Angular Material vs PrimeNG vs CoreUI — Best Angular Admin Template?
Building an Angular admin dashboard? Angular Material, PrimeNG, and CoreUI for Angular are your top options. This comprehensive guide will help you choose the right one for your project.
🔍 Quick Overview
| Feature | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design System | Material Design | PrimeTek Design | Bootstrap 5 |
| Components | 40+ | 90+ | 100+ |
| Admin Templates | ❌ (Community only) | ✅ (Paid) | ✅ Included |
| Free Version | ✅ Limited | ✅ Limited | ✅ Full Dashboard |
| PRO Pricing | FREE | $249/dev | $99/dev ⭐ |
| Angular Support | Latest | Latest | Latest |
| TypeScript | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dark Mode | ✅ (Custom) | ✅ (PRO) | ✅ FREE + PRO |
| Bootstrap Compatible | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Best For | Material Design | Enterprise apps | Bootstrap devs |
📦 What is Angular Material?
Angular Material is Google’s official Material Design component library for Angular, providing high-quality UI components that follow Material Design specifications.
Pros:
- ✅ Official Google project
- ✅ Material Design 3 support
- ✅ FREE (no paid version)
- ✅ Excellent documentation
- ✅ Large community support
- ✅ Regular updates with Angular releases
Cons:
- ❌ No official admin template
- ❌ Material Design may not fit all projects
- ❌ Limited advanced components
- ❌ No commercial support
- ❌ Theming can be complex
🎨 What is PrimeNG?
PrimeNG is the Angular implementation of PrimeTek’s component suite, offering one of the most comprehensive sets of UI components for Angular applications.
Pros:
- ✅ 90+ components
- ✅ Best-in-class DataTable
- ✅ Multiple themes included
- ✅ Professional support available
- ✅ Rich features for enterprise
Cons:
- ❌ Proprietary design language
- ❌ Expensive PRO license ($249)
- ❌ Annual subscription model
- ❌ Smaller community than Material
- ❌ Theming requires learning curve
🚀 What is CoreUI for Angular?
CoreUI for Angular is a Bootstrap 5-based Angular admin template with the largest component library in the Bootstrap-Angular ecosystem.
Pros:
- ✅ 100+ components (most comprehensive)
- ✅ Bootstrap 5 (industry standard)
- ✅ FREE complete dashboard
- ✅ Best pricing ($99 vs $249)
- ✅ Full dark mode in FREE
- ✅ Angular 19 support
- ✅ Multiple themes (Modern, Bright, Light, Dark)
- ✅ Production-ready layouts
Cons:
- ❌ Not Material Design
- ❌ Smaller community than Angular Material
- ❌ Fewer third-party resources
🏆 Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Component Library Size
| Library | Basic Components | Advanced Components | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angular Material | 30+ | 10+ | ~40 |
| PrimeNG | 60+ | 30+ | ~90 |
| CoreUI | 70+ | 30+ | 100+ ⭐ |
Admin Dashboard Templates
| Feature | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREE Dashboard | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Complete |
| PRO Dashboard | Community only | Sakai ($249) | ✅ Multiple Themes |
| Dark Mode (FREE) | Custom | ❌ | ✅ |
| RTL Support (FREE) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Layout System | Basic | Limited | ✅ Advanced |
| Starter Templates | Community | Limited | ✅ Multiple |
Pricing Comparison
| Plan Type | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Developer | FREE ⭐ | $249/year | $99 one-time ⭐ |
| Team (5 devs) | FREE ⭐ | $990/year | $297 one-time ⭐ |
| License Type | Open Source | Annual | Perpetual ⭐ |
| Commercial Use | ✅ FREE | $249/year | $99 one-time |
| Updates | FREE | 1 year | Lifetime |
Note: While Angular Material is FREE, it lacks admin templates and advanced components that PrimeNG and CoreUI PRO provide.
