Looking for a HeroUI alternative? This page compares HeroUI and shadcn/ui, two popular UI component libraries. We are comparing features, size, efficiency and usage data to help you choose which component library is better for your next project.
HeroUI | shadcn/ui |
|---|---|
MIT License Open source MIT License | MIT License Open source MIT License |
Only React Frameworks HeroUI works only with React | Only React Frameworks shadcn only works with React |
43 Unique components HeroUI has 50 Components, 43 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same. | 43 Unique components shadcn has 50 components, 43 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same. |
2 Built-in Themes HeroUI has light and dark themes | 2 Built-in Themes shadcn has 2 themes |
No Supports more than two themes Does not support more than 2 themes at the same time | No Supports more than two themes Does not support more than 2 themes at the same time |
1.2MB JavaScript size Imported JavaScript bundle size (minified) | 2000kB JavaScript size Imported JavaScript bundle size (minified) of dependencies installed by shadcn CLI |
208 Dependencies HeroUI has 208 third-party dependencies. Using more third-party dependencies increases the risk of security vulnerabilities, compatibility problems, and long-term maintenance headaches from deprecated packages. | 159 Dependencies shadcn CLI installs 159 third-party dependencies (Not including React and Tailwind CSS). Using more third-party dependencies increases the risk of security vulnerabilities, compatibility problems, and long-term maintenance headaches from deprecated packages. |
37MB Dependency size | 91MB Dependency size |
23800 GitHub stars | 84900 GitHub stars |
71000 Used by open source projects Based on GitHub's public repositories | 22600 Used by open source projects Based on GitHub's public repositories |
81000 NPM downloads Weekly downloads from NPM | 173000 NPM downloads Weekly downloads from NPM |
No CDN HeroUI CSS file is not available on CDN | No CDN shadcn CSS file is not available on CDN |
No Semantic class names HeroUI does not use semantic CSS class names. Using semantic and descriptive CSS class names improves readability and maintainability of code independent of the current framework. | No Semantic class names shadcn does not use semantic CSS class names. Using semantic and descriptive CSS class names improves readability and maintainability of code independent of the current framework. |
No Global customizations HeroUI requires changing JavaScript props one by one at build time to do design token customization | No Global customizations shadcn requires changing JavaScript props one by one at build time to do design token customization |
No works without Node.js HeroUI requires a Node.js environment | No works without Node.js shadcn requires a Node.js environment |
No No-build version HeroUI does not provide micro CSS files for each component | No No-build version shadcn does not provide micro CSS files for each component |
No P3 colors HeroUI does not use wide-gamut P3 colors by default | No P3 colors shadcn does not use wide-gamut P3 colors by default |
Yes RTL support HeroUI supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts | No RTL support shadcn does not supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts by default |
No Runtime CSS customization HeroUI customizations requires changing JavaScript props at build time | No Runtime CSS customization shadcn customizations requires changing JavaScript props at build time |
No Native CSS nesting HeroUI doesn not use native CSS nesting | No Native CSS nesting shadcn doesn not use native CSS nesting |
280 Open GitHub issues As of April 2025 | 895 Open GitHub issues As of April 2025 |
No Automatic install and update Components are installed individually via the CLI tool rather than as a package. This requires installing more dependencies for each component. | |
Yes Requires maintenance shadcn components exist in your codebase meaning you should manually maintain, debug and develop them. They will not receive updates and bug fixes automatically .Updating them manually according to shadcn changes means resetting all your customizations on each update. | |
No Semantic versioning for components shadcn works as a registry of components, rather than a library. The CLI tool generates component files in your project. After that, there's no versioning, no updates, and no compatibility guarantees between components. | |
1. Install daisyUI as a Node package:
npm i -D daisyui@latestpnpm add -D daisyui@latestyarn add -D daisyui@latestbun add -D daisyui@latestdeno i -D npm:daisyui@latest2. Add daisyUI to app.css:
@import "tailwindcss";
@plugin "daisyui";This comparison page is for informational purposes only and does not mean to criticize libraries or projects. Information is based on GitHub public data, NPM registry data and official documentation websites of the libraries. If you found any outdated information, please open a PR to update it. All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners.