Needle vs. A-Frame vs. Galacean Engine

See how Needle, A-Frame, and Galacean Engine compare across key features and capabilities for usage on the web and creating XR experiences for designers, developers and teams.

View all platform comparisons
Web-first runtime integrated with Unity and Blender plugins, complemented by Needle Cloud for optimization and hosting.
Needle
An open-source web framework for building VR/AR experiences using a familiar HTML-based entity-component system built on top of three.js.
A-Frame
An open-source, TypeScript-based engine from Ant Group, designed with a mobile-first philosophy for performant web apps, offering code-first or editor workflows.
Galacean Engine
Core Platform & Workflow
Solution Type
3D Engine
Cloud Platform
Authoring Tool
Optimization Tool
Web Component
Needle
Solution Type: 3d-engine, cloud-platform, authoring-tool, optimization-tool, web-component
A comprehensive suite including a runtime engine, cloud services for optimization/hosting, authoring via Unity/Blender plugins, and embeddable web component output.
Framework
Web Component
A-Frame
Solution Type: Framework, web-component
A framework that allows creating 3D/VR/AR scenes using custom HTML tags (web components) built upon three.js.
3D Engine
Authoring Tool
Galacean Engine
Solution Type: 3d-engine, authoring-tool
An open-source engine with an accompanying visual editor, focused on mobile web performance.
Made for the web
Needle
Made for the web: Yes
Built from the ground up for the web, focusing on fast loading, efficient rendering, and cross-platform web deployment.
A-Frame
Made for the web: Yes
Aims to make WebXR development accessible and performant on the web.
Galacean Engine
Made for the web: Yes
Explicitly designed with a mobile-first philosophy for high performance on the web.
Typical Workflows
Unity Editor
Blender Editor
Code
HTML
Asset Upload
Needle
Typical Workflows: Unity Editor, Blender Editor, Code, HTML, Asset Upload
Primary workflow involves using Unity or Blender as the authoring environment, exporting scenes and logic. Custom scripts (TypeScript/JavaScript) extend functionality.
HTML
Code
A-Frame
Typical Workflows: HTML, Code
Scenes are built primarily using HTML-like tags, with custom logic implemented in JavaScript components.
Standalone Editor
Code
Galacean Engine
Typical Workflows: Standalone Editor, Code
Supports both direct coding using TypeScript and development via the Galacean Editor.
Use with Unity
Needle
Use with Unity: Yes
Deep integration with Unity Editor via dedicated plugin, allowing export of scenes, C# scripts (transpiled), materials (Shader Graph), animations, and components.
A-Frame
Use with Unity: No
Not related to Unity workflow.
Galacean Engine
Use with Unity: No
Separate engine and workflow.
Use with Blender
Needle
Use with Blender: Yes
Integration with Blender via addon, supporting export of scenes, materials, animations, and custom logic nodes.
A-Frame
Use with Blender: No
Consumes glTF assets exported from Blender.
Galacean Engine
Use with Blender: No
Imports glTF assets exported from Blender.
Interactivity Building Blocks
Needle
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Includes a rich set of components for common interactions, animations, and UI elements.
A-Frame
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Comprehensive component system with many built-in and community components for interactions, effects, and behaviors.
Galacean Engine
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Offers components for common 3D interactions using engine-toolkit.
Extensible with Coding
Needle
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses TypeScript with full IDE support in both Unity and standalone projects.
A-Frame
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Can create custom components and systems using JavaScript, or use the entity-component declarative HTML approach.
Galacean Engine
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses TypeScript/JavaScript with an entity-component system.
Engine Capabilities
Physically-Based Rendering
Needle
Physically-Based Rendering: Yes
Supports Physically Based Rendering (PBR), custom shaders (via Unity Shader Graph export), lighting, and post-processing effects.
Good
A-Frame
Physically-Based Rendering: Good
Leverages three.js rendering features like PBR materials, environments, and shadows, accessible via components.
Good
Galacean Engine
Physically-Based Rendering: Good
Supports PBR materials, shadows, and various effects via core engine and extension libraries.
Component System
Needle
Component System: Yes
Leverages the component-based architecture of Unity/Blender, extended with custom web-specific components.
A-Frame
Component System: Yes
Based on a highly extensible Entity-Component-System architecture.
Galacean Engine
Component System: Yes
Built around an Entity-Component-System architecture.
Built-in Networking
Needle
Built-in Networking: Yes
Built-in real-time networking for multiplayer and collaborative applications.
A-Frame
Built-in Networking: No
Networking requires external components like `networked-aframe`.
Galacean Engine
Built-in Networking: No
Requires external libraries for networking capabilities.
