Skip to content

react-hot-toast vs React-Toastify

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.

react-hot-toast

Open source · MIT

A small React library for showing pop-up toast notifications with minimal setup.

React-Toastify

Open source · MIT

A React library that shows pop-up notification messages (toasts) in your app.

The short answer

Choose react-hot-toast if you need…

  • React developers who need simple notification messages in a web app
  • Projects that want a small notification library instead of a larger UI kit
  • Developers who want to build their own notification UI using the headless hooks
  • Teams wanting a promise-based loading toast for async actions

Choose React-Toastify if you need…

  • React developers who need simple on-screen notifications
  • Apps that want to show several stacked messages at once
  • Teams that want to customize notification styling or animation
  • Projects that need right-to-left (RTL) language support

Side-by-side

react-hot-toastReact-Toastify
TypeLibraryLibrary
PriceFree and open sourceFree and open source
LicenceMITMIT
GitHub stars11k13.4k
Setup difficultyBeginnerBeginner
How you get itInstall with a package managerInstall with a package manager
Main languageTypeScriptTypeScript
Last code update51 days ago9 days ago

What each one is

react-hot-toast

react-hot-toast is a React library that shows short pop-up messages, often called toasts, to tell users something happened, such as a save succeeding or an error occurring. You add a Toaster component once to your app, then call the toast function from anywhere to display a message. The README describes it as lightweight and customizable, with a promise helper that shows a loader while a promise is pending.

React-Toastify

React-Toastify is a JavaScript library for React apps that shows small, temporary notification messages called toasts. You add a ToastContainer component once, then call toast() from anywhere in your code to display a message. It is used to give users quick feedback such as confirmations or errors without interrupting what they are doing.

Best for

react-hot-toast

  • React developers who need simple notification messages in a web app
  • Projects that want a small notification library instead of a larger UI kit
  • Developers who want to build their own notification UI using the headless hooks
  • Teams wanting a promise-based loading toast for async actions

React-Toastify

  • React developers who need simple on-screen notifications
  • Apps that want to show several stacked messages at once
  • Teams that want to customize notification styling or animation
  • Projects that need right-to-left (RTL) language support

Strengths

react-hot-toast

  • Simple setup: add one Toaster component and call toast() from anywhere
  • The README lists a bundle size under 5kb including styles
  • Includes an accessibility feature and a promise API for automatic loaders

React-Toastify

  • Setup is short: the README example needs only a container and a toast() call
  • Many listed features, including swipe to close, progress bar, dark mode and stacking
  • Actively maintained, with a recent push and a CI badge in the README

Not ideal for

react-hot-toast

  • Projects not using React, since the library is built specifically for it
  • Apps needing complex, persistent notification centers, as the README focuses on transient toasts
  • Developers who want a complete design system, since it covers notifications only

React-Toastify

  • Non-React projects, since the library is built for React (the README shows only React usage)
  • People who need a finished app rather than a code library
  • Projects that need notifications with complex built-in workflows beyond what the README describes

Trade-offs

react-hot-toast

  • The README is short on detail about advanced configuration; the full API lives in the external docs site
  • Notifications are transient by design, so it is not a fit for persistent alerts
  • Relies on React, so it cannot be used in other frameworks

React-Toastify

  • Feature list is long and the README is brief, so details depend on the external documentation site
  • Styling and behavior options beyond the basics require reading the docs
  • Dependent on React, so it does not help outside that ecosystem

Getting started

react-hot-toast

Install with pnpm

pnpm add react-hot-toast

Install with npm

npm install react-hot-toast
Step-by-step guide: how to use react-hot-toast

React-Toastify

Install with npm

npm install --save react-toastify

Install with yarn

yarn add react-toastify
Step-by-step guide: how to use React-Toastify

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between react-hot-toast and React-Toastify?

react-hot-toast: A small React library for showing pop-up toast notifications with minimal setup. React-Toastify: A React library that shows pop-up notification messages (toasts) in your app. react-hot-toast suits react developers who need simple notification messages in a web app, while React-Toastify suits react developers who need simple on-screen notifications.

Are react-hot-toast and React-Toastify free?

react-hot-toast: Free and open source. React-Toastify: Free and open source.

Is react-hot-toast or React-Toastify more popular?

React-Toastify has more GitHub stars (13.4k) than react-hot-toast (11k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.

What are other alternatives to react-hot-toast and React-Toastify?

Other options people compare them with include Sonner, React Color, react-dates, Zustand, TanStack Table.

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.