11+ Best Shadcn Alternatives for Building React/Next.js UIs

Got tired of Shadcn while vibe-coding and looking for better alternatives to Shadcn/ui?

You’re not alone.

While shadcn/ui has gained massive popularity for its clean design and Tailwind-based components, it’s not a perfect fit for everyone.

As more developers rely on the same stacks, patterns, and AI-generated layouts, many interfaces are starting to look… identical.

In this guide, we break down the best Shadcn UI alternatives for building a startup MVP, a dashboard, or a full-scale product, whether you want more structure, flexibility, accessibility, or visual differentiation.

What is shadcn/ui?

Shadcn UI is a modern UI component library built on top of Tailwind CSS and Radix UI. It provides beautiful, accessible, and customizable components that work well in React and Next.js apps. Shadcn UI Became Popular because:

• Clean and modern design
• Built using Tailwind CSS
• Customizable components
• Works well with Next.js and TypeScript

Why look for alternatives?

• Heavy reliance on multiple libraries like Radix, Lucide, and more
• Over-dependence on AI tools like V0 and Cursor
• Lack of long-term flexibility
• More learning curve for beginners

If you're feeling overwhelmed or just want to explore, here are 11+ strong alternatives to consider.

The “AI Slop” Problem

With tools like v0, Cursor, and similar AI web app builders defaulting to Shadcn-style patterns, millions of websites are increasingly sharing the same layout structures, spacing, and component compositions.

Fast? Yes.

Distinctive? Not always.

That’s why many teams are now exploring alternatives that offer:

• More built-in structure
• Design systems instead of loose primitives
• Fewer dependencies to stitch together
• Better support for scaling beyond MVPs

Best Shadcn Alternatives

Shadcn is great, but it’s not for everyone. Some developers want fewer dependencies, a simpler setup, or more built-in features. Below are the top 11+ shadcn/ui alternatives for 2026 that work well with React and Next.js, especially if you’re using Tailwind CSS.

TailGrids

TailGrids is a modern, open-source React UI component library built with Tailwind CSS. With the release of TailGrids 3.0, it goes beyond a simple component library and becomes a complete UI foundation for real-world products.

It is designed for teams that want more structure than Shadcn-style primitives without losing flexibility. Moreover, it offers free React components, advanced UI blocks, ready-to-launch templates, CLI tooling, and a fully aligned Figma design system, all in one cohesive ecosystem.

Start using TailGrids via CLI

npx @tailgrids/cli@latest init

Key Features

• 600+ free and pro React UI components and blocks
• 100+ free open-source React UI components
• 8+ ready-to-launch React templates for dashboards, marketing, and eCommerce
• Built with Tailwind CSS and modern React workflows
• Integrated Figma design system with 900+ components
• CLI tooling for faster setup and consistent project structure
• Supports React-first workflows with framework-ready architecture

Best For: Scalable, responsive UIs with minimal setup

GitHub Repo: Tailgrids/tailgrids

GitHub Stars: 1.5k

Visit TailGrids

DaisyUI

DaisyUI adds themeable, pre-styled components to Tailwind CSS. It’s lightweight, fast, and easy to customize without sacrificing flexibility.

Key Features

• 60+ base components
• Built-in themes
• Tailwind plugin
• Dark mode support

Best For: Simple theming with utility-class control

GitHub Repo: saadeghi/daisyui

GitHub Stars: 40.2K

Visit DaisyUI

TW Elements

TW Elements combines Tailwind with Material Design features and full interactivity. It’s ideal for apps that need built-in JS-based UI elements.

Key Features

• 500+ Material Design components
• Supports HTML, React, Vue
• Interactive UI elements
• Pre-built templates

Best For: Feature-rich UIs with minimal setup

GitHub Repo: mdbootstrap/TW-Elements

GitHub Stars: 13.1K

Visit TW Elements

Flowbite

Flowbite is a full UI kit and component system built on Tailwind CSS. It includes templates and interactive components ready for production use.

Key Features

• 600+ UI components
• Support for React, Vue, Laravel, Angular
• Figma design system included
• Interactive and accessible

Best For: Projects needing both design and development speed

GitHub Repo: themesberg/flowbite

GitHub Stars: 9.1K

Visit Flowbite

Preline UI

Preline UI is a modern, open-source Tailwind library offering a wide range of accessible, production-ready components. It also has a Pro version with more prebuilt layouts.

