Which React UI Library Should You Choose in 2025?

Mar 22, 2026

Problem

When I started a new React project last month, I spent two days just choosing a UI library. I checked GitHub stars, read blog posts, asked on Discord. Every source gave a different answer.

The result? Analysis paralysis. I had evaluated 8 different libraries but still couldn’t decide.

I finally realized the problem: there is no single “best” library. The answer depends entirely on what you’re building.

What I Was Looking For

I needed a library for a SaaS dashboard with:

Data tables with sorting and filtering
Form components with validation
A modern look that doesn’t scream “default theme”
Easy customization (designer on the team has strong opinions)

My initial instinct was to check GitHub stars. But that led me down the wrong path.

What I Tried First

I started with Material UI because it had the most stars. Everyone knows Material Design, right?

npm install @mui/material @emotion/react @emotion/styled

The setup was easy. But within a week, I hit the customization wall. My designer wanted rounded buttons with custom shadows. MUI fought me every step.

import { Button } from '@mui/material';

// I just wanted a custom button...
<Button
  sx={{
    borderRadius: '12px',
    boxShadow: '0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)',
    // And 10 more overrides to override the overrides
  }}
>
  Submit
</Button>

The bundle size also concerned me:

# Material UI bundle impact
@mui/material: 310KB minified
@emotion/react: 85KB minified
@emotion/styled: 25KB minified

I was including 420KB just to render buttons and inputs. Something felt wrong.

What Actually Worked

I asked on Reddit r/reactjs and got some surprising answers.

Option 1: ShadCN UI

Someone mentioned ShadCN UI with an interesting pitch:

“The copy-paste approach means you actually own the components and can customize them without fighting the library.”

This caught my attention. ShadCN isn’t a traditional npm package. It copies component code directly into your project.

# Initialize ShadCN
npx shadcn@latest init

# Add only what you need
npx shadcn@latest add button
npx shadcn@latest add card
npx shadcn@latest add dialog

// This code lives in YOUR project
import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"

export function MyComponent() {
  return (
    <Button variant="destructive" onClick={handleDelete}>
      Delete Item
    </Button>
  )
}

The key difference: when I need to change something, I just edit the file. No overriding theme providers, no fighting sx props.

But there’s a tradeoff. You need to be comfortable with Tailwind CSS. If your team doesn’t know Tailwind, there’s a learning curve.

Option 2: Mantine

Another response stood out (29 upvotes):

“Mantine is really easy to implement, customize and provides a lot of hooks and utils that cover 90% of problems.”

I tried it:

npm install @mantine/core @mantine/hooks

import { Button, TextInput, Stack } from '@mantine/core';
import { useInputState } from '@mantine/hooks';

export function MyComponent() {
  const [value, setValue] = useInputState('');

  return (
    <Stack>
      <TextInput
        label="Email"
        value={value}
        onChange={setValue}
      />
      <Button>Submit</Button>
    </Stack>
  );
}

Mantine felt different. It’s not just components—it’s a complete toolkit. The hooks library alone saved me from installing 5 separate packages:

useInputState for form state
useDebouncedValue for search inputs
useLocalStorage for persisting preferences
useClickOutside for dropdown menus
useMediaQuery for responsive design

Option 3: PrimeReact for Enterprise

My colleague works on data-heavy enterprise apps. He pointed me to PrimeReact:

“The DataTable component blows every other UI library out of the water.”

import { DataTable } from 'primereact/datatable';
import { Column } from 'primereact/column';

export function EnterpriseTable({ data }) {
  return (
    <DataTable
      value={data}
      paginator
      rows={10}
      filterDisplay="row"
      sortMode="multiple"
    >
      <Column field="name" header="Name" sortable filter />
      <Column field="status" header="Status" sortable filter />
      <Column field="date" header="Date" sortable />
    </DataTable>
  );
}

This table has filtering, sorting, pagination, and responsive design built in. For enterprise dashboards, this level of component depth matters.

The Framework I Now Use

After all this trial and error, I developed a simple decision framework:

Project Type	Best Choice	Why
SaaS Startup	ShadCN UI	Fast iteration, full control, Tailwind-native
Enterprise App	PrimeReact	Rich data components, enterprise features
Full-Stack App	Mantine	Complete solution, hooks, utilities included
Design System	Headless UI	Maximum flexibility, build your own
Quick Prototype	Chakra UI	Fast setup, good defaults

My Evaluation Checklist

Before committing to any library, I now check:

Bundle Size: Use Bundlephobia before installing
Customization Test: Can I modify a component in 30 minutes?
Community Health: GitHub commits in last month, Discord activity, Stack Overflow answers
Accessibility: Does it have proper ARIA support out of the box?

The Reason Different Libraries Work for Different Projects

I think the key insight is: UI libraries solve different problems.

ShadCN solves the customization problem. You own the code. But you need Tailwind skills.

Mantine solves the completeness problem. Everything included. But you get more than you might need.

PrimeReact solves the enterprise problem. Deep component features. But heavier and more opinionated.

Material UI still works for internal tools where Material Design is acceptable. The problem is when you try to fight its design language.

Common Mistakes I Made

Choosing Based on GitHub Stars Alone Stars indicate popularity, not fit. MUI has 90k+ stars but wasn’t right for my project.
Ignoring Bundle Size I didn’t check until my Lighthouse score dropped. Now I run:
Terminal window
```
npx bundlephobia @mui/material
```
Underestimating Customization Needs Every project eventually needs custom components. Libraries that fight customization become roadblocks.
Not Considering Team Skills My team knew Tailwind. ShadCN should have been obvious from day one.

Summary

In this post, I showed how I evaluated React UI libraries and what I learned. The key point is: there is no single best library. Match your library to your project type.

If you want full control and use Tailwind, choose ShadCN UI. If you want a batteries-included solution, choose Mantine. For enterprise data-heavy applications, PrimeReact remains unmatched despite its older feel.

Stop researching and start building. You can always migrate later, but most teams never do because the cost is too high. Pick the one that feels right today and ship.

Final Words + More Resources

My intention with this article was to help others share my knowledge and experience. If you want to contact me, you can contact by email: Email me

Here are also the most important links from this article along with some further resources that will help you in this scope:

👨‍💻 Reddit Discussion: Best React UI Library 2025
👨‍💻 ShadCN UI Documentation
👨‍💻 Mantine Documentation
👨‍💻 PrimeReact Documentation

Oh, and if you found these resources useful, don’t forget to support me by starring the repo on GitHub!