Angular Forms: Template-driven vs Reactive Forms

Handling user input is a key part of any frontend application, and Angular provides two powerful approaches to build and manage forms: Template-driven forms and Reactive forms.

Understanding their differences will help you choose the right approach for your project.

---

Template-driven Forms

Template-driven forms rely heavily on Angular’s directives (ngModel, ngForm) and template syntax.

Example

<form #f="ngForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit(f)">
  <input 
    type="email" 
    name="email" 
    ngModel 
    required 
    email
    placeholder="Enter your email"
  />
  <button type="submit" [disabled]="f.invalid">Submit</button>
</form>

Key Features

• ✅ Easy to set up, minimal code in the component.
• ✅ Great for simple forms with just a few fields.
• ❌ Harder to test and scale for large or dynamic forms.
• ❌ Logic is split between template and component, which can get messy.

---

Reactive Forms

Reactive forms are model-driven, meaning the form structure is defined in the component class and linked to the template.

Example

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { FormBuilder, Validators } from '@angular/forms';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-login',
  templateUrl: './login.component.html'
})
export class LoginComponent {

  readonly #fb = inject(FormBuilder);

  form = this.#fb.group({
    email: ['', [Validators.required, Validators.email]],
    password: ['', Validators.required]
  });

  onSubmit() {
    console.log(this.form.value);
  }
}

<form [formGroup]="form" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()">
  <input type="email" formControlName="email" placeholder="Enter your email" />
  <input type="password" formControlName="password" placeholder="Enter your password" />
  <button type="submit" [disabled]="form.invalid">Login</button>
</form>

Key Features

• ✅ Ideal for complex forms (nested groups, arrays of controls).
• ✅ Better testability and maintainability.
• ✅ Validation logic stays in the component (clean separation of concerns).
• ❌ Requires more boilerplate code to get started.

---

When to Use Which?

Criteria	Template-driven Forms	Reactive Forms
Learning curve	Low	Moderate
Setup complexity	Simple	More verbose
Best for	Small forms	Large/complex forms
Validation	In template	In component
Testability	Harder	Easier
Dynamic form generation	Limited	Excellent

---

Hybrid Approach

You don’t have to choose one exclusively!

Many Angular apps use template-driven forms for quick/simple inputs and reactive forms for advanced sections.

---

Conclusion

• Use Template-driven forms for quick, simple cases where you just need a couple of fields.
• Use Reactive forms when you need scalability, dynamic behavior, and strong validation.

👉 The right choice depends on your form complexity and your team’s workflow.

---

💡 Pro Tip: Start small with template-driven forms if you’re new to Angular, then move to reactive forms for real-world applications.