head to head · open source
react vs react-cosmos
react has 250,602 GitHub stars, 51,379 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. react-cosmos has 8,686 stars, 381 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. react leads on adoption by 2,785% (250,602 vs 8,686 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; react-cosmos is written in TypeScript under MIT. react has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, react-cosmos 4%. react was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (react, ui), 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| react | react-cosmos | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 251K | ★ 8.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 51K | ⑂ 381 |
| 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 react-cosmos if
- You want the react-cosmos feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and react-cosmos 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 react-cosmos
React Cosmos is a sandbox for developing and testing UI components in isolation, built for React developers who want to build, render and verify individual components without launching the full application around them.
read the full react-cosmos overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Frameworks & Platforms projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Frameworks & Platforms field.
Frequently asked questions
Is react or react-cosmos more popular?
react has 250,602 GitHub stars and react-cosmos has 8,686. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and react-cosmos free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and react-cosmos under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and react-cosmos?
react is written in JavaScript and react-cosmos 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, react or react-cosmos?
Choose react if you want the larger community (250,602 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose react-cosmos if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.