There are legitimate criticisms of React, but whether it’s overrated depends on what you compare it to and your project’s needs. Here’s a balanced breakdown of why some developers feel React gets more hype than it deserves:
Reasons Some Developers Think React Is Overrated
1. It’s a Library That Pretends to Be a Framework
React is often treated like a full framework, but it only handles the UI layer.
You still need extra libraries for:
- routing (React Router)
- data fetching (SWR, React Query)
- state management (Redux, Zustand, Jotai, Recoil)
- form handling (Formik, React Hook Form)
Result: beginners feel overwhelmed by the ecosystem.
2. Too Much Complexity for Simple Problems
React encourages patterns that can be overly complex for small or medium apps:
- hooks with deep dependency arrays
- prop drilling
- complex state management
- need for memoization to control re-renders
Sometimes, a simpler tool (Vue, Svelte, Solid, server-side rendering) is enough.
3. It Encourages “JavaScript Everything”
React often leads to:
- shipping large bundles to the browser
- heavy client-side JavaScript
- worse performance on low-end devices
- SEO challenges (unless you use Next.js)
Modern alternatives focus on shipping less JS.
4. Frequent Breaking Changes in Mental Models
React doesn’t break the API often, but the best practices constantly change:
- class components → hooks
- useEffect pitfalls → server components
- Redux → Context → Redux Toolkit → server side state?
- Create React App → Vite → Next.js → Remix → React Server Components
The ecosystem shifts a lot, and staying current is tiring.
5. JSX Turns Off Some Developers
JSX mixes HTML and JS. Some love it; others hate it.
Alternatives like Svelte or Vue let you write components in a more declarative, less JS-heavy style.
6. Performance Isn’t Always Great
React’s virtual DOM diffing is smart, but not magic.
Frameworks like SolidJS or Svelte produce much more optimized output with:
- fewer re-renders
- no virtual DOM overhead
React can be fast — but you need to understand memoization, effects, batching, and more.
7. Too Much Corporate Influence
React is heavily shaped by Meta (Facebook).
That brings stability but also:
- decisions that prioritize Meta’s problems
- slow or uneven communication (e.g., years of suspense/stall around features)
8. Alternatives Have a Smoother Developer Experience
Developers switching away from React often cite:
- Vue → simpler learning curve
- Svelte → minimal boilerplate
- SolidJS → React-like syntax with better performance
- Next.js competitors → (Remix, Astro) less React-specific baggage
TL;DR
React might be overrated if you value:
- simplicity
- minimal JavaScript
- fast defaults
- stable conventions
But it’s still extremely popular because of:
- huge community
- massive ecosystem
- job opportunities
- flexibility
- long-term stability