shadcn/ui alternatives: 9 options compared
Facts checked September 30, 2026
MiniDev UI is on this list, and this page is written by the team that makes it. It is described in the same terms as the others and placed where it fits, not at the top by default.
At a glance
| Library | Price and license | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| HeroUI | Free, Apache 2.0; HeroUI Pro is paid | Staying on Tailwind CSS v4 but installing a versioned package with React Aria accessibility instead of copying source |
| Mantine | Free, MIT, no paid tier | One complete library without Tailwind, especially for form heavy apps |
| Radix Themes | Free, MIT | A coherent, pre-styled system with strong color scales and no utility CSS |
| Chakra UI | Free, MIT; Chakra UI Pro blocks and templates are a paid one-time purchase | Teams that prefer typed style props and a token config over utility classes |
| Material UI | Free, MIT; MUI X Pro $299 and Premium $599 per developer per year | Material Design products, and data heavy apps that need MUI X |
| daisyUI | Free, MIT; templates, a Figma library and the Blueprint MCP server are paid | Projects outside React, or short markup and switchable themes with no JavaScript |
| Tailwind Plus | Paid, one-time purchase with lifetime access; commercial license | Downloadable site templates and many layout variations, in React, Vue or HTML |
| coss ui (formerly Origin UI) | Free; the cosscom/coss repository is AGPL-3.0 with some packages under MIT, so check the license of the files you use | Staying in the shadcn workflow with a neutral, production tested set of form controls and app components |
| MiniDev UI | Free, MIT, no paid tier | Keeping shadcn/ui and adding finished product screens and motion, rather than replacing it |
1. HeroUI
Previously NextUI. A React library built on React Aria Components and Tailwind CSS v4, installed from npm as @heroui/react and @heroui/styles, with a separate HeroUI Native for React Native.
- Price and license
- Free, Apache 2.0; HeroUI Pro is paid
- Styling
- Tailwind CSS v4: styles ship as CSS with BEM classes, customized with Tailwind utilities and CSS variables
- Best for
- Staying on Tailwind CSS v4 but installing a versioned package with React Aria accessibility instead of copying source
2. Mantine
A fully featured React library: 100+ components, 70+ hooks and packages for forms, dates, charts, notifications and more, from one maintainer.
- Price and license
- Free, MIT, no paid tier
- Styling
- Plain CSS files; CSS modules, the Styles API and style props. Tailwind is not required
- Best for
- One complete library without Tailwind, especially for form heavy apps
3. Radix Themes
A pre-styled React library from WorkOS, the team behind Radix Primitives. You wrap the app in Theme and set accent color, gray color, radius and scaling as props.
- Price and license
- Free, MIT
- Styling
- Vanilla CSS with its own CSS variables; the docs say Tailwind may not mix well with its closed component model
- Best for
- A coherent, pre-styled system with strong color scales and no utility CSS
4. Chakra UI
A long-standing React component system. Version 3 is built on Ark UI and installs from npm, with CLI snippets copied into components/ui.
- Price and license
- Free, MIT; Chakra UI Pro blocks and templates are a paid one-time purchase
- Styling
- Its own engine, built on Emotion: style props, tokens, recipes and slot recipes
- Best for
- Teams that prefer typed style props and a token config over utility classes
5. Material UI
The React implementation of Google's Material Design, installed from npm, with MUI X for a data grid, date and time pickers, charts and a tree view.
- Price and license
- Free, MIT; MUI X Pro $299 and Premium $599 per developer per year
- Styling
- Emotion (CSS-in-JS) by default, themed with a JavaScript theme object
- Best for
- Material Design products, and data heavy apps that need MUI X
6. daisyUI
A Tailwind CSS plugin that adds component class names such as btn and card, with 68 components, 35 built-in themes and no JavaScript.
