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Pure vs Tailwind CSS: What are the differences?

CSS frameworks are a popular choice for web developers as they provide pre-written CSS code that can be easily applied to a website. Two such frameworks are Pure CSS and Tailwind CSS. Although both frameworks serve the same purpose, there are several key differences between them.

  1. Flexibility: Pure CSS offers a more flexible approach as it provides a set of CSS modules that can be included individually based on the developer's requirements. On the other hand, Tailwind CSS follows a utility-first approach, where the framework provides a comprehensive set of utility classes that can be used to create complex layouts quickly. This makes Tailwind CSS less flexible but more efficient in terms of development speed.

  2. Customizability: Pure CSS allows developers to customize and override any CSS rules provided by the framework to match their design requirements. It provides a set of variables and mixins that can be used to customize the styles. In contrast, Tailwind CSS does not allow direct customization of the provided utility classes. Instead, it encourages developers to extend or configure the framework to create custom utility classes.

  3. File Size: Pure CSS has a smaller file size compared to Tailwind CSS as it only includes the CSS modules that are required for a specific project. This results in faster loading times for webpages that use Pure CSS. On the other hand, Tailwind CSS comes with a larger file size due to the inclusion of all utility classes, resulting in slightly slower loading times.

  4. Learning Curve: Pure CSS has a relatively steeper learning curve as developers need to familiarize themselves with the various CSS modules and understand how they work together. Tailwind CSS, on the other hand, has a lower learning curve as it follows a simple utility-based approach where developers can apply classes directly in the HTML markup.

  5. Design Consistency: Pure CSS provides a consistent design language throughout the project as developers use the same set of CSS modules. This ensures a unified visual style across the entire website. In contrast, Tailwind CSS allows more flexibility in terms of design choices as developers can combine utility classes in various ways. This may result in a less consistent design compared to Pure CSS.

  6. Community Support: Pure CSS has been around for a longer time and has a larger community of developers. This means that there are more resources and tutorials available for beginners to learn from. Tailwind CSS, although gaining popularity rapidly, has a smaller community compared to Pure CSS.

In Summary, Pure CSS offers more flexibility, customization options, and a smaller file size compared to Tailwind CSS, while Tailwind CSS provides faster development speed, a simpler learning curve, and more design choices at the cost of some design consistency and community support.

Advice on Pure and Tailwind CSS
Ashish Sharma
Sr. UI Associate at Daffodil Software · | 5 upvotes · 679.3K views

I am a bit confused when to choose Bootstrap vs Material Design or Tailwind CSS, and why? I mean, in which kind of projects we can work with bootstrap/Material/Tailwind CSS? If the design is made up on the grid, we prefer bootstrap, and if flat design, then material design. Similarly, when do we choose tailwind CSS?

Any suggestion would be appreciated?

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Replies (4)

Hi Ashish,

If you need minimal work to be done from your end and like most of the components / design available out of the box - go with Bootstrap. This is the oldest and has the widest adoption and a whole range of components built out by others.

If you like Material design, this is a good choice too. Please note that Bootstrap also has a Material theme, though it is not as native.

Both of these above frameworks are bulky and has more than what you may need.

If you like to build micro-components in a elegant way, TailwindCSS is the way to go.

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I don't know about material design.

You would go with Bootstrap if you want to prototype / build something without bothering about the design at all and you are OK if everything looks kinda template-y, using bootstrap out of the box components.

Go with Tailwind if you need a sleek design, a user interface where building with components will be important (because tailwind strongly favors component-based UI), and you know you will need to extend the built-in classes with your own (because tailwind is very easy to extend)

I would personally recommend tailwind over bootstrap any day of the week.

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Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Tailwind is great you don't have to mess with naming things and it is so much more flexible than the cookie cutter bootstrap, but I don't know about material UI. I recommend tailwind it's super simple to learn and has great code snippets.

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Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Put simply, you should use Tailwind regardless. It is a great addition to whatever you use because it removes the hassle of writing CSS.

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Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrap
and
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

I am planning to redesign my entire application, which is currently in Bootstrap. I heard about Tailwind CSS, and I think its really cool to work with. Is it okay if I use Bootstrap and Tailwind together? I can't remove Bootstrap altogether, as my application is using the js dependencies of Bootstrap, which I don't want to disturb.

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Replies (3)
Ivo Pereira

Factually talking about systems, we gotta make two bold headlines about each one: Bootstrap has been around for a while, has a vast community and much probably will not be gone in a while. Tailwind in the other hand, is the trendy framework starting from the past year. Referring to UI, I really prefer Tailwind, however I can't ignore the fact that a lot of libraries that emerged felt short in the end after a few years (a point where Bootstrap kept his status).

You are able to use both them together but I advise you — it will be a mess. And you gotta hope that you won't have any kind of conflicts between class naming and other general styling.

My recommendation would be to use one and only one. Perhaps rebuild the UI with a specific framework in mind, otherwise you will start to workaround things of both frameworks to contradict each other - and your team (if you work with one) will hate you.

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Arslan Ameer
Sr. Software Engineer at Forenax Technologies · | 5 upvotes · 592.5K views
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

You might have heard about bootstrap 5. Bootstrap is now totally jQuery free. i have tried foundation and bulma too. but eventually fall again for bootstrap, as it is most convenient and stable. i use bootstrap with less or sass.

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Barry Hylton
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

I use both of these regularly. If you're going to have to use Bootstrap due to your js dependencies, stick with Bootstrap. I actually prefer Tailwind, but trying to use both of them and make them "play nice" feels like making things more complex with no real benefit.

EDIT: Sorry for the late response, I just noticed how old this is. StackShare sent me this in an email for some reason so I assumed it was relatively fresh.