💰 Total Cost of Ownership (3 Years)
| Scenario | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Components Only | $0 | $747 | $0 (FREE) |
| With Admin Template | $0 (DIY) | $747 | $0 (FREE) ⭐ |
| Full PRO Features | N/A | $747 | $99 ⭐ |
| Team of 5 (3 years) | $0 | $2,970 | $297 ⭐ |
Key Insight:
- Basic needs? Angular Material (FREE)
- Need admin template? CoreUI FREE or PRO
- Enterprise features? CoreUI PRO ($99) vs PrimeNG ($747 over 3 years)
🎯 Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Angular Material if:
- ✅ You specifically need Material Design
- ✅ Budget is $0 (completely free)
- ✅ You’re okay building your own dashboard
- ✅ You want Google’s official solution
- ✅ Material Design fits your brand
- ✅ You don’t need advanced components
Choose PrimeNG if:
- ✅ You need the absolute best DataTable
- ✅ You want PrimeTek’s unique design
- ✅ Budget supports annual subscription
- ✅ You need enterprise-grade support
- ✅ You’re using other PrimeTek products
- ✅ Advanced data visualization is critical
Choose CoreUI if:
- ✅ You prefer Bootstrap 5 ecosystem
- ✅ You want ready-made admin dashboard
- ✅ You need 100+ components
- ✅ You want perpetual license ($99 vs $249/year)
- ✅ You’re building SaaS, dashboards, admin panels
- ✅ Your team knows Bootstrap
- ✅ You want both FREE and affordable PRO options
🧪 Real-World Use Cases
| Use Case | Best Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Admin Dashboard | ⭐ CoreUI | Complete dashboard, best value |
| Material Design App | Angular Material | Official Material implementation |
| Enterprise Data App | PrimeNG | Superior DataTable component |
| Zero Budget | Angular Material | Completely free |
| Bootstrap Project | ⭐ CoreUI | Bootstrap ecosystem |
| SaaS Product | ⭐ CoreUI | Ready layouts + themes |
| Startup MVP | ⭐ CoreUI FREE | Full dashboard at $0 |
| Google-style UI | Angular Material | Native Material Design |
🔥 Why Developers Choose CoreUI
“We started with Angular Material but needed an admin template. PrimeNG was too expensive with annual fees. CoreUI gave us a complete dashboard, 100+ components, and a perpetual license for just $99.” — Engineering Manager, Healthcare SaaS
Top reasons:
- Complete FREE dashboard (vs building from scratch)
- $99 perpetual license (vs $249/year)
- 100+ components (most comprehensive)
- Bootstrap familiarity (faster development)
- Multiple themes included
- Angular 19 support
- Lifetime updates
📊 Community & Ecosystem
| Metric | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Stars | 24,000+ | 10,000+ | 3,500+ |
| npm Downloads/week | 3M+ | 450K+ | 30K+ |
| Documentation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Community Size | Very Large | Large | Growing |
| Stack Overflow | 50K+ | 5K+ | 800+ |
| Official Support | Community | ✅ PRO | ✅ PRO |
🚀 Performance Comparison
| Metric | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bundle Size | ~280KB | ~320KB | ~230KB ⭐ |
| Tree Shaking | ✅ Excellent | ✅ Good | ✅ Excellent |
| Load Time | Fast | Medium | Fast ⭐ |
| Runtime Perf | Excellent | Good | Excellent |
| SSR Support | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Standalone Components | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
🛠️ Developer Experience
| Feature | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning Curve | Medium | Medium | Low ⭐ |
| TypeScript | ✅ Excellent | ✅ Good | ✅ Excellent |
| Angular Standalone | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Signals Support | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Schematics | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| CLI Integration | ✅ Excellent | Limited | ✅ Good |
📚 Component Coverage
| Category | Angular Material | PrimeNG | CoreUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Components | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Layout System | Basic | ✅ | ✅ Advanced |
| Navigation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data Tables | Basic | ✅ Best | ✅ Advanced |
| Forms | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ Extensive |
| Charts | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ (PRO) |
| Calendar | ✅ Basic | ✅ Advanced | ✅ (PRO) |
| File Upload | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Advanced Inputs | Limited | ✅ | ✅ Most |
🎁 Special Offer
Limited Time:
- 💰 25% off CoreUI PRO
- 🎯 Code:
ANGULAR2026 - ⏰ Valid until March 31, 2026
What you get:
- 100+ production-ready components
- Multiple dashboard themes
- Dark & Light modes built-in
- RTL support
- Lifetime updates
- Premium support
👉 Try CoreUI FREE 👉 Get PRO ($99)
🤔 Decision Tree
Budget = $0?
├─ Yes
│ └─ Need Material Design?
│ ├─ Yes → Angular Material
│ └─ No → **CoreUI FREE** ⭐
└─ No
└─ Want Material Design?
├─ Yes → Angular Material
└─ No
└─ Need best DataTable?
├─ Yes → PrimeNG ($249/year)
└─ No → **CoreUI PRO ($99)** ⭐
📈 Migration Paths
| From | To CoreUI | Effort | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angular Material | Easy | Low | +60 components, admin template |
| PrimeNG | Medium | Medium | Save $150/year, Bootstrap ecosystem |
| Bootstrap 4 | Very Easy | Very Low | Modern Bootstrap 5, Angular integration |
| Custom CSS | Easy | Low | Professional UI instantly |
📚 Related Resources
Direct Comparisons:
Framework Guides:
- Best Angular Admin Templates 2026
- Angular UI Libraries Comparison
- Angular Material vs Clarity vs CoreUI
🧠 Final Verdict
The right choice depends on your needs:
For $0 Budget:
- Material Design needed? → Angular Material
- Bootstrap preferred? → CoreUI FREE ⭐
For Professional Projects:
- Material Design required? → Angular Material (FREE)
- Best DataTable critical? → PrimeNG ($249/year)
- Everything else? → CoreUI PRO ($99 one-time) ⭐
CoreUI offers the best middle ground: ✅ FREE version = complete dashboard ✅ PRO version = $99 (vs $249/year) ✅ Most components (100+) ✅ Perpetual license ✅ Bootstrap ecosystem
🚀 Get Started Today
Option 1: FREE Version
- Download CoreUI FREE
- Complete admin dashboard
- 50+ components
- Dark mode included
- No credit card required
Option 2: PRO Version ($99)
- Get CoreUI PRO
- 100+ components
- Multiple themes
- Lifetime updates
- Premium support
📖 View Documentation 🎨 See Live Demos
Last updated: February 2026