- Price and license
- Free, MIT; templates, a Figma library and the Blueprint MCP server are paid
- Styling
- Semantic class names on top of Tailwind CSS v4 utilities, themed with OKLCH CSS variables
- Best for
- Projects outside React, or short markup and switchable themes with no JavaScript
7. Tailwind Plus
The paid collection from the makers of Tailwind CSS: UI blocks in React, Vue and HTML, downloadable site templates and the Catalyst UI kit.
- Price and license
- Paid, one-time purchase with lifetime access; commercial license
- Styling
- Tailwind utility classes with the default palette; Headless UI for behavior
- Best for
- Downloadable site templates and many layout variations, in React, Vue or HTML
8. coss ui (formerly Origin UI)
Where Origin UI's work continues at coss.com: a component library built on Base UI that serves as Cal.com's design system, with ready made compositions called particles.
- Price and license
- Free; the cosscom/coss repository is AGPL-3.0 with some packages under MIT, so check the license of the files you use
- Styling
- Tailwind CSS v4 with CSS variable tokens in the shadcn/ui style; installs with the shadcn CLI
- Best for
- Staying in the shadcn workflow with a neutral, production tested set of form controls and app components
9. MiniDev UI
A shadcn-compatible registry of over 500 items built on Base UI, Tailwind CSS v4 and motion: UI components, motion components and full-page blocks such as billing, settings, sign in and AI chat.
- Price and license
- Free, MIT, no paid tier
- Styling
- Tailwind CSS v4 utilities with semantic OKLCH tokens, copied into your repo
- Best for
- Keeping shadcn/ui and adding finished product screens and motion, rather than replacing it
How to choose
- Keep Tailwind, get a package: HeroUI.
- Leave Tailwind: Mantine for breadth, Chakra UI for style props, Material UI for Material Design, Radix Themes for a pre-styled system.
- Not on React: daisyUI, which is CSS only, or Tailwind Plus, which has Vue and HTML versions.
- Pay for templates: Tailwind Plus.
- Stay in the shadcn workflow: coss ui or MiniDev UI, both built on Base UI and installed with the shadcn CLI.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to shadcn/ui?
HeroUI, if you want Tailwind CSS v4 components as a versioned npm package with React Aria underneath. Mantine, if you would rather drop Tailwind for one complete, free library. Mantine is MIT licensed and HeroUI is Apache 2.0, and both are free for commercial use.
Is there a shadcn/ui alternative you install from npm?
Yes. HeroUI, Mantine, Chakra UI, Material UI and Radix Themes are npm packages you update with a version bump. MiniDev UI is also published on npm as minidev-ui-kit, alongside its shadcn registry.
Which shadcn/ui alternatives are free?
All of these except Tailwind Plus, which is a paid one-time purchase. Several have paid add-ons: HeroUI Pro, Chakra UI Pro, MUI X Pro and Premium, and the daisyUI store.
Is there a shadcn/ui alternative that does not use Tailwind?
Yes. Mantine ships plain CSS, Chakra UI uses its own engine built on Emotion, Material UI uses Emotion, and Radix Themes uses vanilla CSS.
Can I keep shadcn/ui and add another library?
Yes. shadcn-compatible registries such as MiniDev UI and coss ui install with the same CLI, so their components can join an existing shadcn/ui project. Watch for components with the same file name, such as button; the CLI asks before overwriting.
Sources
- shadcn/ui docs
- HeroUI home
- HeroUI license (version 3, Apache 2.0)
- Mantine home
- Radix Themes home
- Radix Themes styling
- Chakra UI home
- Chakra UI Pro pricing
- MUI pricing
- Material UI overview
- daisyUI home
- daisyUI store
- Tailwind Plus
- Tailwind Plus license
- coss ui
- cosscom/coss on GitHub (AGPL-3.0 repository license, checked November 1, 2026)
Product names are trademarks of their owners. This page is our own summary, checked on September 30, 2026. Pricing and features change, so confirm on each project's site.