React gives you the flexibility to build UIs however you want—but with that flexibility comes a big question: which UI library should you use? There are tons out there, each with different philosophies, features, and trade-offs.

Some are full design systems. Others are just solid sets of base components.

Picking the right one can depend on what kind of app you're building, how much customization you need, or just what feels right to code with.

Let’s dive into a few of the most popular React UI libraries and show off one or two standout features for each—with actual code so you can get a taste of what using them feels like.

MUI

Starting with MUI—formerly known as Material-UI—it’s one of the most full-featured libraries available.

You get a deep component set, strong accessibility support, and Google’s Material Design baked in. One of the first things developers love is how fast you can get a sleek layout together.

Here’s a simple MUI form with a button:

import { TextField, Button, Container } from '@mui/material'; function LoginForm() { return ( <Container maxWidth="sm"> <TextField label="Email" fullWidth margin="normal" /> <TextField label="Password" type="password" fullWidth margin="normal" /> <Button variant="contained" color="primary">Login</Button> </Container> ); } 

Everything looks good out of the box. You barely need to write custom styles. If you want to tweak things, the theme system gives you deep control—but you can ignore it if you just want to move fast.

Chakra UI

Now jump over to Chakra UI, which has a different vibe. It emphasizes simplicity and composability using “style props.”

You can apply spacing, colors, and layout just by passing props—no CSS file or styled-components needed.

And everything is accessible by default.

Here’s the same kind of form using Chakra:

import { Box, Input, Button, Stack } from '@chakra-ui/react'; function LoginForm() { return ( <Box maxW="sm" mx="auto" mt={8}> <Stack spacing={4}> <Input placeholder="Email" /> <Input placeholder="Password" type="password" /> <Button colorScheme="teal">Login</Button> </Stack> </Box> ); } 

It’s concise and readable, and you get responsive, accessible components with almost no boilerplate.

Chakra also makes theming feel natural. If you’re building something modern and lightweight, it’s a great experience.

Tailwind and Headless UI

While we’re talking about styling and control, let’s bring in Tailwind CSS—and more specifically, Headless UI, which is made to pair with it.

Headless UI gives you functional components without styling, but with full accessibility.

For example, here’s how a dropdown menu looks using Headless UI and Tailwind:

import { Menu } from '@headlessui/react'; function Dropdown() { return ( <Menu as="div" className="relative inline-block text-left"> <Menu.Button className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-600 text-white rounded">Options</Menu.Button> <Menu.Items className="absolute mt-2 w-48 bg-white border rounded shadow-lg"> <Menu.Item> {({ active }) => ( <button className={`${active ? 'bg-blue-100' : ''} w-full px-4 py-2 text-left`}> Profile </button> )} </Menu.Item> </Menu.Items> </Menu> ); } 

You control all the styling with Tailwind, but you don’t have to write any of the keyboard or ARIA logic.

That’s a big win if you like to design your own look but still want accessibility to be handled well.

Now, let’s talk about Ant Design, or AntD. It’s widely used in enterprise apps and internal dashboards. It gives you advanced components out of the box, including things like tables with filtering and pagination, or date pickers with locale support.

Here’s how fast you can build a data table:

import { Table } from 'antd'; const data = [ { key: '1', name: 'John Doe', age: 32, email: 'john@example.com' }, { key: '2', name: 'Jane Smith', age: 28, email: 'jane@example.com' }, ]; const columns = [ { title: 'Name', dataIndex: 'name' }, { title: 'Age', dataIndex: 'age' }, { title: 'Email', dataIndex: 'email' }, ]; function UserTable() { return <Table dataSource={data} columns={columns} />; } 

That’s it. You get sorting, styling, and responsiveness with barely any code. AntD leans opinionated, so it shines when you want consistency and don't need to heavily restyle every component.

React Bootstrap

Then there’s React Bootstrap, which brings the classic Bootstrap framework into the React world. If you’ve used Bootstrap in the past, it’ll feel familiar.

It’s not trendy, but it’s steady and well-documented.

Here’s a simple layout using React Bootstrap:

import { Form, Button, Container } from 'react-bootstrap'; function ContactForm() { return ( <Container> <Form> <Form.Group controlId="formName"> <Form.Label>Name</Form.Label> <Form.Control type="text" placeholder="Enter your name" /> </Form.Group> <Form.Group controlId="formMessage" className="mt-3"> <Form.Label>Message</Form.Label> <Form.Control as="textarea" rows={3} /> </Form.Group> <Button className="mt-3" variant="primary" type="submit"> Send </Button> </Form> </Container> ); } 

It’s simple and structured. If your team is used to Bootstrap, or you're maintaining an older UI with new React features, React Bootstrap is an easy win.

Mantine

Now for a slightly newer contender: Mantine. It’s modern, modular, and offers both components and custom hooks.

You get thoughtful defaults, dark mode support, and nice utility features like modals and notifications built right in.

Let’s check out a color picker with Mantine:

import { ColorInput } from '@mantine/core'; function ThemeSettings() { return <ColorInput label="Pick a primary color" placeholder="#ffffff" />; } 

Or a notification, which is shockingly simple:

import { showNotification } from '@mantine/notifications'; showNotification({ title: 'Success!', message: 'Your form was submitted', color: 'green', }); 

These kinds of helpers make Mantine feel like it’s thinking ahead for you.
It’s gaining popularity quickly, especially for teams that want built-in solutions without sacrificing customizability.

And finally, if you want to go as low-level as possible while still avoiding accessibility pitfalls, look at Radix UI. Radix provides primitive components—like popovers, sliders, or tabs—but leaves all the styling to you.

Here’s a simple example of a popover:

import * as Popover from '@radix-ui/react-popover'; function HelpPopover() { return ( <Popover.Root> <Popover.Trigger className="bg-gray-200 p-2 rounded">?</Popover.Trigger> <Popover.Content className="bg-white border p-4 rounded shadow-md"> Here's some helpful info. </Popover.Content> </Popover.Root> ); } 

It handles positioning, focus trapping, accessibility—but not styles.

It's perfect if you want to bring your own design system but still want accessibility and usability covered.

Conclusion

Each of these libraries shines in its own way. MUI gives you polish and structure.

Chakra offers intuitive styling. Headless UI and Radix give you raw power and accessibility.

AntD is great for enterprise needs. React Bootstrap offers legacy familiarity. Mantine brings convenience and elegance.

There’s no universal answer. It’s about matching the library to your needs—how much freedom you want, how much you want to customize, and what kind of project you’re building.