jQuery Review and verdict 2026

The legendary JavaScript library for DOM manipulation.

Free.

Our take

Understanding jQuery.

jQuery is the most downloaded JavaScript library in history. It simplifies DOM manipulation, AJAX requests, and event handling with concise syntax. Free and open source.

Practical uses

Maintain legacy jQuery web applications
Add simple interactivity to HTML pages
Make basic AJAX requests without a framework

Pros and cons

What jQuery does especially well — and the limits to anticipate.

Pros

Simple, intuitive syntax for DOM manipulation
Huge installed base and available resources
Small and lightweight for small projects
Excellent old browser compatibility

Cons

Maintenance mode — no new features
Not suited for complex applications
Declarative DOM approach less modern

jQuery: when it makes sense.

jQuery remains useful for legacy maintenance and small projects; for new apps, prefer React, Vue, or Angular.

Keep if

You maintain legacy code using jQuery.. You build a simple app without modern frameworks.

Challenge if

You're starting a new modern web project.. You're building a SPA (Single Page Application).

Our verdict on jQuery.

Why this verdict

Decent

jQuery is fairly easy to replace with an alternative, a free tier to test before paying, clearly documented use cases.