React Native Elements vs Tamagui
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 library of ready-made UI components for building React Native apps on iOS, Android and web.
Open source · MIT
A TypeScript library for building React and React Native UIs that share styling and code.
The short answer
Choose React Native Elements if you need…
- React Native developers who want ready-made UI components
- Teams sharing one codebase across mobile and React web apps
- Developers prototyping a mobile interface quickly
- Developers who want to use the Expo demo app as a reference for component usage
Choose Tamagui if you need…
- Teams building the same app for web and native with React
- Developers who want shared styling across React Native and react-native-web
- Projects that want an optional compiler to speed up styled components
- Developers who can set it up gradually inside an existing app
Side-by-side
| React Native Elements | Tamagui | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 25.9k | 14.3k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | MDX | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 6 months ago | 5 days ago |
What each one is
React Native Elements
React Native Elements is a set of pre-built user interface components, such as buttons, that developers can drop into apps written with React Native. It is meant to help teams build iOS and Android apps with a consistent look without designing every control from scratch. The README also says the components can be used on the web through React Native for Web.
Tamagui
Tamagui is a set of open-source libraries for building user interfaces that run on both the web (React) and phones (React Native) from one shared codebase. It includes a styling library, an optional ready-made UI kit, and a compiler that rewrites styled components into faster output on each platform. Developers use it to share more code between web and native apps without giving up performance.
Best for
React Native Elements
- React Native developers who want ready-made UI components
- Teams sharing one codebase across mobile and React web apps
- Developers prototyping a mobile interface quickly
- Developers who want to use the Expo demo app as a reference for component usage
Tamagui
- Teams building the same app for web and native with React
- Developers who want shared styling across React Native and react-native-web
- Projects that want an optional compiler to speed up styled components
- Developers who can set it up gradually inside an existing app
Strengths
React Native Elements
- Maintained with a public docs site, Discord, and active release history (v5.0.0 listed as latest)
- Open source under the MIT license, which allows free commercial use
- Supports cross-platform use and web sharing as described in the README
Tamagui
- Aims for shared code across web and native while keeping platform-specific performance, per the README
- Works gradually, so you can adopt it in parts of an existing project
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Not ideal for
React Native Elements
- People who do not write React or JavaScript code, since it is a developer library
- Projects that need a fully custom design system, because the README does not describe theming depth beyond the packages it names
- Developers needing web support without React Native for Web, since the README links that setup as a separate walkthrough
Tamagui
- People who only need a plain website and no React (the project is built around React)
- Beginners without React or TypeScript experience, since the setup assumes both
- Projects that want a single, fixed design with no customization (the UI kit is optional and configurable)
Trade-offs
React Native Elements
- The README is truncated and gives few concrete details about the component list or theming options
- Requires knowledge of React Native, so it is not beginner-friendly for non-programmers
- Web support depends on an additional setup described outside the README
Tamagui
- The README's performance claims (such as a Lighthouse gain on its homepage) are the project's own measurements and were not independently verified here
- Compile-time and runtime behavior adds setup complexity compared with simple styling libraries
- The README is truncated, so details on setup and configuration are limited in this analysis
Getting started
React Native Elements
Install the core packages
npm install @rneui/themed @rneui/baseFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between React Native Elements and Tamagui?
React Native Elements: A library of ready-made UI components for building React Native apps on iOS, Android and web. Tamagui: A TypeScript library for building React and React Native UIs that share styling and code. React Native Elements suits react native developers who want ready-made ui components, while Tamagui suits teams building the same app for web and native with react.
Are React Native Elements and Tamagui free?
React Native Elements: Free and open source. Tamagui: Free and open source.
Is React Native Elements or Tamagui more popular?
React Native Elements has more GitHub stars (25.9k) than Tamagui (14.3k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to React Native Elements and Tamagui?
Other options people compare them with include React Native Paper, NativeBase, UI Kitten, Radix Primitives, Evergreen.
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.