Timelines and Sequencing
Needle
Timelines and Sequencing: Yes
Supports timeline-based sequencing, complex animations, animator state machines, blending, and more.
Limited
A-Frame
Timelines and Sequencing: Limited
Basic animation component with support for keyframes, but no comprehensive timeline system.
Limited
Galacean Engine
Timelines and Sequencing: Limited
Basic animation system but limited timeline or sequencing tools.
Animation Controls
Needle
Animation Controls: Yes
Supports complex animations authored in Unity (Animator, Timeline) or Blender and exports them for the web.
Limited
A-Frame
Animation Controls: Limited
Includes a built-in animation component and leverages three.js animations.
Galacean Engine
Animation Controls: Yes
Supports skeletal animation, blend shapes, and an animation state machine.
Animated Materials
Needle
Animated Materials: Yes
Supports material animations, shader graph, and procedural material effects.
A-Frame
Animated Materials: Yes
Supports animated textures and shader-based material effects through components.
Galacean Engine
Animated Materials: Yes
Supports material animation and shader effects, with focus on mobile performance.
Audio Playback
Needle
Audio Playback: Yes
Supports spatial audio configured via Unity/Blender components.
A-Frame
Audio Playback: Yes
Supports positional audio through dedicated components.
Galacean Engine
Audio Playback: Yes
Basic audio support.
Video Playback
Needle
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures and playback controlled via components.
A-Frame
Video Playback: Yes
Supports using videos as textures through the asset management system.
Galacean Engine
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures via extension libraries.
Physics Integration
Needle
Physics Integration: Yes
Integrates with physics engines, configured via Unity/Blender components.
A-Frame
Physics Integration: Yes
Physics is added through community components like `aframe-physics-system`.
Galacean Engine
Physics Integration: Yes
Includes physics integration (e.g., @galacean/engine-physics-physx).
glTF 3D Support
Excellent
Needle
glTF 3D Support: Excellent
Uses glTF as its core runtime format and supports import of various formats (FBX, USD, VRM etc.) which are converted.
A-Frame
glTF 3D Support: Yes
Strong support for loading and interacting with glTF models.
Galacean Engine
glTF 3D Support: Yes
Built around the glTF standard as the primary asset format.
Custom User Interfaces
Needle
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Facilitates creation of UI using standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks, integrated with the 3D scene.
Limited
A-Frame
Custom User Interfaces: Limited
UI can be created using 3D components (e.g., `aframe-gui`), HTML overlays, or community libraries.
Galacean Engine
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Built-in 2D UI system but limited options for HTML/CSS integration.
Web Integration & Deployment
Web Component
Needle
Web Component: Yes
Exports projects as standard web components (<needle-engine> tag) for easy embedding into any HTML page or web application.
A-Frame
Web Component: Yes
Its core abstraction relies on custom HTML elements (web components).
Galacean Engine
Web Component: Yes
Can be embedded and controlled within standard web pages.
PWA Support
Needle
PWA Support: Yes
Being web-native, Needle Engine projects can be easily included in Progressive Web Apps for offline capabilities and installation.
A-Frame
PWA Support: No
Can be used within Progressive Web Apps but provides no specific PWA features itself.
Galacean Engine
PWA Support: No
Mobile-first design makes it well-suited for PWAs.
HTML/CSS Integration
Excellent
Needle
HTML/CSS Integration: Excellent
Designed to seamlessly integrate with HTML, CSS, and frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte etc.), allowing blending of 2D UI and 3D content.
Good
A-Frame
HTML/CSS Integration: Good
Designed to be embedded within standard HTML pages.
Galacean Engine
HTML/CSS Integration: Yes
Integrates into standard web development workflows.
Host Anywhere
Needle
Host Anywhere: Yes
The core runtime can be self-hosted on any static server. Needle Cloud features (optimization, hosting, analytics) require the cloud service.
A-Frame
Host Anywhere: Yes
Deployable on static web servers.
Galacean Engine
Host Anywhere: Yes
Deployable on static web servers.
Asset Hosting
Needle
Asset Hosting: Yes
Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets.
A-Frame
Asset Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for assets.
Galacean Engine
Asset Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for assets.
App Hosting
Needle
App Hosting: Yes
Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized applications.
A-Frame
App Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for the application files.
Galacean Engine
App Hosting: No
Not a hosting platform; requires external hosting.
Performance & Optimization
Engine Size
Medium
Needle
Engine Size: Medium
Optimized runtime aims for minimal footprint, size depends on included features.
Small/Medium
A-Frame
Engine Size: Small/Medium
Includes three.js plus the A-Frame framework layer and components.
Small/Medium
