React Native Paper vs UI Kitten
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 React Native UI kit of Material Design components for Android and iOS apps.
Open source · MIT
React Native UI component library with a built-in light/dark theme system, for iOS, Android and web.
The short answer
Choose React Native Paper if you need…
- React Native developers who want ready-made Material Design components
- Teams building iOS and Android apps with a shared codebase
- Developers who want theming control over colors and styles
- Projects that need components which adapt to each platform's conventions
Choose UI Kitten if you need…
- React Native developers who want a complete set of standard UI controls
- Teams that need light and dark themes or custom brand colours
- Apps that must run on iOS, Android and the web from one codebase
- TypeScript projects that want typed component props and refs
Side-by-side
| React Native Paper | UI Kitten | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 14.5k | 10.7k |
| 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 | 4 days ago | 31 days ago |
What each one is
React Native Paper
React Native Paper is a UI kit library for React Native that provides a set of customizable components following Google's Material Design guidelines. It helps developers build mobile apps that look consistent on both Android and iOS without designing every button and form control from scratch. It also supports theming so the look can be adjusted to match an app's brand.
UI Kitten
UI Kitten is a set of more than 30 ready-made interface components (buttons, inputs, lists, tabs, modals and similar) for React Native apps. It follows the Eva Design System, so components share a consistent look that can be restyled with a theme. Developers use it to build iOS, Android and web apps without designing every control from scratch.
Best for
React Native Paper
- React Native developers who want ready-made Material Design components
- Teams building iOS and Android apps with a shared codebase
- Developers who want theming control over colors and styles
- Projects that need components which adapt to each platform's conventions
UI Kitten
- React Native developers who want a complete set of standard UI controls
- Teams that need light and dark themes or custom brand colours
- Apps that must run on iOS, Android and the web from one codebase
- TypeScript projects that want typed component props and refs
Strengths
React Native Paper
- Components follow Material Design guidelines by default
- Works on both iOS and Android and follows platform adaptation guidelines
- Includes theming support and is MIT licensed
UI Kitten
- Covers more than 30 common components with consistent styling
- Supports runtime theme switching and custom themes
- Ships TypeScript definitions for components and props
Not ideal for
React Native Paper
- Developers who are not using React Native, since this library is built specifically for it
- Teams that need a non-Material visual style without heavy customization, because the defaults follow Material Design
- Non-developers looking for a no-code tool
UI Kitten
- Developers who need a non-React Native stack, since it is built specifically for React Native and React
- Teams that want a fully custom visual design without adopting the Eva look, because the default style is opinionated
- Projects on very old React Native versions, since the README lists minimum versions (react-native 0.72, Expo SDK 49) that you must meet
Trade-offs
React Native Paper
- Focused on Material Design, so it is less suited to apps wanting a different visual language
- Installation and setup details are in the external documentation rather than the README shown here
UI Kitten
- Requires several packages (components, eva, react-native-svg) and version alignment with your React Native setup
- The README says accessibility coverage is documented separately and may be partial, so check the guide before relying on it
- Major version 6 changed patterns such as the styled decorator, so older tutorials may not apply
Getting started
React Native Paper
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/callstack/react-native-paperUI Kitten
Expo install
npx expo install @ui-kitten/components @ui-kitten/eva react-native-svgBare React Native install
npm install @ui-kitten/components @ui-kitten/eva react-native-svgFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between React Native Paper and UI Kitten?
React Native Paper: A React Native UI kit of Material Design components for Android and iOS apps. UI Kitten: React Native UI component library with a built-in light/dark theme system, for iOS, Android and web. React Native Paper suits react native developers who want ready-made material design components, while UI Kitten suits react native developers who want a complete set of standard ui controls.
Are React Native Paper and UI Kitten free?
React Native Paper: Free and open source. UI Kitten: Free and open source.
Is React Native Paper or UI Kitten more popular?
React Native Paper has more GitHub stars (14.5k) than UI Kitten (10.7k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to React Native Paper and UI Kitten?
Other options people compare them with include NativeBase, React Native Elements, Tamagui, daisyUI, React Native for Web.
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.