Three.js

Three.js is how the web does 3D. With 111K+ stars, it's the undisputed standard for rendering 3D graphics in the browser using WebGL (and now WebGPU). Product configurators, data visualizations, games, VR experiences — if it's 3D and runs in a browser, it's probably Three.js.

If you're adding 3D to a web app, start here. Babylon.js is the main alternative — more batteries-included, better physics, and backed by Microsoft. PlayCanvas offers a visual editor for game development. React Three Fiber wraps Three.js for React developers. Commercially, Unity and Unreal can export to WebGL but that's bringing a tank to a knife fight.

The abstraction level is right: high enough to be productive, low enough to access raw WebGL when needed. The examples library is enormous, and the community has solved almost every 3D web problem.

The catch: Three.js has no built-in physics, no visual editor, and no scene management — you build or choose those yourself. Performance optimization requires understanding WebGL concepts (draw calls, geometry instancing, texture atlasing). The API surface is massive and not always consistent. And 3D math is just hard — Three.js doesn't change that.