head to head · open source
react vs next.js
react has 251,968 GitHub stars, 51,706 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped yesterday. next.js has 143,328 stars, 33,549 forks, 3,358 open issues and last shipped today. react leads on adoption by 76% (251,968 vs 143,328 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 | ★ 252K | ★ 143K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 34K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick react if
- You weight community size — 252K 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 · React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. Declarative: React makes it painless to create interactive UIs. Design simple views for each state in your application, and React will efficiently update and render just the right components when your data changes. Declarative views make your code more predictable, simpler to understand, and easier to debug. Component Based: Build encapsulated components that manage their own state, then compose them to make complex UIs. Since component logic is written in JavaScript instead of templates, you can easily pass rich data through your app and…
read the full react overview →
About next.js
Next.js Getting Started Used by some of the world's largest companies, Next.js enables you to create full stack web applications by extending the latest React features, and integrating powerful Rust based JavaScript tooling for the fastest builds. Visit our Learn Next.js course to get started with Next.js. Visit the Next.js Showcase to see more sites built with Next.js. Documentation Visit to view the full documentation. Community The Next.js community can be found on GitHub Discussions where you can ask questions, voice ideas, and share your projects with other people. To chat with other community members, you…
read the full next.js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or next.js more popular?
react has 251,968 GitHub stars and next.js has 143,328. 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 (251,968 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose next.js if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.