react-virtualized vs TanStack Table
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
React components for efficiently rendering large lists and tabular data.
Open source · MIT
Headless library for building customizable data tables in TypeScript and JavaScript.
The short answer
Choose react-virtualized if you need…
- React developers who need to display long lists of items
- Teams building data tables or grids with many rows
- Developers who want a component-based approach to windowing
Choose TanStack Table if you need…
- Developers building custom data tables in React, Vue, Solid, Svelte or another supported framework
- Teams that already have a design system and want a table that matches it
- Apps that need sorting, filtering, grouping or server-side data handling in a table
- Projects that want a small library they can virtualize for large datasets
Side-by-side
| react-virtualized | TanStack Table | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 27.1k | 28.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 5 days ago | 16 days ago |
What each one is
react-virtualized
react-virtualized is a set of React components for displaying long lists and tables without rendering every row at once. Instead of creating thousands of DOM elements, it renders only the items currently visible, which keeps pages responsive with large data sets. Developers use it inside their own React apps.
TanStack Table
TanStack Table is a headless library: it handles table logic such as sorting, filtering, grouping, aggregation, row selection and pagination, but ships no visual components. You write the markup and styles yourself, using adapters for React, Vue, Solid, Svelte, Angular and other frameworks. It is used by developers who need a table or data grid they can fully control.
Best for
react-virtualized
- React developers who need to display long lists of items
- Teams building data tables or grids with many rows
- Developers who want a component-based approach to windowing
TanStack Table
- Developers building custom data tables in React, Vue, Solid, Svelte or another supported framework
- Teams that already have a design system and want a table that matches it
- Apps that need sorting, filtering, grouping or server-side data handling in a table
- Projects that want a small library they can virtualize for large datasets
Strengths
react-virtualized
- Renders only visible items, which helps performance with large data sets
- Provides list and grid components for both lists and tabular data
- Documentation site includes live examples
TanStack Table
- Headless design gives full control over markup, styles and behavior
- Supports many frameworks through one framework-agnostic core
- MIT licensed with a large community, about 28.5k GitHub stars at time of review
Not ideal for
react-virtualized
- Projects that do not use React, since the components are built for it
- Small pages with only a few dozen items, where virtualization adds complexity without much benefit
- Developers looking for a newer, actively evolving alternative, since the README does not describe current maintenance status
TanStack Table
- People who want a ready-made grid with styling out of the box, since the library provides no UI components
- Non-developers, because it requires writing code to use
- Projects that need a fully built-in spreadsheet-style grid with editing features, since the README describes only headless table logic
Trade-offs
react-virtualized
- Requires React, so it is not useful outside that ecosystem
- The README excerpt provided does not show setup steps, so integration effort is unclear from this source
- Most of the README shown is about sponsorships rather than technical details
TanStack Table
- Because it is headless, you must build all the visual parts yourself
- The README is truncated here, so setup details and version requirements could not be verified
- Requires JavaScript or TypeScript knowledge to use effectively
Getting started
react-virtualized
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/bvaughn/react-virtualizedTanStack Table
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/TanStack/tableFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between react-virtualized and TanStack Table?
react-virtualized: React components for efficiently rendering large lists and tabular data. TanStack Table: Headless library for building customizable data tables in TypeScript and JavaScript. react-virtualized suits react developers who need to display long lists of items, while TanStack Table suits developers building custom data tables in react, vue, solid, svelte or another supported framework.
Are react-virtualized and TanStack Table free?
react-virtualized: Free and open source. TanStack Table: Free and open source.
Is react-virtualized or TanStack Table more popular?
TanStack Table has more GitHub stars (28.5k) than react-virtualized (27.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to react-virtualized and TanStack Table?
Other options people compare them with include react-window, Enzyme, Million.js, Inferno, why-did-you-render.
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.