head to head · open source
layui vs primitives
layui has 30,573 GitHub stars, 7,354 forks, 43 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. primitives has 19,309 stars, 1,247 forks, 356 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. layui leads on adoption by 58% (30,573 vs 19,309 stars). layui is written in JavaScript under MIT; primitives is written in TypeScript under MIT. layui has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, primitives 6%. layui was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (component-library, ui-kit), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| layui | primitives | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 19K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-01 | 2026-08-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.4K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick layui if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick primitives if
- You want the primitives feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and primitives fits your workflow better
About layui
Layui is a free, open source Web UI component library built on plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript that follows the browser's native development model, aimed at developers who need to assemble complex page interfaces without adopting a front end framework toolchain.
read the full layui overview →
About primitives
Radix Primitives is an MIT licensed, TypeScript UI component library for React, maintained by WorkOS, that gives teams building design systems and web apps low level components focused on accessibility, customization and developer experience.
read the full primitives overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is layui or primitives more popular?
layui has 30,573 GitHub stars and primitives has 19,309. layui has the larger community by that measure.
Are layui and primitives free?
Both are open source. layui is licensed under MIT and primitives under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between layui and primitives?
layui is written in JavaScript and primitives in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, layui or primitives?
Choose layui if you want the larger community (30,573 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose primitives if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.