JavaScript is Fast.
But Wasm is Metal.
V8 is a miracle of engineering, but it still has garbage collection pauses and JIT overhead.
WebAssembly (Wasm) runs binary code at near-native speeds. It's the secret weapon behind Figma, Photoshop Web, and Google Earth.
02. The Hybrid Model
Don't rewrite your React app in Rust (Yew/Leptos) unless you really need to. The winning strategy in 2026 is Hybrid:
- UI / State / Network: JavaScript (React/Angular)
- Heavy Compute (Image/Video/Crypto): WebAssembly (Rust/C++)
(UI Updates)
(Number Crunching)
03. Rust to Wasm in 3 Steps
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// 1. Write Rust Function#[wasm_bindgen]pub fngrayscale_image(data: &mut [u8]) {'{'} ... {'}'}
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// 2. Buildwasm-pack build --target web
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// 3. Import in JSimportinit, {'{'} grayscale_image {'}'}from'./pkg/image_lib.js';
05. The Senior Engineer's Take
When NOT to use Wasm
Wasm has a "boundary cost." Marshalling data (copying strings/objects) between JS memory and Wasm memory can be slower than just doing the math in JS for small tasks.
Rule of Thumb: Only use Wasm if the computation takes >100ms in JavaScript or involves complex binary data processing (parsers, encoders, crypto).