Best UI libraries in 2026
Component libraries and styling tools for building interfaces. 13 tools, ranked by live GitHub and npm numbers.
| Tool | Pricing | GitHub stars | npm a week | Last release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material UIReact component library implementing Google's Material Design, with free core and paid MUI X components. | Freemium | 99.1k | 13M | 1 month ago |
| Tailwind CSSUtility-first CSS framework for building custom designs directly in markup, now owned by Shopify. | Freemium | 97.8k | 163M | 2 months ago |
| DaisyUIComponent class plugin for Tailwind CSS, adding semantic component names like btn and card. | Freemium | 42.6k | 1.2M | 1 week ago |
| NextUIDiscontinued name: this React component library was rebranded to HeroUI. | Freemium | 30.9k | 771k | 2 weeks ago |
UI Libraries comparisons
All 14 comparisonsMaterial UIvsRadix UI
Material UI (MUI) gives you over 40 free, pre-styled components implementing Google's Material Design, plus paid MUI X components like data grids and date pickers.
Headless UIvsshadcn/ui
Headless UI is a small, focused set of unstyled, accessible components from the Tailwind CSS team, installed as a normal npm package for React or Vue.
MantinevsTailwind CSS
Mantine is a React component library with over 100 pre-styled components and hooks, ready to use out of the box.
Radix UIvsChakra UI
Radix UI gives you unstyled, accessible React primitives with no visual styling at all, meant to be styled entirely by you.
Mantinevsshadcn/ui
Mantine is a React component library you install as a normal npm dependency, with over 100 pre-styled components and matching hooks ready to use.
Ant DesignvsTailwind CSS
Ant Design is a free, open source React component library with a large set of pre-styled components, built by Alibaba's Ant Group and aimed particularly at enterprise applications like admin dashboards and internal tools.
DaisyUIvsTailwind CSS
Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that lets developers style elements by composing small utility classes directly in markup.
MantinevsRadix UI
Mantine is a free, open source React component library with over 100 styled, customizable components and hooks, covering forms, dates, notifications and more with default visual styling included.
Alternatives
How to choose
UI libraries come in three forms. Styled libraries ship finished components with a default look. Unstyled libraries, also called headless or primitives, handle behavior and accessibility and leave the look to you. Copy-in collections give you component source code to keep in your own project.
Choose by how much of the look you want to own. A styled library is fastest for dashboards and internal tools. Unstyled primitives suit teams building their own design system. Check that the library supports your framework before anything else.
What to compare
- Styled, unstyled or copy-in components
- Frameworks supported
- Number of components
- How styling works: CSS framework, CSS-in-JS or plain CSS
- Accessibility support
- License, and any paid components
Questions
What is a headless UI library?
It provides the behavior of components, such as keyboard handling, focus and accessibility, with no styling. You add the look yourself, which makes it a good base for a custom design system.
Should I mix two component libraries?
It is better to pick one. Two styled libraries add weight to the page and rarely look consistent together. Pairing one styled library with unstyled primitives for the gaps works well.
Are these libraries free?
Most are open source and free. A few sell extra components or templates on top of a free core. Each tool page lists the license and anything that is paid.