Material-UI vs Semantic UI React: What are the differences?

Material-UI and Semantic UI React are both popular UI component libraries for building React-based web applications. Let's explore the key differences between them.

1. Component Library: Material-UI is a popular React-based UI component library that follows the Material Design guidelines provided by Google. It provides a wide range of pre-built and customizable components, such as buttons, menus, and cards. On the other hand, Semantic UI React also offers a comprehensive set of UI components but follows its own design philosophy, focusing on semantic conventions and natural language principles.

2. Styling Approach: Material-UI uses CSS-in-JS, specifically the JSS (JavaScript Style Sheets) library, to define component styles. This allows for dynamic and theme-based styling, with an emphasis on modularity and reusability. Semantic UI React, on the other hand, relies on traditional CSS files or inline styles for component styling. It provides a wide range of pre-defined themes and allows customization using CSS overrides.

3. Community and Documentation: Material-UI has a large and active community, with extensive documentation, guides, and examples available. It also benefits from being maintained by a core team at Google. Semantic UI React has a smaller community but still has a decent amount of community support and documentation available. However, due to its smaller size, it may not have as many resources or examples as Material-UI.

4. Integration with Other Libraries: Material-UI is designed to work well with other libraries and frameworks, such as React Router and Redux. It provides a seamless integration experience and offers specific components optimized for integration with these popular libraries. Semantic UI React also integrates well with React and can be used together with other libraries, but it may not have the same level of dedicated integrations as Material-UI.

5. Design Language and UX Patterns: Material-UI strictly adheres to the Material Design guidelines, which provide a consistent and visually appealing design language and UX patterns. This can be suitable for projects that require a modern and professional look. On the other hand, Semantic UI React offers a more customizability in terms of design, allowing developers to create unique and distinct user interfaces that may not follow a specific design language.

6. Bundle Size and Performance: Material-UI follows a tree-shaking approach, allowing developers to selectively import and use only the needed components to reduce the bundle size and improve performance. This can be beneficial for projects where file size and performance are a concern. Semantic UI React, on the other hand, has a larger bundle size due to its extensive range of pre-built components and styles, which may have an impact on the overall performance.

In summary, Material-UI follows Google's Material Design guidelines, offering visually appealing components with a modern look, while Semantic UI React focuses on semantic component naming and extensive customization options.