The Vampire Diaries and Twilight both have loyal fans, feature a teenage girl falling for a vampire, and premiered around the same time. TVD started airing on The CW in 2009 and the first movie in the Twilight saga was released in 2008. Besides having a major storyline in common, these two pop culture favorites are also based on books. TVD is a series by L.J. Smith and the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer are super popular.
If we're interested in vampires or romance, then chances are we've fallen for at least one of these series. And there are many ways that these two can be compared.
Keep reading for some ways that The Vampire Diaries tells a better story in this genre than Twilight, along with some ways that it doesn't.
14 Better: TVD Has A More Compelling Love Triangle With Damon, Eleana, And Stefan
While Twilight follows the romance between Bella and Edward and sometimes Jacob, nothing compares to the love triangle between Damon, Elena, and Stefan on The Vampire Diaries. This is one reason that TVD is better than Twilight.
This love triangle is compelling as it's unclear who Elena truly belongs with. She has amazing chemistry with both Salvatore brothers. However, in Twilight, Bella was never all that interested in Jacob romantically.
13 Lacks: The Dramatic Question Of Whether Bella Would Become A Vampire
On The Vampire Diaries, Elena doesn't become a vampire by choice. Instead, she passes away and becomes one because of the vampire blood inside of her.
In Twilight, the dramatic question of whether Bella would become a vampire in order to truly be with Edward or remain human has always been much more interesting. She decides to become one as being pregnant is going to kill her.
12 Better: The Minor Characters Are More Interesting Than The Ones In Twilight
Twilight lacks interesting minor characters. With the exception of Alice Cullen, who seems mysterious, the Cullen family is pretty dull and Bella's high school friends, including Jessica, aren't much to write home about.
The minor characters are way more interesting on The Vampire Diaries. Everyone from Elena's brother Jeremy to her best friends Caroline and Bonnie are cool and strong-willed.
11 Better: Elena's Human Life Is More Entertaining And Relatable Than Bella's
Bella lacks one major thing in Twilight: a relatable personality and life. She doesn't want anything to do with anything or anyone in her life other than Edwards
Elena's human teenage life is definitely more entertaining and easier to relate to. She seems popular enough at school and has friends and feels like a regular person.
10 Lacks: TVD Is Missing A Strong Family Dynamic Like What We Saw With The Cullens
Family life on The Vampire Diaries is complicated and difficult. The Salvatore brothers don't get along (to put it mildly) and Elena's parents tragically died.
The baseball scene in the first Twilight film proves that the Cullens are a fairly normal American family. Since normal families don't really exist in TVD's universe, this is a great switch up. Sure, they're vampires, but they do have some normal aspects.
9 Better: TVD Has Witches, Not Just Werewolves
The Vampire Diaries does something else better than Twilight: it has witches, not just werewolves.
Sure, Jacob is a good character, but he's no match for Elena's best friend Bonnie, who is sweet and smart and who also juggles being a regular teen girl with figuring out her magical powers.
8 Lacks: The Love Story In Twilight Is More Romantic Than Most Of The Ones We Saw In TVD
Edward and Bella's love story feels more romantic than the ones on The Vampire Diaries.
As a fan put it on Reddit, "The fact that Bella's only real priority was Edward and vice versa is such a nice 'idea.' It would never work out well IRL, but it's just fun to read about a situation in which two people love each other that way."
7 Lacks: The Cullens Are Morally Good, Which Is More Interesting Since TVD's Vampires Are All Evil (Besides Stefan)
While Stefan might be a good vampire, that's not exactly true of the rest of these characters on TVD. They're all super evil and fairly terrifying to watch.
The Cullen family, on the other hand, are morally good, which is more interesting since the concept of a nice vampire isn't really what we think of right away.
6 Better: It Has A Sense Of Humor Whereas Twilight Really Doesn't
A lot of death and dramatic scenes might go down on The Vampire Diaries, but that doesn't mean it's a super serious show.
The series has a sense of humor, and that's something that Twilight lacks. Bella is kind of self-important and doesn't exactly smile, laugh, or joke around with people very often.
5 Lacks: Bella And Jacob's Friendship Feels Sweet And Innocent
The friendship between Bella and Jacob feels sweet and innocent, even though, yes, he does have a huge crush on her. But they seem to just genuinely like hanging out when they get the chance to.
On TVD, the friendships all have conflict and an agenda. Caroline and Elena are often upset with one another because of their love lives. And Elena even almost murders Caroline near the end of season four.
