ngx-admin vs react-admin
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 ready-made Angular admin dashboard template with themes, components, and examples.
Open source · MIT
A TypeScript/React framework for building admin dashboards on top of REST or GraphQL APIs.
The short answer
Choose ngx-admin if you need…
- Developers starting a new Angular admin or back-office dashboard
- Teams who want Nebular-based components and a few visual themes out of the box
- Developers who want an example of an Angular project with many pages and components to learn from
- Projects that need an authentication module with multiple providers as a starting point
Choose react-admin if you need…
- Developers building internal admin panels or back-office tools on top of an existing API
- Teams already using React who want standard CRUD screens without writing everything from scratch
- Projects that want TypeScript support but can also be written in plain JavaScript
- Developers who want to plug in a data provider for a specific backend
Side-by-side
| ngx-admin | react-admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Framework |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 25.7k | 27k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 2 years ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
ngx-admin
ngx-admin is a starter template for building admin dashboards and back-office web apps with Angular. It comes with prebuilt pages, layouts, and UI components built on the Nebular component library, plus several visual themes you can switch between. Developers use it to skip building the basic dashboard structure from scratch.
react-admin
React-admin is a frontend framework for building single-page admin applications that run in the browser. It connects to existing REST or GraphQL APIs and provides ready-made components for lists, edit forms, authentication, and similar pieces. It uses Material Design by default, and its components can be replaced when you need something different.
Best for
ngx-admin
- Developers starting a new Angular admin or back-office dashboard
- Teams who want Nebular-based components and a few visual themes out of the box
- Developers who want an example of an Angular project with many pages and components to learn from
- Projects that need an authentication module with multiple providers as a starting point
react-admin
- Developers building internal admin panels or back-office tools on top of an existing API
- Teams already using React who want standard CRUD screens without writing everything from scratch
- Projects that want TypeScript support but can also be written in plain JavaScript
- Developers who want to plug in a data provider for a specific backend
Strengths
ngx-admin
- Includes many prebuilt components and usage examples, according to the README
- Offers multiple themes, RTL support, and a responsive layout
- Released under the MIT license, so it can be used and modified freely
react-admin
- Backend agnostic: the README lists more than 45 data provider adapters for REST and GraphQL
- Built from loosely coupled components and hooks, so parts can be replaced individually
- Comes with official examples, documentation, a tutorial, and an active community on Discord and StackOverflow
Not ideal for
ngx-admin
- Teams that need active upstream support: the README says the repository is in minimal maintenance and pull requests and issues are not actively reviewed or merged
- Projects that are not built on Angular or do not want to adopt Nebular components
- Beginners new to both Angular and TypeScript, since setup and customization assume working knowledge of both
react-admin
- Non-developers looking for a finished admin tool they can use without coding, since it is a framework that must be built into an app
- Projects that do not use React, because the framework is built on React
- Public-facing consumer websites, since it is designed for admin-style interfaces
Trade-offs
ngx-admin
- The README says the repository is in minimal maintenance, with pull requests and issues not actively reviewed
- Installation requires Node.js 14.14 or newer because of a node-sass dependency, which may be a hurdle on newer setups
react-admin
- Requires working knowledge of React and a build setup; not suited to people who only want a configuration-based tool
- Default look is Material Design, so a different visual style takes extra customization work, as the README notes
Getting started
ngx-admin
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/akveo/ngx-admin.gitreact-admin
Install react-admin from npm
npm install react-adminFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between ngx-admin and react-admin?
ngx-admin: A ready-made Angular admin dashboard template with themes, components, and examples. react-admin: A TypeScript/React framework for building admin dashboards on top of REST or GraphQL APIs. ngx-admin suits developers starting a new angular admin or back-office dashboard, while react-admin suits developers building internal admin panels or back-office tools on top of an existing api.
Are ngx-admin and react-admin free?
ngx-admin: Free and open source. react-admin: Free and open source.
Is ngx-admin or react-admin more popular?
react-admin has more GitHub stars (27k) than ngx-admin (25.7k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to ngx-admin and react-admin?
Other options people compare them with include refine, Ant Design Pro, ice.js, Gatsby, Payload.
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.