Looking for a Tailwind UI alternative? This page compares Tailwind UI and daisyUI, 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.
Tailwind UI | daisyUI |
|---|---|
Paid license License Closed source paid license | MIT License Open source MIT License |
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 | ALL Frameworks daisyUI is framework agnostic and works everywhere |
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. | 60 Unique components daisyUI has 63 components, 59 of them are unique – for example pagination and button group are considered as same. |
2 Built-in Themes Tailwind UI has light and dark themes | 35 Built-in Themes daisyUI has 35 themes |
No Supports more than two themes Does not support more than 2 themes at the same time | Yes Supports more than two themes daisyUI supports unlimited themes at the same time, allowing for dynamic theme switching. |
143kB to 201KB JavaScript size Imported JavaScript bundle size (minified) for Headless UI which is required for Tailwind UI | 0 JavaScript size daisyUI doesn't ship JavaScript to browsers |
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. | 0 Dependencies daisyUI has no dependencies. It's immune to 3rd party vulnerabilities, dependency version mismatch, and deprecation issues. |
11MB to 16MB Dependency size Tailwind UI requires Headless UI which has 11MB to 16MB of dependencies for Vue version and React version respectively. | 0 Dependency size |
? GitHub stars Can't measure. Closed source project | 39000 GitHub stars In GitHub's top 400 repositories of all time |
? Used by open source projects Can't measure. Closed source project | 430000 Used by open source projects Based on GitHub's public repositories |
? NPM downloads Can't measure. | 510000 NPM downloads Weekly downloads from NPM |
? CDN Can't measure. | Yes CDN daisyUI CSS file is available on CDN |
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. | Yes Semantic class names daisyUI uses 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 Tailwind UI requires changing class names one by one at build time to do any customization | Yes Global customizations daisyUI provides tokens, root-level CSS variables and component-level CSS variables that let you adjust colors, sizes, spacing, radius, and other styles to match your design. |
No works without Node.js Many components require React or Vue, which requires a Node.js environment | Yes works without Node.js daisyUI can be used as a standalone file, with Tailwind CSS standalone version. This is useful for projects without a Node.js environment. |
No No-build version Tailwind UI does not provide micro CSS files for each component | Yes No-build version daisyUI provides micro CSS files for each component |
Yes P3 colors Tailwind UI uses wide-gamut P3 colors by default | Yes P3 colors daisyUI uses wide-gamut P3 colors |
No RTL support Tailwind UI does not support right-to-left (RTL) layouts | Yes RTL support daisyUI supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts |
No Runtime CSS customization Tailwind UI customizations requires changing Tailwind CSS class names at build time | Yes Runtime CSS customization daisyUI uses CSS variables for design customization at runtime |
No Native CSS nesting Tailwind UI doesn not use native CSS nesting | Yes Native CSS nesting daisyUI uses native CSS nesting, reducing the CSS file size |
? Open GitHub issues Can't measure. Closed source project | 15 Open GitHub issues As of October 2025 |
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.