Galacean Engine
Engine Size: Small/Medium
Aims for a lightweight runtime suitable for mobile web.
Loading Performance
Excellent
Needle
Loading Performance: Excellent
Rapid development cycles and fast loading times through optimized runtime and asset handling.
Fast/Moderate
A-Frame
Loading Performance: Fast/Moderate
Generally good loading performance, depends on included components and assets.
Fast
Galacean Engine
Loading Performance: Fast
Optimization for fast loading on mobile is a key design goal.
Runtime Performance
Excellent
Needle
Runtime Performance: Excellent
Designed for efficient rendering performance across desktop, mobile, and XR devices.
Good
A-Frame
Runtime Performance: Good
Offers good performance, though the abstraction layer might introduce minor overhead compared to raw three.js for complex scenes.
High
Galacean Engine
Runtime Performance: High
Targets high runtime performance, especially on mobile devices.
Smart Asset Optimization
Excellent
Needle
Smart Asset Optimization: Excellent
Needle Cloud provides significant automated optimization: LOD generation, mesh optimization, extensive texture compression (Basis Universal, WebP, JPG, PNG) and resizing options.
A-Frame
Smart Asset Optimization: No
Relies on users providing optimized assets (e.g., glTF with Draco/Basis).
Basic
Galacean Engine
Smart Asset Optimization: Basic
Supports optimized formats like glTF with Draco/Basis, relies on external tools for complex optimization.
Mesh and Texture LODs
Excellent
Needle
Mesh and Texture LODs: Excellent
Supports automatic mesh simplification, level-of-detail generation and automatic texture compression with multiple quality levels.
Via Components
A-Frame
Mesh and Texture LODs: Via Components
Not built-in, but available through community components or manual implementation.
Galacean Engine
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
No automatic simplifciation or LOD generation.
XR Support (AR/VR/Spatial)
VR Support (WebXR)
Needle
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports VR headsets via the WebXR standard.
A-Frame
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
One of the primary goals of A-Frame is to simplify WebVR development.
Limited
Galacean Engine
VR Support (WebXR): Limited
Primary focus is 2D/3D mobile web, not immersive VR.
AR Support (WebXR)
Needle
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports markerless WebAR on compatible Android devices via the WebXR standard.
A-Frame
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports AR via WebXR on compatible Android devices.
Limited
Galacean Engine
AR Support (WebXR): Limited
Primary focus is 2D/3D mobile web, AR support might be basic or via extensions.
AR Support (iOS)
Needle
AR Support (iOS): Yes
Supports interactive markerless WebAR on iOS devices via WebXR.
A-Frame
AR Support (iOS): No
Requires external libraries.
Limited
Galacean Engine
AR Support (iOS): Limited
Focus is not primarily on AR.
AR Support (visionOS)
Needle
AR Support (visionOS): Yes
Explicit support for creating spatial computing experiences deployable on visionOS.
A-Frame
AR Support (visionOS): No
Requires external libraries.
Galacean Engine
AR Support (visionOS): No
Not a target platform.
AR Tracking Types
Surface
Image
Needle
AR Tracking Types: Surface, Image
Supports World Tracking via the WebXR standard on compatible devices. Image tracking is supported on iOS AR but requires a device-specific flag for Android AR.
Surface
A-Frame
AR Tracking Types: Surface
Supports World Tracking via WebXR.
N/A
Galacean Engine
AR Tracking Types: N/A
Not AR-focused.
Ecosystem & Support
Official Support Availability
Needle
Official Support Availability: Yes
Dedicated support available for licensed users.
A-Frame
Official Support Availability: No
Support is community-driven.
Galacean Engine
Official Support Availability: No
Support is community-driven, backed by Ant Group's development.
Learning Resources
Needle
Learning Resources: Yes
Extensive documentation, tutorials, live samples, and active community support.
Excellent
A-Frame
Learning Resources: Excellent
Extensive documentation, examples, a large registry of community components, and active community channels.
Good
Galacean Engine
Learning Resources: Good
Offers documentation, examples, and official toolkits.
License
Commercial
Needle
License: Commercial
Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available.
Open Source
A-Frame
License: Open Source
Available under the MIT license.
Open Source
Galacean Engine
License: Open Source
Available under the permissive MIT license.

FAQ – frequently asked questions

Needle Cloud arrow_upward

Needle Engine arrow_upward

Usecases arrow_upward

Licensing and Compliance arrow_upward

Company Roadmap FAQ Compare Solutions Report Problem

Send us a message

Send a message to the Needle team. Please describe any feedback you have, if you encountered any problem on the website or send us a feature request. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Contact

Send us a message

Send a message to the Needle team. Please describe any feedback you have, if you encountered any problem on the website or send us a feature request. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Imprint