Comparing Preline UI vs Tailwind Plus. Which one is better in 2025?

Preline UI Tailwind Plus

Looking for a Preline UI alternative? This page compares Preline UI and Tailwind Plus, 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.

Preline UI
Tailwind Plus
MIT
License
Open source MIT License
Paid license
License
Closed source paid license
ALL
Frameworks
Preline is framework agnostic and works everywhere
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
66
Unique components
Preline has 77 Components, 66 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same.
31
Unique components
Tailwind Plus has 93 Components, 31 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same. However, Tailwind Plus has many variations of the same component, and has Templates which are not included in the component count.
2
Built-in Themes
Preline has light and dark themes
2
Built-in Themes
Tailwind Plus 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
84.6kB
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 Plus
3
Dependencies
Preline has 3 third-party dependencies.
21 to 25
Dependencies
Tailwind Plus 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.
400kB
Dependency size
11MB to 16MB
Dependency size
Tailwind Plus requires Headless UI which has 11MB to 16MB of dependencies for Vue version and React version respectively.
5400
GitHub stars
?
GitHub stars
Can't measure. Closed source project
12700
Used by open source projects
Based on GitHub's public repositories
?
Used by open source projects
Can't measure. Closed source project
32000
NPM downloads
Weekly downloads from NPM
?
NPM downloads
Can't measure.
Yes
CDN
Preline CSS file is available on CDN
?
CDN
Can't measure.
No
Semantic class names
Preline 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 Plus 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
Preline requires changing class names one by one at build time to do customization
No
Global customizations
Tailwind Plus requires changing class names one by one at build time to do any customization
No
works without Node.js
Preline 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
Preline does not provide micro CSS files for each component
No
No-build version
Tailwind Plus does not provide micro CSS files for each component
Yes
P3 colors
Preline uses wide-gamut P3 colors by default
Yes
P3 colors
Tailwind Plus uses wide-gamut P3 colors by default
Yes
RTL support
Preline supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts
No
RTL support
Tailwind Plus does not support right-to-left (RTL) layouts
No
Runtime CSS customization
Preline customizations requires changing Tailwind CSS class names at build time
No
Runtime CSS customization
Tailwind Plus customizations requires changing Tailwind CSS class names at build time
No
Native CSS nesting
Preline doesn not use native CSS nesting
No
Native CSS nesting
Tailwind Plus doesn not use native CSS nesting
37
Open GitHub issues
As of April 2025
?
Open GitHub issues
Can't measure. Closed source project

Install daisyUI

1. Install daisyUI as a Node package:

npm i -D daisyui@latest
pnpm add -D daisyui@latest
yarn add -D daisyui@latest
bun add -D daisyui@latest
deno i -D npm:daisyui@latest

2. 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.