UI & components

Where you go when good-looking is not enough and you want wow. Use sparingly; a little goes a long way, and a whole page of effects reads as a template.

The default for data-dense enterprise and admin UIs — tables, forms, the works. Distinctive look; great for dashboards, less so for marketing sites.

Headless components built on state machines that behave identically across four frameworks. The pick if you're not React-only. From the Chakra team.

Unstyled React primitives from the people behind Radix, MUI and Floating UI, now at 1.0. Essentially next-gen Radix — a safe bet for new headless work.

The framework that taught the web responsive grids. Unfashionable now and recognisably 'Bootstrappy', but still a fast, stable choice when you just need it to work.

A clean, CSS-only framework — readable classes, no JS, easy to learn. A pleasant middle ground between Bootstrap and going full utility-first.

Accessible React components with a lovely style-props API — a comfortable default. The core stays free; pre-built blocks are the upsell.

Semantic class names and 30+ themes on top of Tailwind, so you write less utility soup. Great for prototyping; theming is its superpower.

600+ Tailwind components with a matching Figma kit and framework ports. Broad and design-handoff-friendly; pro blocks are the upsell.

Unstyled, accessible primitives made to pair with Tailwind utilities. Smaller than Radix, but a natural fit if you're already on Tailwind.

The old NextUI, rebuilt on React Aria + Tailwind — accessible primitives with a modern, styled look. A nice middle ground between headless and batteries-included.

Free, copy-paste Tailwind components with no install and no catch. Perfect for grabbing one good section without adopting a whole library.

150+ animated React components designed to sit alongside shadcn/ui. Where you go for the flashy hero bits — use sparingly so it doesn't read as a template.

A huge, fully-free React kit with brilliant hooks — dark mode and a11y handled out of the box. My go-to when I want everything in one place with no paywall.

The most complete React library if you want (or a client wants) Material Design. Comprehensive but opinionated — fighting its look takes real effort.

One of the nicest Vue 3 component libraries — complete, themeable, well-typed. A strong default if you're building with Vue.

Styled presets on Ark UI + Panda CSS, multi-framework, now under the Chakra org. A good route to a consistent design system beyond React.

A big set of free Tailwind blocks and plugins with a Figma system. Reach for it when you want pre-built sections to assemble a page fast.

An enormous, enterprise-grade React component suite — if a component exists, PrimeReact probably has it. Heavier and less fashionable than shadcn, but unbeatable for breadth in admin-style apps.

The accessibility and behaviour layer you don't want to write yourself. Bring your own styling — most people meet it through shadcn/ui without realising.

Adobe's accessibility-first hooks give full markup control and rock-solid ARIA. The serious choice when accessibility is non-negotiable and you'll style it yourself.

The default answer for good-looking React UI right now. You copy the code into your repo instead of installing a black box — which is exactly the model AI tools work best with.

Marketing and app sections built on shadcn/ui you can paste in. Handy if you've standardised on shadcn and want pre-made blocks; mostly a paid library.

A Tailwind-based toolkit purpose-built for Svelte. The pick when you want a cohesive component layer in the SvelteKit world.

The toast component everyone copies — buttery stacking animation, one import. shadcn made it the default for a reason; just use it.

The carousel that just works across frameworks, with real touch feel. Reach for it instead of hand-rolling a slider; the core is free.

The lingua franca that AI tools are fluent in — generated UI almost always comes out as Tailwind, so knowing it pays off immediately. Polarising, but it is the path of least resistance with agents.

The Tailwind team's own premium components and templates. Paid, but the quality and patterns are a masterclass worth owning.

Copy-paste React components for charts and dashboards, now part of Vercel. The fastest way to a decent analytics UI without wrestling a charting lib.

The drawer component for mobile, built on Radix Dialog with snap points. The answer when a dialog should slide up from the bottom on phones.

The big, batteries-included Material library for Vue. Comprehensive and mature; you're buying into the Material look.