Key Features

• 640+ responsive components
• Prebuilt layouts & templates
• Tailwind CSS V4 support
• HTML-first with accessible code

Best For: Clean and flexible UI builds

GitHub Repo: htmlstreamofficial/preline

GitHub Stars: 6.2K

Visit Preline UI

Float UI

Float UI offers clean, modern Tailwind components with support for multiple frameworks. It’s made for developers looking for performance and flexibility.

Key Features

• Supports React, Vue, Svelte, HTML
• Landing page & dashboard sections
• Lightweight and responsive
• Easy to customize

Best For: Fast front-end development with a clean design

GitHub Repo: MarsX-dev/floatui

GitHub Stars: 3.6K

Visit Float UI

HeroUI

HeroUI is a modern React UI library built on Tailwind CSS. It offers fully accessible, customizable components with a strong focus on developer experience and performance.

Key Features

• Built on Tailwind CSS with zero runtime styles
• Fully accessible components using React Aria
• Custom theming via Tailwind plugin
• TypeScript support and CLI tooling
• Offers 210+ pre-made components

Best For: Developers seeking a fast, accessible, and customizable React/Next.js UI library

GitHub Repo: /heroui-inc/heroui

GitHub Stars: 28.1K

Visit HeroUI

Tremor.so

Tremor is a Tailwind-based UI framework for building dashboards, analytics tools, and internal tools fast. It’s open-source and optimized for data-rich interfaces.

Key Features

• Tailwind utility-first styling
• Interactive charts, cards, and metrics
• Responsive dashboard layouts
• Built-in animations

Best For: Data-driven dashboards and internal tools

GitHub Repo: tremorlabs/tremor

GitHub Stars: 3.2K

Visit Tremor

Kometa UI Kit

Kometa offers beautifully crafted Tailwind CSS components and page sections. It’s ideal for landing pages, SaaS apps, and portfolios.

Key Features

• 130+ sections & blocks
• Built with Tailwind CSS
• Figma files included
• Clean and minimal layout styles

Best For: SaaS landing pages, marketing sites, and startup MVPS

Visit Kometa UI Kit

Meraki UI

Meraki UI provides a library of polished Tailwind V3 components. It’s built for developers who want beautiful UI blocks with minimal effort.

Key Features

• 200+ components
• Clean and elegant UI
• Built with Tailwind CSS
• HTML-first approach

Best For: Elegant interfaces using minimal code

GitHub Repo: merakiuilabs/merakiui

GitHub Stars: 2.7K

Visit Meraki UI

Material Tailwind

Material Tailwind blends Google’s Material Design with Tailwind CSS. It supports React, Vue, and HTML projects with pre-styled components.

Key Features

• 460+ Material Design components
• Prebuilt templates
• Multi-framework support
• Custom theme support

Best For: Material Design lovers using Tailwind

GitHub Repo: creativetimofficial/material-tailwind

GitHub Stars: 4.4K

Visit Material Tailwind

Headless UI

Headless UI gives you full control over styling while offering accessible, unstyled components. It’s maintained by Tailwind Labs.

Key Features

• Fully accessible
• No styles—customize everything
• React and Vue support
• Lightweight and fast

Best For: Full customization and accessibility compliance

GitHub Repo: tailwindlabs/headlessui

GitHub Stars: 28.4K

Visit Headless UI

Ripple UI

Ripple UI is a minimal Tailwind component library with a modern design. It comes with essential components and layout blocks.

Key Features

• 35+ components
• Ready-to-use sections
• Lightweight and fast
• Easy Tailwind integration

Best For: Lightweight UI projects with a clean aesthetic

GitHub Repo: Siumauricio/rippleui

GitHub Stars: 1K

Visit Ripple UI

HyperUI

HyperUI is a plug-and-play Tailwind component library. It’s simple, fast, and made for quick prototyping and production use.

Key Features

• 100+ components
• Dark mode included
• Easy copy-paste structure
• Regularly updated

Best For: Quick setup without package installs

GitHub Repo: markmead/hyperui

GitHub Stars: 11.9K

Visit HyperUI

Conclusion

Each alternative offers something different. Want full control? Go with Headless UI, Hyper UI. Need a complete design system? Try TailGrids, Flowbite, or Preline. Prefer clean and minimal? Look at Float UI or Ripple UI.

For scalable projects with easy setup, TailGrids is a top pick.

Choose the one that fits your stack, your workflow, and the amount of time you want to spend tweaking the UI.