Material-UI vs styled-components: What are the differences?
Key Differences between Material-UI and styled-components
Material-UI and styled-components are both popular libraries used for building user interfaces in React applications. While they have some similarities, there are several key differences that set them apart.
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Styling Approach: Material-UI follows a component-based styling approach where each component has its own set of predefined CSS styles. These styles can be customized using inline styles or overridden using the classes prop. On the other hand, styled-components use a CSS-in-JS approach where styles are defined as JavaScript template literals. This allows for more dynamic styling based on React props and state.
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Scoping: Material-UI provides a built-in theme provider which allows for easy theming of the entire application. Styles defined in Material-UI components are automatically scoped to that component or theme. styled-components also offer scoping through the use of the component-based approach. Each styled component generates a unique class name and styles are automatically scoped to that component's DOM node.
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CSS Features: Material-UI provides a rich set of predefined CSS styles and components that are designed following the Material Design guidelines. These styles are responsive, accessible, and have extensive customization options. styled-components, on the other hand, allows developers to leverage all the features of CSS, including animations, media queries, and pseudo-classes. This gives more flexibility in terms of styling options.
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Overhead: Material-UI is a larger library compared to styled-components as it contains a wide range of components, styles, and pre-built functionality. This can result in a larger bundle size and initial loading time. styled-components are generally lightweight as they only include the styles explicitly defined by the developer. This can lead to a smaller bundle size and potentially faster loading times.
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Integration with Design Systems: Material-UI is specifically designed to adhere to the Material Design guidelines and integrates well with other Material-UI components. It provides a cohesive and consistent design language for building applications. styled-components, on the other hand, can be used to create completely custom design systems with unique visual styles tailored to the specific needs of the application.
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Community and Ecosystem: Material-UI has a large and active community with extensive documentation, examples, and third-party integrations. It is widely adopted and has a wide range of resources available for developers. styled-components also have a growing community and an active ecosystem, but it may not be as extensive as Material-UI.
In summary, Material-UI and styled-components differ in terms of their styling approach, scoping mechanism, CSS features, overhead, integration with design systems, and community support. Making a choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of the project and the developer's preference.
