Formik vs React Hook Form: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will discuss the key differences between Formik and React Hook Form, two popular form management libraries in React.

1. Design and Approach: Formik is a more mature library that follows a centralized approach to form management. It provides a set of Higher-Order Components (HOC) to wrap form components and manage the form state. On the other hand, React Hook Form follows a decentralized approach, utilizing React's built-in hooks to manage form state and validation.

2. Performance: React Hook Form is known for its excellent performance due to its emphasis on minimizing re-renders. It achieves this by optimizing the rendering process and minimizing form state updates. Formik, while still performant, may have more re-renders due to its HOC-based approach.

3. Validation: Formik provides built-in validation support, allowing you to define validation rules and error messages for each field easily. It also supports asynchronous validation. In contrast, React Hook Form requires you to manually implement validation rules and error handling. However, it provides integration with popular validation libraries like Yup and Joi.

4. API and Usage: Formik exposes a more extensive API, including functions for handling form submission, resetting form values, and manipulating form state programmatically. React Hook Form provides a simpler API and has a focus on leveraging React hooks for form management.

5. Form Rendering: Formik takes full control over form rendering, rendering all fields and managing their state. It also provides helper components like <Field> and <ErrorMessage> to simplify form rendering. In React Hook Form, the developer has more control over the form rendering process, leveraging custom form components and hooks like useForm and useField.

6. Form State Management: Formik stores form state in its own internal state management system, which can be accessed using the Formik component's render props. React Hook Form utilizes React's built-in useState and useEffect hooks to manage form state, making it easier to understand and integrate with other parts of the application.

In summary, Formik and React Hook Form are both excellent libraries for form management in React, but they differ in design approach, performance, validation support, API usage, form rendering, and form state management.