UI Kitten vs Tamagui
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
React Native UI component library with a built-in light/dark theme system, for iOS, Android and web.
Open source · MIT
A TypeScript library for building React and React Native UIs that share styling and code.
The short answer
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
Choose Tamagui if you need…
- Teams building the same app for web and native with React
- Developers who want shared styling across React Native and react-native-web
- Projects that want an optional compiler to speed up styled components
- Developers who can set it up gradually inside an existing app
Side-by-side
| UI Kitten | Tamagui | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 10.7k | 14.3k |
| 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 | 31 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
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.
Tamagui
Tamagui is a set of open-source libraries for building user interfaces that run on both the web (React) and phones (React Native) from one shared codebase. It includes a styling library, an optional ready-made UI kit, and a compiler that rewrites styled components into faster output on each platform. Developers use it to share more code between web and native apps without giving up performance.
Best for
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
Tamagui
- Teams building the same app for web and native with React
- Developers who want shared styling across React Native and react-native-web
- Projects that want an optional compiler to speed up styled components
- Developers who can set it up gradually inside an existing app
Strengths
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
Tamagui
- Aims for shared code across web and native while keeping platform-specific performance, per the README
- Works gradually, so you can adopt it in parts of an existing project
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Not ideal for
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
Tamagui
- People who only need a plain website and no React (the project is built around React)
- Beginners without React or TypeScript experience, since the setup assumes both
- Projects that want a single, fixed design with no customization (the UI kit is optional and configurable)
Trade-offs
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
Tamagui
- The README's performance claims (such as a Lighthouse gain on its homepage) are the project's own measurements and were not independently verified here
- Compile-time and runtime behavior adds setup complexity compared with simple styling libraries
- The README is truncated, so details on setup and configuration are limited in this analysis
Getting started
UI 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 UI Kitten and Tamagui?
UI Kitten: React Native UI component library with a built-in light/dark theme system, for iOS, Android and web. Tamagui: A TypeScript library for building React and React Native UIs that share styling and code. UI Kitten suits react native developers who want a complete set of standard ui controls, while Tamagui suits teams building the same app for web and native with react.
Are UI Kitten and Tamagui free?
UI Kitten: Free and open source. Tamagui: Free and open source.
Is UI Kitten or Tamagui more popular?
Tamagui has more GitHub stars (14.3k) 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 UI Kitten and Tamagui?
Other options people compare them with include React Native Paper, NativeBase, React Native Elements, 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.