Looking for a MUI alternative? This page compares MUI and Tailwind 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.
MUI | Tailwind UI |
|---|---|
MIT License Open source MIT License | Paid license License Closed source paid license |
Only React Frameworks MUI only works with React | Only React and Vue* Frameworks Some components are only available for React and Vue only, some don't need JS and can be used with any framework |
32 Unique components MUI has 51 components, 32 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same. | 31 Unique components Tailwind UI has 93 Components, 31 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same. However, Tailwind UI has many variations of the same component, and has Templates which are not included in the component count. |
2 Built-in Themes MUI has 2 themes | 2 Built-in Themes Tailwind UI has light and dark 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 |
575kB JavaScript size Imported JavaScript bundle size (minified) | 143kB to 201KB JavaScript size Imported JavaScript bundle size (minified) for Headless UI which is required for Tailwind UI |
85 Dependencies MUI has 85 third-party dependencies. Using more third-party dependencies increases the risk of security vulnerabilities, compatibility problems, and long-term maintenance headaches from deprecated packages. | 21 to 25 Dependencies Tailwind UI requires Headless UI which has 21 third-party dependencies for Vue version and 25 third-party dependencies for React version. Using more third-party dependencies increases the risk of security vulnerabilities, compatibility problems, and long-term maintenance headaches from deprecated packages. |
22.8MB Dependency size | 11MB to 16MB Dependency size Tailwind UI requires Headless UI which has 11MB to 16MB of dependencies for Vue version and React version respectively. |
95300 GitHub stars | ? GitHub stars Can't measure. Closed source project |
1400000 Used by open source projects Based on GitHub's public repositories | ? Used by open source projects Can't measure. Closed source project |
5000000 NPM downloads Weekly downloads from NPM | ? NPM downloads Can't measure. |
No CDN MUI CSS file is not available on CDN | ? CDN Can't measure. |
No Semantic class names MUI 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 Tailwind UI 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 MUI requires changing JavaScript props one by one at build time to do design token customization | No Global customizations Tailwind UI requires changing class names one by one at build time to do any customization |
No works without Node.js MUI requires a Node.js environment | No works without Node.js Many components require React or Vue, which requires a Node.js environment |
No No-build version MUI does not provide micro CSS files for each component | No No-build version Tailwind UI does not provide micro CSS files for each component |
No P3 colors MUI does not use wide-gamut P3 colors by default | Yes P3 colors Tailwind UI uses wide-gamut P3 colors by default |
Yes RTL support MUI supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts | No RTL support Tailwind UI does not support right-to-left (RTL) layouts |
No Runtime CSS customization MUI customizations requires changing styles at build time | No Runtime CSS customization Tailwind UI customizations requires changing Tailwind CSS class names at build time |
No Native CSS nesting MUI doesn not use native CSS nesting | No Native CSS nesting Tailwind UI doesn not use native CSS nesting |
1700 Open GitHub issues As of April 2025 | ? Open GitHub issues Can't measure. Closed source project |
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.