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:

Cons:


🎨 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:

Cons:


🚀 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:

Cons:


🏆 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:


🎯 Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Angular Material if:

Choose PrimeNG if:

Choose CoreUI if:


🧪 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:

  1. Complete FREE dashboard (vs building from scratch)
  2. $99 perpetual license (vs $249/year)
  3. 100+ components (most comprehensive)
  4. Bootstrap familiarity (faster development)
  5. Multiple themes included
  6. Angular 19 support
  7. 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:

What you get:

👉 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

Direct Comparisons:

Framework Guides:


🧠 Final Verdict

The right choice depends on your needs:

For $0 Budget:

For Professional Projects:

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

  1. Download CoreUI FREE
  2. Complete admin dashboard
  3. 50+ components
  4. Dark mode included
  5. No credit card required

Option 2: PRO Version ($99)

  1. Get CoreUI PRO
  2. 100+ components
  3. Multiple themes
  4. Lifetime updates
  5. Premium support

📖 View Documentation 🎨 See Live Demos


Last updated: February 2026