Bulma vs UIkit
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A CSS framework built on Flexbox that gives you styled layout and UI classes.
Open source · MIT
A lightweight CSS and JavaScript framework for building fast web interfaces.
The short answer
Choose Bulma if you need…
- Developers who want a quick, consistent styling baseline for a web page
- Projects that already have their own JavaScript and only need a style layer
- Teams that want to customize styles through Sass variables
- Developers working with Vue, React, or other frameworks who want Bulma-based component libraries
Choose UIkit if you need…
- Developers who want prebuilt web interface components without a heavy setup
- Teams building websites who want a modular, lightweight CSS and JavaScript toolkit
- Developers who prefer loading a library via npm, yarn, pnpm, or jsDelivr
Side-by-side
| Bulma | UIkit | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 50k | 18.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | CSS | HTML |
| Last code update | 46 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Bulma
Bulma is a CSS framework based on Flexbox. It ships as a single CSS file with ready-made classes for layout and common interface elements, so you can style a web page without writing much custom CSS. It contains no JavaScript, so you add your own scripts for any interactive behavior.
UIkit
UIkit is a front-end framework, a ready-made set of styles and scripts that helps you build web page layouts and interface components without writing everything from scratch. It is described as lightweight and modular, so you can use the parts you need. It is open source under the MIT license and is developed by YOOtheme.
Best for
Bulma
- Developers who want a quick, consistent styling baseline for a web page
- Projects that already have their own JavaScript and only need a style layer
- Teams that want to customize styles through Sass variables
- Developers working with Vue, React, or other frameworks who want Bulma-based component libraries
UIkit
- Developers who want prebuilt web interface components without a heavy setup
- Teams building websites who want a modular, lightweight CSS and JavaScript toolkit
- Developers who prefer loading a library via npm, yarn, pnpm, or jsDelivr
Strengths
Bulma
- Based on Flexbox, with a single CSS file as its output
- No JavaScript included, so it does not force a particular JS environment
- Customizable through Sass source files and variables
UIkit
- Described by its authors as lightweight and modular, so you can include only what you use
- Multiple install options, including a direct download, npm, yarn, pnpm, and a CDN
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Not ideal for
Bulma
- People who need interactive components like modals or dropdowns out of the box, since Bulma has no JavaScript and you must supply it
- Projects that must support Internet Explorer fully, since the README says IE 10+ is only partially supported
- Teams that want a heavily opinionated design system with a fixed look, since much of the appearance is meant to be customized
UIkit
- People who need a no-code website builder, since UIkit is a code-level framework
- Projects that must support older browsers, because the README lists support only for the latest versions of major browsers
Trade-offs
Bulma
- Browser support is limited to recent versions of major browsers, with only partial support for IE 10+
- Interactive behavior must be written or added separately
- The README notes the project is in constant development, so details may change between releases
UIkit
- The README lists browser support only for the latest version of each major browser, which may not fit wider compatibility needs
- The README is brief on features, so you will need the homepage or docs to learn the component set
- Developed by a single company, YOOtheme, so project direction depends on its maintainers
Getting started
Bulma
Install with npm
npm install bulmaInstall with Yarn
yarn add bulmaUIkit
Install with npm
npm install uikitInstall with yarn
yarn add uikitFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Bulma and UIkit?
Bulma: A CSS framework built on Flexbox that gives you styled layout and UI classes. UIkit: A lightweight CSS and JavaScript framework for building fast web interfaces. Bulma suits developers who want a quick, consistent styling baseline for a web page, while UIkit suits developers who want prebuilt web interface components without a heavy setup.
Are Bulma and UIkit free?
Bulma: Free and open source. UIkit: Free and open source.
Is Bulma or UIkit more popular?
Bulma has more GitHub stars (50k) than UIkit (18.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Bulma and UIkit?
Other options people compare them with include Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS, Milligram, Spectre.css, Materialize.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.