Compare software

Elm vs PureScript: catalog facts
Elm	PureScript
Best for: Web developers who want a typed functional language for front ends	Best for: Developers who want Haskell-style typed functional programming for JavaScript targets
Free Free and open source under the BSD-3-Clause licence.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
Windows, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Compiler error messages explain problems and suggest fixes Type inference catches runtime errors at compile time All 4 strengths for Elm Compiler error messages explain problems and suggest fixes Type inference catches runtime errors at compile time Consistent program architecture across projects Online playground for trying the language	Expressive type system with row polymorphism and type classes Compiles to readable JavaScript with easy interop All 4 strengths for PureScript Expressive type system with row polymorphism and type classes Compiles to readable JavaScript with easy interop Editor support with instant rebuilds Searchable library documentation on Pursuit
Only targets web front ends Interop with JavaScript libraries takes extra work	Smaller ecosystem than mainstream JavaScript or TypeScript Functional style has a learning curve for newcomers
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Elm elm-lang.org Catalog checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for PureScript purescript.org Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.