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@emotion/react vs Styled-components

Side-by-side NPM package comparison

Quick Verdict

Smallest Bundle

@emotion/react

7.9 KB gzipped

Most Popular

@emotion/react

15.6M weekly downloads

Best Maintained

Styled-components

100/100 maintenance score

Highest Quality

@emotion/react

50/100 quality score

Overall Pick

@emotion/react

Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality

@emotion/react icon

@emotion/react

Extremely Popular

Version 11.14.0

0
61
Good

> Simple styling in React.

Weekly Downloads
15.6M
17%
Bundle (gzip)
7.9 KB
Updated
Vulns
0

Health Score Breakdown

Maintenance
20
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
styled-components icon

styled-components

Very Popular

Version 6.3.12

0
85
Excellent

CSS for the <Component> Age. Style components your way with speed, strong typing, and flexibility.

Weekly Downloads
8.8M
13%
Bundle (gzip)
11.8 KB
Updated
Vulns
0

Health Score Breakdown

Maintenance
100
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70

Choosing between @emotion/react and Styled-components? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.

Downloads & Popularity

@emotion/react leads with 15.6M weekly downloads — roughly 1.8x more. Styled-components has 8.8M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.

Bundle Size

@emotion/react has the smallest gzipped bundle at 7.9 KB. Styled-components comes in at 11.8 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.

Health Score Comparison

Styled-components has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. @emotion/react has an overall health score of 61/100 (good), with strong security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.

When to Choose Each

Choose @emotion/react if you value massive community and ecosystem, strong security track record. Choose Styled-components if you value large community support, actively maintained, strong security track record.

Our Verdict

Both @emotion/react and Styled-components are solid choices for JavaScript development. Styled-components has the edge in overall health score (85/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is @emotion/react better than styled-components?
It depends on your needs. @emotion/react has a health score of 61/100 while Styled-components scores 85/100. @emotion/react has more weekly downloads (15.6M), suggesting broader adoption. Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
Which has a smaller bundle size, @emotion/react or styled-components?
@emotion/react has the smaller gzipped bundle at 7.9 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
How many developers use @emotion/react vs styled-components?
Based on npm download statistics, @emotion/react has approximately 15.6M weekly downloads and Styled-components has approximately 8.8M weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.
Which is better maintained, @emotion/react or styled-components?
Styled-components currently has the higher overall health score at 85/100. @emotion/react has a maintenance score of 20/100 and Styled-components scores 100/100 on maintenance.

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