React Boilerplate vs Vite
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 starter template for React and Redux apps with testing, i18n, and offline support built in.
Open source · MIT
A fast frontend build tool with a quick dev server and optimized production builds.
The short answer
Choose React Boilerplate if you need…
- Experienced React developers starting a new production web app
- Teams that want a consistent project structure and conventions
- Developers who want built-in tests, linting, and code generation from the start
- Projects that need multiple languages (i18n) from the beginning
Choose Vite if you need…
- Frontend developers starting a new modern web project
- Teams who want faster local dev server startup and hot reloading
- Developers who want a plugin system and typed JavaScript APIs
Side-by-side
| React Boilerplate | Vite | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 29.4k | 83.7k |
| Setup difficulty | Advanced | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 4 years ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
React Boilerplate
React Boilerplate is a pre-built project template that gives you a working React and Redux app with routing, styling, translations, and tests already set up. It is meant to save you the setup work of wiring these tools together before writing your own features. The README describes it as offline-first and focused on performance and best practices.
Vite
Vite is a build tool for modern web projects. Its dev server serves your code quickly while you work, using native ES modules and fast hot module replacement so changes appear almost immediately in the browser. For production, its build command bundles your code into optimized static files.
Best for
React Boilerplate
- Experienced React developers starting a new production web app
- Teams that want a consistent project structure and conventions
- Developers who want built-in tests, linting, and code generation from the start
- Projects that need multiple languages (i18n) from the beginning
Vite
- Frontend developers starting a new modern web project
- Teams who want faster local dev server startup and hot reloading
- Developers who want a plugin system and typed JavaScript APIs
Strengths
React Boilerplate
- Ships with a large set of conventions, tests, and tooling already wired together
- The README describes code generation and automated formatting and linting
- Has a long history, 29k+ GitHub stars, and an MIT license
Vite
- Dev server starts quickly and updates quickly during editing, per the README
- Production build outputs optimized static assets with little manual configuration
- Extensible through a plugin API and JavaScript API with full typing support
Not ideal for
React Boilerplate
- Complete beginners to React or Redux: the README itself says it is not meant for beginners and points to a separate guide instead
- Small one-page sites where a simpler setup would do, since the template includes many tools you may not need
Vite
- People who only need a finished app and not a development toolchain, since Vite is a tool for building apps
- Non-developers, because setup and use require JavaScript project knowledge
Trade-offs
React Boilerplate
- The README says it is not meant for beginners, so it has a steep learning curve
- Bundles many opinionated tools, which you must learn or remove if you prefer something else
- The latest push shown here is from March 2023, so check whether it is still maintained for your needs
Vite
- The README is brief and defers most detail to the external documentation site
- Its production bundling depends on Rolldown, a separate project, so the README gives limited detail on how that works for users
- Plugin ecosystem and compatibility details are not covered in the README
Getting started
React Boilerplate
Clone the repo
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/react-boilerplate/react-boilerplate.git <YOUR_PROJECT_NAME>Move into the project folder
cd <YOUR_PROJECT_NAME>Vite
Scaffold a new project (per the create-vite package)
npm create vite@latestFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between React Boilerplate and Vite?
React Boilerplate: A starter template for React and Redux apps with testing, i18n, and offline support built in. Vite: A fast frontend build tool with a quick dev server and optimized production builds. React Boilerplate suits experienced react developers starting a new production web app, while Vite suits frontend developers starting a new modern web project.
Are React Boilerplate and Vite free?
React Boilerplate: Free and open source. Vite: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, React Boilerplate or Vite?
Vite is easier to get started with (rated intermediate); React Boilerplate is rated advanced and usually needs more setup.
Is React Boilerplate or Vite more popular?
Vite has more GitHub stars (83.7k) than React Boilerplate (29.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to React Boilerplate and Vite?
Other options people compare them with include Next.js, webpack, Parcel, esbuild, Rspack.
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.