JqGrid and DataTable comparision

	jqGrid	Datatable	Datatable (server side)
Data format JSON	(returned by server) HTML	(embedded in web page) JSON	(returned by server)
Sorting	Server side	Client side	Server side
Paging	Server side	Client side	Server side
Filtering/Search	Server side Supports both toolbar search and Custom search	Client side Provides API for column search	Server side
Editing	Supports both in-line editing and form editing (we can display the selected record in a pop-up for editing).	Form editing not supported. In-line editing is supported by jEditable plugin.	Form editing not supported. In-line editing is supported by jEditable plugin.
Add/Delete	Built-in support	jEditable and data tables editable plugins required.	jEditable and data tables editable plugins required.
Performance	Better performance with high volume of data.	Not suited for high volume of data.	Slows down with high volume of data.
Development	Extensive Documentation and examples available	Easy to use	Relatively involves more client side scripting.
Asp.Net MVC Helper methods	Both commercial and open source libraries available. Open source library (Lib.Web.Mvc) on codeplex Library provides helper methods for different operations and creating grid control in the view. It also allows to configure/format columns on the server side using data annotations e.g., we can define a javascript function for column rendering, which can display images, format strings, etc. and attach the formatter function to the column using attribute. Server side validation can be implemented using data annotations.	Not available	Not available