head to head · open source
react vs next.js
react has 250,602 GitHub stars, 51,379 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. next.js has 142,385 stars, 32,493 forks, 3,358 open issues and last shipped today. react leads on adoption by 76% (250,602 vs 142,385 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; next.js is written in JavaScript under MIT. react has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, next.js 23%. next.js was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (react), 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
| react | next.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 251K | ★ 142K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 51K | ⑂ 32K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick react if
- You weight community size — 251K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick next.js if
- You want the next.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and next.js fits your workflow better
About react
React is a JavaScript library under the MIT licence for building user interfaces, using a declarative, component based model that renders both on the web and, through React Native, on mobile.
read the full react overview →
About next.js
Next.js is a JavaScript framework for building web applications, distributed under the MIT license and described by its maintainers as "The React Framework." It extends the latest React features so that developers can build full stack web applications, and it integrates Rust based JavaScript tooling to produce fast builds. The project lives in the React and Node ecosystem, and its topic list places it among static site generators, server rendering tools, hybrid and universal rendering approaches, and compiler oriented front end tooling. The repository is ten years old and has been pushed as recently as September …
read the full next.js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or next.js more popular?
react has 250,602 GitHub stars and next.js has 142,385. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and next.js free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and next.js under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and next.js?
react is written in JavaScript and next.js in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, react or next.js?
Choose react if you want the larger community (250,602 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose next.js if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.