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Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrapTailwind CSSTailwind CSS
and
UIkItUIkIt

We are re-modifying the existing portal to the new one. Looking out for a CSS framework where over-rides are possible, the performance of page loading, extendable, etc Please suggest between tailwind, UIkit and bootstrap frameworks explaining in detail on different factors. I request your help on the same.

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Replies (2)
Collins Ogbuzuru
Front-end dev at Evolve credit · | 3 upvotes · 555.3K views
Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Hey Sai, My thoughts on UIkit - It's beautiful, fast, and it has good animation too. Why would I choose it ? Nothing other than giving the internet a new look .

My thoughts on Bootstrap - it's beautiful, if used well. It's very fast and has clean class naming convention unlike Uikit. Why I would choose it ? It's been tested and trusted, I can find a whole lot of resources and a community around it. Also with the type of project you working on I bet Bootstrap would do the job .

Now, considering Tailwind, it's seen as a classic, simple-to-set-up tool with clean utilities. I wouldn't think of tailwind the way I would to Bootstrap or UIkit. What do I mean ? Tailwind is more like a tool set to create your own design flow. Tailwind allows you to build unique design elements, offering you a level of customization that may be unmatched by the other frameworks.

My final thoughts.

If you have the time , setup and use tailwind it will give you a great chance when it comes to customization and performance.

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Brett Stevenson
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

I'm a big proponent of Tailwind and I personally use it whenever I get the chance, mostly because it's not really a UI-kit, but it sounds like in this case a UI-kit like Bootstrap with pre-defined components is more what you are looking for. Bootstrap is (relatively) extendable and overridable and makes it really simple to make a decent looking UI using a handful of pre-defined classes, whereas with Tailwind you configure the classes and create your own components. My main reason for replacing Bootstrap in my workflow is that it feels like the component creation has become so abstracted from the developer that any meaningful customization becomes a chore, resulting in many websites having the generic "Bootstrap-look". Nonetheless, it is effective for creating a pleasant and responsive UI. Though, I don't have any experience with UIkit.

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Decisions about Pure and Tailwind CSS
Xinyi Liu
Software Developer at BigClarity · | 6 upvotes · 337.7K views

As our team will be building a web application, HTML5 and CSS3 are one of the standardized combinations to implement the structure and the styling of a webpage. Material-UI comes with all sorts of predesigned web components such as buttons and dropdowns that will save us tons of development time. Since it is a component library designed for React, it suits our needs. However, we do acknowledge that predesigned components may sometimes cause pains especially when it comes to custom styling. To make our life even easier, we also adopted Tailwind CSS. It is a CSS framework providing low-level utility classes that will act as building blocks when we create custom designs.

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Bridget Sarah
Full Stack Developer at Bridget Sarah · | 10 upvotes · 642.7K views

I do prefer to write things from scratch however when it came to wanting to jump-start the frontend, I found that it was taking me a lot longer hence why needing to use something very fast.

Bootstrap was the boom when it came out, I didn't like it, to be honest, set in its way and a pain to over-ride and in addition, you can tell from a distance if you're using boostrap and as everything looks the same.

I came across Tailwind CSS as I wanted more dynamic features, you could say, I've been now doing it for a few days and I love it a lot. I've been practising with the full stack part installed but I an't we wait until I do a new project, and I'll e able to select exactly what I want. Much faster.

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Pros of Pure
Pros of Tailwind CSS
  • 14
    Lightweight
  • 10
    Simple
  • 10
    Responsive
  • 9
    Minimalist
  • 4
    Pure
  • 4
    Css
  • 3
    Open source
  • 3
    Neutral style
  • 2
    Consistently
  • 1
    It just works
  • 1
    Small footprint
  • 44
    Highly customizable
  • 33
    Quick setup
  • 30
    Utility first styles, its amazing
  • 24
    Versatile
  • 23
    Great docs
  • 16
    Customizable
  • 16
    Fast
  • 15
    Consistent
  • 11
    Very light
  • 11
    Semantic
  • 11
    Open source
  • 9
    Responsive
  • 1
    Easy Tree shaking with Tailwind CLI

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Cons of Pure
Cons of Tailwind CSS
    Be the first to leave a con
    • 14
      Priced
    • 5
      Cluttered html structure

    Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

    What is Pure?

    Pure is meant to be a starting point for every website or web app. We take care of all the CSS work that every site needs, without making it look cookie-cutter.

    What is Tailwind CSS?

    Tailwind is different from frameworks like Bootstrap, Foundation, or Bulma in that it's not a UI kit. It doesn't have a default theme, and there are no build-in UI components. It comes with a menu of predesigned widgets to build your site with, but doesn't impose design decisions that are difficult to undo.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

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    What companies use Tailwind CSS?
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    What tools integrate with Pure?
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      What are some alternatives to Pure and Tailwind CSS?
      Bootstrap
      Bootstrap is the most popular HTML, CSS, and JS framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
      Material Design for Angular
      Material Design is a specification for a unified system of visual, motion, and interaction design that adapts across different devices. Our goal is to deliver a lean, lightweight set of AngularJS-native UI elements that implement the material design system for use in Angular SPAs.
      Animate.css
      It is a bunch of cool, fun, and cross-browser animations for you to use in your projects. Great for emphasis, home pages, sliders, and general just-add-water-awesomeness.
      Material-UI
      Material UI is a library of React UI components that implements Google's Material Design.
      Nuxt.js
      Nuxt.js presets all the configuration needed to make your development of a Vue.js application enjoyable. You can use Nuxt.js for SSR, SPA, Static Generated, PWA and more.
      See all alternatives