Chakra UI vs Evergreen
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 React component library for building accessible web apps and design systems quickly.
Open source · MIT
A React UI component library for building web apps, maintained by Segment.
The short answer
Choose Chakra UI if you need…
- React developers who want prebuilt UI components instead of styling from scratch
- Teams building web apps or internal design systems in React
- Developers who care about accessibility and want components that aim to handle it
- Projects using Next.js that want to try React Server Components support
Choose Evergreen if you need…
- React developers building web applications who want prebuilt components
- Teams that want a consistent design language across an internal or enterprise web product
- Projects that need server-side rendering with Next.js or similar frameworks
- Developers who want to customize the look through theming
Side-by-side
| Chakra UI | Evergreen | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 40.7k | 12.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 months ago |
What each one is
Chakra UI
Chakra UI is a set of ready-made React components, such as buttons and form controls, that developers can assemble into web interfaces. The README says the components are accessible and that the library works with Next.js RSC. It is aimed at building web apps and design systems more quickly.
Evergreen
Evergreen is a set of ready-made React user interface components, such as buttons, that developers can drop into web applications. It is built on a styling base called ui-box and includes a theming layer and server-side rendering support. Teams use it to build consistent web product interfaces without designing every component from scratch.
Best for
Chakra UI
- React developers who want prebuilt UI components instead of styling from scratch
- Teams building web apps or internal design systems in React
- Developers who care about accessibility and want components that aim to handle it
- Projects using Next.js that want to try React Server Components support
Evergreen
- React developers building web applications who want prebuilt components
- Teams that want a consistent design language across an internal or enterprise web product
- Projects that need server-side rendering with Next.js or similar frameworks
- Developers who want to customize the look through theming
Strengths
Chakra UI
- The README states the components are accessible, and the topics list includes WAI-ARIA and a11y
- MIT licensed with a large community and active repository, per the metadata
- Installation is a single package plus its peer dependency, with commands shown for Yarn, npm, pnpm and Bun
Evergreen
- Components work out of the box with sensible defaults
- Built on a composable primitive, so components can be extended
- Includes documentation, theming docs, and a Next.js example
Not ideal for
Chakra UI
- People who are not writing React code, since the library is specific to React
- Developers who want a fully custom look without any component framework, since the library provides its own design system
- Projects that cannot take on a dependency on Emotion, since the install requires @emotion/react as a peer dependency
Evergreen
- People who are not writing React code, since the components are React-specific
- Projects needing a framework other than React, such as Vue or Angular
- Teams looking for a long-term stable API without checking the v7 migration guide first, since the README points to a major version migration
Trade-offs
Chakra UI
- The README is short on technical detail, so specifics like theming options and bundle size are not covered here
- Requires learning the library's own component APIs and conventions
- Depends on Emotion as a peer dependency, which adds to the setup
Evergreen
- The README shows the older ReactDOM.render example, so check current docs for your React version
- Requires moving through a v7 migration guide if upgrading from earlier versions
- Last-known README copyright is 2021, so verify the project's current status before adopting
Getting started
Chakra UI
Install with npm
npm i @chakra-ui/react @emotion/reactInstall with Yarn
yarn add @chakra-ui/react @emotion/reactEvergreen
Install with yarn
yarn add evergreen-uiInstall with npm
npm install --save evergreen-uiFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Chakra UI and Evergreen?
Chakra UI: A React component library for building accessible web apps and design systems quickly. Evergreen: A React UI component library for building web apps, maintained by Segment. Chakra UI suits react developers who want prebuilt ui components instead of styling from scratch, while Evergreen suits react developers building web applications who want prebuilt components.
Are Chakra UI and Evergreen free?
Chakra UI: Free and open source. Evergreen: Free and open source.
Is Chakra UI or Evergreen more popular?
Chakra UI has more GitHub stars (40.7k) than Evergreen (12.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Chakra UI and Evergreen?
Other options people compare them with include Material UI, Mantine, React-Bootstrap, BootstrapVue, Base UI.
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.