Needle vs. three.js vs. Babylon.JS

See how Needle, three.js, and Babylon.JS 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
Low-level JavaScript library for creating 3D graphics directly in the browser using WebGL.
three.js
Open-source engine/framework with integrated visual tools, focusing on ease of use and comprehensive features for games and applications.
Babylon.JS
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.
3D Engine
three.js
Solution Type: 3d-engine
A foundational JavaScript library providing tools to draw 3D scenes using WebGL.
3D Engine
Web Component
Authoring Tool
Babylon.JS
Solution Type: 3d-engine, web-component, authoring-tool
A comprehensive framework providing an engine, rendering capabilities, and integrated tools like the Node Material Editor and Inspector.
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.
three.js
Made for the web: Yes
A foundational technology designed specifically for creating 3D graphics on the web.
Babylon.JS
Made for the web: Yes
Specifically designed and optimized for high-performance web rendering.
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.
Code
three.js
Typical Workflows: Code
Development is code-centric, writing JavaScript to define scenes, materials, and interactions.
Code
Web Editor
Babylon.JS
Typical Workflows: Code, Web Editor
Supports both code-based development (TypeScript/JavaScript) and visual tools like the Node Material Editor and Inspector for scene/material configuration.
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.
three.js
Use with Unity: No
No direct integration. Solutions like Needle make integrating with three.js seamless.
Babylon.JS
Use with Unity: No
No direct integration. Assets from Unity require export (e.g., glTF).
Use with Blender
Needle
Use with Blender: Yes
Integration with Blender via addon, supporting export of scenes, materials, animations, and custom logic nodes.
three.js
Use with Blender: No
No direct integration. Assets from Blender must be exported (e.g., as glTF) and loaded.
Babylon.JS
Use with Blender: Yes
Provides an official exporter plugin for Blender to facilitate asset transfer.
Interactivity Building Blocks
Needle
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Includes a rich set of components for common interactions, animations, and UI elements.
Limited
three.js
Interactivity Building Blocks: Limited
Three.js provides some built-in interactive components, for example loaders and camera controls, in the examples folder, but they require additional development to be used.
Limited
Babylon.JS
Interactivity Building Blocks: Limited
Offers various built-in behaviors and components for camera controls and similar, but interactions need to be created either through code or graph-based systems.
Extensible with Coding
Needle
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses TypeScript with full IDE support in both Unity and standalone projects.
three.js
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses JavaScript or TypeScript for all implementation, giving full control but requiring manual coding.
Babylon.JS
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Supports JavaScript or TypeScript development with comprehensive API.
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.
three.js
Physically-Based Rendering: Yes
Supports PBR materials, various shadow types, post-processing effects, and gives fine-grained rendering control.
Babylon.JS
Physically-Based Rendering: Yes
Offers advanced rendering features including PBR, IBL, advanced lighting and shadowing techniques, and post-processing effects.
Component System
Needle
Component System: Yes
Leverages the component-based architecture of Unity/Blender, extended with custom web-specific components.
three.js
Component System: No
Does not enforce an ECS architecture, though one can be implemented on top.
Babylon.JS
Component System: Yes
Uses an Entity Component System pattern (Nodes and Components).
Built-in Networking
Needle
Built-in Networking: Yes
Built-in real-time networking for multiplayer and collaborative applications.
three.js
Built-in Networking: No
Networking capabilities must be added using external libraries.
Babylon.JS
Built-in Networking: No
Requires external libraries or custom implementation for real-time networking.
Timelines and Sequencing
Needle
Timelines and Sequencing: Yes
Supports timeline-based sequencing, complex animations, animator state machines, blending, and more.
three.js
Timelines and Sequencing: No
Basic animation system exists, but no built-in timeline or sequencing system.
Babylon.JS
Timelines and Sequencing: No
Sequencing animations involves programming, not via a timeline or dedicated tools.
Animation Controls
Needle
Animation Controls: Yes
Supports complex animations authored in Unity (Animator, Timeline) or Blender and exports them for the web.
three.js
Animation Controls: Yes
Provides core functionalities for keyframe animation playback and morph targets.
Babylon.JS
Animation Controls: Yes
Includes an advanced animation system supporting keyframes, skeletal animation, and blending.
Animated Materials
Needle
Animated Materials: Yes
Supports material animations, shader graph, and procedural material effects.
three.js
Animated Materials: No
Supports material animation through code, but not for imported assets.
Babylon.JS
Animated Materials: Yes
Rich support for material animation, dynamic textures, and shader effects.
Audio Playback
Needle
Audio Playback: Yes
Supports spatial audio configured via Unity/Blender components.
three.js
Audio Playback: Yes
Includes support for positional audio using the Web Audio API.
Babylon.JS
Audio Playback: Yes
Features a comprehensive audio engine with support for spatial audio and effects.
Video Playback
Needle
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures and playback controlled via components.
three.js
Video Playback: Yes
Supports using HTML video elements as textures.
Babylon.JS
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures.
Physics Integration
Needle
Physics Integration: Yes
Integrates with physics engines, configured via Unity/Blender components.
three.js
Physics Integration: No
Requires integration with external physics libraries like Rapier, Cannon.js, or Ammo.js.
Babylon.JS
Physics Integration: Yes
Offers built-in physics integration with plugins for Havok and other engines.
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.
three.js
glTF 3D Support: Yes
Provides robust support for loading and interacting with the glTF 2.0 standard, but some extensions like material animations or physics are missing.
Excellent
Babylon.JS
glTF 3D Support: Excellent
Support for the glTF 2.0 standard, including many extensions.
