43
FairUse Javascript in place of PHP
- Weekly Downloads
- 0
Trend data unavailable
- Bundle (gzip)
- 1.3 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Health Score Breakdown
Maintenance
20
Popularity
10
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
Comparison guide
Htmx vs React
HTMX is 14 KB with zero build step. React is 47 KB+ before adding a router. Compare bundle size, npm downloads, learning curve, and use cases with real data.
Quick Verdict
Smallest Bundle
Htmx
1.3 KB gzipped
Most Popular
Htmx
0 weekly downloads
Best Maintained
React
100/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Htmx
50/100 quality score
Overall Pick
React
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
67
GoodReact is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
- Weekly Downloads
- 0
Trend data unavailable
- Bundle (gzip)
- 2.8 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Health Score Breakdown
Maintenance
100
Popularity
10
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
Choosing between Htmx and React? 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
Htmx and React both have 0 weekly downloads, indicating equal adoption in the ecosystem.
Bundle Size
Htmx has the smallest gzipped bundle at 1.3 KB. React comes in at 2.8 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Health Score Comparison
React has an overall health score of 67/100 (good), with strong maintenance, security scores. Htmx has an overall health score of 43/100 (moderate), with strong security scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
When to Choose Each
Choose Htmx if you value minimal bundle footprint, strong security track record. Choose React if you value minimal bundle footprint, actively maintained, strong security track record.
Our Verdict
Both Htmx and React are solid choices for JavaScript development. React has the edge in overall health score (67/100), 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 htmx better than react?
- It depends on your needs. Htmx has a health score of 43/100 while React scores 67/100. Htmx has more weekly downloads (0), 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, htmx or react?
- Htmx has the smaller gzipped bundle at 1.3 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
- How many developers use htmx vs react?
- Based on npm download statistics, Htmx has approximately 0 weekly downloads and React has approximately 0 weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.
- Which is better maintained, htmx or react?
- React currently has the higher overall health score at 67/100. Htmx has a maintenance score of 20/100 and React scores 100/100 on maintenance.
HTMX vs React: Hypermedia vs Virtual DOM in 2026
HTMX and React represent two fundamentally different philosophies for building interactive web applications. React pioneered the component-based, virtual DOM approach — you write JavaScript that describes your UI, React diffs it against the previous state, and surgically updates the real DOM. HTMX takes the opposite approach: keep your application logic on the server, use HTML attributes to declare what should happen on user interactions, and let the server return HTML fragments that get swapped into the page.
The bundle size difference is stark: HTMX is roughly 14 KB gzipped with zero build step, zero transpilation, and zero runtime dependencies. A typical React application — React + ReactDOM + a router + state management — easily exceeds 80 KB before you write a single line of application code. For content-heavy sites, marketing pages, and server-rendered applications where most logic lives on the backend, HTMX delivers interactivity at a fraction of the JavaScript cost. React's larger bundle pays for itself in complex, highly interactive applications — dashboards, real-time collaboration tools, or anything with extensive client-side state management.
The right choice depends on your application type and team. HTMX shines when paired with server frameworks like Django, Rails, Flask, or Go — you get SPA-like UX without abandoning server-rendered architecture. React is the better choice for applications that genuinely need rich client-side interactivity: drag-and-drop interfaces, real-time data visualization, complex form workflows, or offline-capable PWAs. Many experienced developers are now using HTMX for their server-rendered pages and reaching for React only when the interaction complexity genuinely demands a client-side framework.
Related Comparisons
The 2026 JavaScript Stack Cheatsheet
One PDF: the best package for every category (ORMs, bundlers, auth, testing, state management). Used by 500+ devs. Free, updated monthly.