Sonner vs SweetAlert2
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 component that shows small pop-up notification messages (toasts).
Open source · MIT
A customizable, accessible replacement for JavaScript's built-in popup boxes, with no dependencies.
The short answer
Choose Sonner if you need…
- React developers who want quick, good-looking notifications without building their own
- Projects that need simple success or error messages after user actions
- Teams who prefer a ready-made component with minimal configuration
Choose SweetAlert2 if you need…
- Web developers who want nicer popups than the browser's built-in alert and confirm boxes
- Teams adding confirmation dialogs before destructive actions like deleting data
- Projects that need accessible modal dialogs without pulling in extra libraries
- Developers who want prebuilt themes that match frameworks such as Bootstrap or Material UI
Side-by-side
| Sonner | SweetAlert2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 13.1k | 18.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 3 months ago | 9 days ago |
What each one is
Sonner
Sonner is a React component library for showing brief notification messages, called toasts, on screen. You place a Toaster component once in your app, then call toast() from anywhere to display a message. It is described by its author as an opinionated design, meaning it makes styling and behavior choices for you rather than offering many options.
SweetAlert2
SweetAlert2 is a JavaScript library that shows popup dialogs, alerts, confirmations, prompts and toast notifications on a web page. It replaces the plain browser alert and confirm boxes with styled, responsive ones that follow WAI-ARIA accessibility conventions. The README says it has zero dependencies.
Best for
Sonner
- React developers who want quick, good-looking notifications without building their own
- Projects that need simple success or error messages after user actions
- Teams who prefer a ready-made component with minimal configuration
SweetAlert2
- Web developers who want nicer popups than the browser's built-in alert and confirm boxes
- Teams adding confirmation dialogs before destructive actions like deleting data
- Projects that need accessible modal dialogs without pulling in extra libraries
- Developers who want prebuilt themes that match frameworks such as Bootstrap or Material UI
Strengths
Sonner
- Simple setup: add one Toaster component and call toast() from anywhere
- Open source under the MIT license, free to use in commercial projects
- Actively maintained, with a recent push and a published v2.0.8 release
SweetAlert2
- The README describes it as zero dependencies
- Built to be accessible with WAI-ARIA support
- Customizable and includes several prebuilt theme CSS files in the latest release
Not ideal for
Sonner
- Developers who need a highly customized notification system, since the README describes it as opinionated
- Projects not using React, because the library is built for React
- Apps needing persistent in-page alerts rather than temporary toasts
SweetAlert2
- Projects that do not run JavaScript in a browser, since it is a front-end popup library
- Anyone who needs a fully custom dialog system built from scratch, as this library brings its own look and behavior
- Non-developers who want a no-code tool; using it requires writing code
Trade-offs
Sonner
- Opinionated design means less room to change behavior or appearance than more flexible libraries
- Documentation of the full API lives on an external site, not in the README shown here
- The README shown is truncated, so details about options and customization are not confirmed here
SweetAlert2
- The README is truncated and does not show the full API, so the depth of customization is hard to judge from it alone
- Much of the README is sponsor listings, which makes the documentation harder to scan
- Its popups are a visual style choice; teams wanting a specific design system may still need to adapt the styles
Getting started
SweetAlert2
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sweetalert2/sweetalert2Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Sonner and SweetAlert2?
Sonner: A React component that shows small pop-up notification messages (toasts). SweetAlert2: A customizable, accessible replacement for JavaScript's built-in popup boxes, with no dependencies. Sonner suits react developers who want quick, good-looking notifications without building their own, while SweetAlert2 suits web developers who want nicer popups than the browser's built-in alert and confirm boxes.
Are Sonner and SweetAlert2 free?
Sonner: Free and open source. SweetAlert2: Free and open source.
Is Sonner or SweetAlert2 more popular?
SweetAlert2 has more GitHub stars (18.1k) than Sonner (13.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Sonner and SweetAlert2?
Other options people compare them with include react-hot-toast, React-Toastify, SweetAlert, Chakra UI, BootstrapVue.
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.