Custom User Interfaces
Needle
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Facilitates creation of UI using standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks, integrated with the 3D scene.
three.js
Custom User Interfaces: No
UI creation typically involves integrating with HTML/DOM elements or using external UI libraries, no built-in support in three.js.
Babylon.JS
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Includes a dedicated 2D GUI system (Babylon GUI) for creating interfaces in 3D space or screen space.
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.
three.js
Web Component: No
It's a library, not a web component.
Babylon.JS
Web Component: Yes
Offers the Babylon Viewer, a web component for easily embedding models.
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.
three.js
PWA Support: No
As a JavaScript library, it can be used within Progressive Web Apps but provides no PWA features itself.
Babylon.JS
PWA Support: No
As a web-native JavaScript library, it can be used within Progressive Web Apps but provides no specific PWA features itself.
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.
three.js
HTML/CSS Integration: Yes
Integrates with standard HTML/JavaScript workflows, allowing rendering into a canvas element.
Babylon.JS
HTML/CSS Integration: Yes
Designed for the web, allowing integration with standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks.
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.
three.js
Host Anywhere: Yes
Applications can typically be hosted on static web servers.
Babylon.JS
Host Anywhere: Yes
Typically deployable on static web servers.
Asset Hosting
Needle
Asset Hosting: Yes
Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets.
three.js
Asset Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for 3D models and other assets.
Babylon.JS
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.
three.js
App Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for the application files.
Babylon.JS
App Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for the application files. Quick experiments can be hosted in the Playground.
Performance & Optimization
Engine Size
Medium
Needle
Engine Size: Medium
Optimized runtime aims for minimal footprint, size depends on included features.
Small
three.js
Engine Size: Small
The core library has a relatively small footprint, though application size depends on usage.
Medium
Babylon.JS
Engine Size: Medium
Core engine size is moderate, reflecting its rich feature set. Modular structure allows including only needed parts.
Loading Performance
Excellent
Needle
Loading Performance: Excellent
Rapid development cycles and fast loading times through optimized runtime and asset handling.
Fast
three.js
Loading Performance: Fast
Core library loads quickly; overall application load time depends heavily on asset sizes and application structure.
Moderate
Babylon.JS
Loading Performance: Moderate
Load times depend on included features and assets, generally good.
Runtime Performance
Excellent
Needle
Runtime Performance: Excellent
Designed for efficient rendering performance across desktop, mobile, and XR devices.
High
three.js
Runtime Performance: High
Offers high performance potential due to its low-level access, but optimization is the developer's responsibility.
High
Babylon.JS
Runtime Performance: High
Strong rendering performance, good WebGPU support.
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.
three.js
Smart Asset Optimization: No
Supports optimized formats like glTF (with Draco compression, KHR texture transforms etc.), but doesn't perform automatic optimization.
Babylon.JS
Smart Asset Optimization: Yes
Supports optimized formats (glTF, Draco, Basis Universal) and tools like the Inspector can aid optimization workflows. Some geometry/texture optimization possible.
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.
three.js
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
Basic support for mesh LODs, no built-in system for texture LODs.
Babylon.JS
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
No automatic mesh or texture LOD generation, but imported assets can have mesh LODs.
XR Support (AR/VR/Spatial)
VR Support (WebXR)
Needle
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports VR headsets via the WebXR standard.
three.js
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports VR experiences through the WebXR API.
Babylon.JS
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
Robust support for VR experiences via the WebXR standard.
AR Support (WebXR)
Needle
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports markerless WebAR on compatible Android devices via the WebXR standard.
three.js
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports AR experiences on compatible Android devices through the WebXR API.
Babylon.JS
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports markerless AR on Android via WebXR.
AR Support (iOS)
Needle
AR Support (iOS): Yes
Supports interactive markerless WebAR on iOS devices via WebXR.
Limited
three.js
AR Support (iOS): Limited
Limited support for static assets in QuickLook via USDZExporter.
Limited
Babylon.JS
AR Support (iOS): Limited
Non-interactive USDZ export of static assets via `USDZExportAsync().`
AR Support (visionOS)
Needle
AR Support (visionOS): Yes
Explicit support for creating spatial computing experiences deployable on visionOS.
Limited
three.js
AR Support (visionOS): Limited
Limited support for static assets in QuickLook via USDZExporter.
Limited
Babylon.JS
AR Support (visionOS): Limited
Non-interactive USDZ export of static assets via `USDZExportAsync()`.
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
three.js
AR Tracking Types: Surface
Primarily supports World Tracking via the WebXR API.
Surface
Babylon.JS
AR Tracking Types: Surface
Supports World Tracking via WebXR, with extensions for other features like image/marker tracking.
Ecosystem & Support
Official Support Availability
Needle
Official Support Availability: Yes
Dedicated support available for licensed users.
three.js
Official Support Availability: No
Support is primarily community-driven.
Babylon.JS
Official Support Availability: No
Community support is available, but official support is only provided for Enterprise customers.
Learning Resources
Needle
Learning Resources: Yes
Extensive documentation, tutorials, live samples, and active community support.
three.js
Learning Resources: Yes
Vast number of official examples, tutorials, books, and community resources available.
Babylon.JS
Learning Resources: Yes
Rich resources including the Playground for live coding, extensive documentation, examples, and tutorials.
License
Commercial
Needle
License: Commercial
Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available.
Open Source
three.js
License: Open Source
Available under the permissive MIT license.
Open Source
Babylon.JS
License: Open Source
Available under the permissive Apache License 2.0.

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