duplication
- single-spa: Loads modules through SystemJS, has certain runtime overhead
6. Technology Stack Limitations
- Module Federation: Mainly supports Webpack 5, limited support for other build tools
- qiankun: No technology stack restrictions, supports Vue, React, Angular and other frameworks
- single-spa: Framework-agnostic, supports any front-end technology stack
7. Use Cases
- Module Federation: Suitable for same technology stack, scenarios requiring fine-grained module sharing
- qiankun: Suitable for heterogeneous technology stacks, scenarios requiring complete application isolation
- single-spa: Suitable for scenarios requiring highly customized micro-frontend architecture