Scribe vs Froala Editor
Froala is a polished commercial editor — but it requires a paid license key and adds 200KB+ to your bundle. Scribe is the MIT-licensed open-source alternative: 4× lighter, zero dependencies, no license key, and a cleaner API. Everything you need, nothing you pay for.
Froala requires a commercial license
Froala Editor is a proprietary product. Production use requires a paid subscription or perpetual license purchased per developer seat. A license key must be embedded in your code — even for local development and staging environments.
- Scribe: MIT — use in open source, SaaS, startups, or enterprise forever, free
- No watermark, no branding nag, no expiry
- Self-hosted, no CDN dependency, no phone-home calls
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Scribe | Froala |
|---|---|---|
| Bundle size (gzipped) | < 50KB | ~200KB+ |
| Runtime dependencies | Zero | Several |
| License | MIT (free forever) | Commercial (paid) |
| License key required | ||
| Direct API (bold()) | ||
| Floating toolbar | ||
| Iframe editing | ||
| Plugin system | ||
| TypeScript | ||
| Built-in sanitization | ||
| Framework agnostic | ||
| Word / Docs paste | ||
| Zero config init | ||
| Enterprise support |
Code Comparison
ScribeNo key, no config
import { Scribe } from 'scribejs-editor';
// Free, no license key, no account needed
const editor = Scribe.init('#editor');
editor.bold();
editor.italic();
editor.link('https://example.com');
editor.heading(2);
const html = editor.getHTML();FroalaLicense key required
import FroalaEditor from 'froala-editor';
import 'froala-editor/css/froala_editor.pkgd.min.css';
// License key required — even for evaluation
const editor = new FroalaEditor('#editor', {
key: 'YOUR-LICENSE-KEY-HERE', // Mandatory
pluginsEnabled: [
'align', 'charCounter', 'codeBeautifier',
'draggable', 'embedly', 'emoticons',
'file', 'fontFamily', 'fontSize', // ...many more
],
toolbarButtons: {
moreText: { buttons: ['bold', 'italic', 'underline'] },
moreParagraph: { buttons: ['alignLeft', 'alignCenter'] },
moreRich: { buttons: ['insertLink', 'insertImage'] },
},
events: {
initialized: function () {
// Setup complete callback
}
}
});Choose Scribe when…
Choose Froala when…
No license fees. No key. Just an editor.
Scribe is MIT-licensed, free forever, and ships in under 50KB. No strings attached.
Scribe vs Froala — common questions
Is Scribe Editor a free alternative to Froala?
Yes. Scribe Editor is fully free and open source under the MIT license — no license key, no subscription, no usage fees. Froala Editor is a commercial product that requires a paid license for production use, with pricing based on developer seats and project type.
How does Scribe compare in size to Froala?
Scribe Editor is under 50KB gzipped with zero runtime dependencies. Froala's full bundle is over 200KB, including its CSS, and has several JavaScript dependencies. For performance-sensitive applications, Scribe loads significantly faster.
Does Scribe have the same features as Froala?
Scribe covers all core rich text features: bold, italic, underline, headings, links, lists, images, floating toolbar, fixed toolbar, iframe editing, and safe paste from Word/Google Docs. Froala's paid tier adds features like special characters, emoticons, code beautifier, and enterprise CDN. For most web apps, Scribe's feature set is sufficient.
Does Scribe require a license key like Froala?
No. Scribe Editor requires no license key, no account registration, and no API key. Install it with npm and start using it immediately. Froala requires a license key even for local development and evaluation.
Also compare Scribe with:
Use Scribe in your framework: