Suggest an editImprove this articleRefine the answer for “Why is the Virtual DOM faster than the regular DOM?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.Approval requiredContentWhat you’re changing🇺🇸EN🇺🇦UAPreviewTitle (EN)Short answer (EN)**The Virtual DOM** is faster than the regular DOM because of how and when updates happen: a framework first updates a lightweight JS copy, compares it with the previous version, and makes just one minimal real DOM update. **Key point:** the Virtual DOM speeds up the interface through a smart intermediate layer that reduces the load on the real DOM and the browser.Shown above the full answer for quick recall.Answer (EN)Image**The Virtual DOM** is faster than the regular DOM because of how and when updates happen. Here's the difference: --- ### 1. **The regular DOM** When you change the DOM directly (for example, through `document.querySelector().innerText = '...'`), the browser immediately: - recalculates layout (reflow) - performs a repaint - updates the actual pixels on screen Even small changes trigger heavy processes, especially with multiple updates. --- ### 2. **The Virtual DOM** This is a lightweight JS copy of the real DOM kept in memory. Frameworks (for example, React) first update this copy, then: - compare the new and old versions (diffing) - calculate the precise changes - make one minimal real update to the DOM --- ### Why this is faster: - there is no unnecessary reflow/repaint: they get deferred - changes are grouped and applied at once - only what actually changed gets touched - it saves the browser engine's work --- ### Summary: | Regular DOM | Virtual DOM | |---|---| | Instant, heavy updates | Lightweight, deferred, and optimized | | Many direct operations | One calculation → one entry point | | The browser does a lot of work | The framework filters before handing off to the browser | --- **Conclusion:** The Virtual DOM speeds up the interface through a smart intermediate layer that reduces the load on the real DOM and the browser. This makes animations, re-renders, and interactions noticeably smoother.For the reviewerNote to the moderator (optional)Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.