Preact vs. React: Which Framework to Choose?

Introduction

The great battle of Preact vs React frameworks comes to the ground when it comes to building robust and high-performing web applications. React is known for its vast ecosystem, while Preact stands for a lightweight alternative. Both share component-based architecture and virtual DOM in common; however, they differ in terms of performance, size, and ecosystem.

In this blog, we are going to discuss what Preact is, what React is, key features, key differences between them, and a particular use case to choose between React and Preact.

What is React?

React is an open-source JavaScript tool that Facebook, now Meta, introduced back in 2013. Developers use it to make user interfaces for single-page applications where quick updates are crucial. The standout feature of React is its Virtual DOM. It helps speed up rendering because it avoids making constant changes to the actual DOM.

Key Components of React:

• Component-Based Design: Create small, self-contained parts that keep their state.
• JSX Style: Use a mix of HTML-like and JavaScript code to make building UIs easier to understand.
• State and Hooks: Tools like useState and useEffect let you handle logic without needing any class components.
• Huge Ecosystem: Works well with things like Redux to manage state, React Router to handle navigation, and Next.js to render on the server side.

Advantages of React:

• Strong community support with plenty of learning resources.
• Great choice to build large-scale or complex applications.
• Using the Next.js framework, users can enjoy first-class SSR support.

Disadvantages of React:

• Relatively large file sizes may slow down the app's startup time.
• Beginners might struggle to learn because of the complex tools and setup.
• Users have to deal with more boilerplate for small front-ends.

What is Preact?

Preact is a lightweight alternative to React introduced by Jason Miller in 2015. It delivers the same kind of API and component structure as React but removes extra features to stay lean. Developers who want React-style coding with less overhead often prefer Preact. Its focus remains on speed and simplicity in building modern web solutions.

Key Components of Preact:

• Compact Virtual DOM: Designed to refresh and use less memory.
• Supports ES Modules: Allows browsers to load them without needing extra tools.
• Compatibility Layer: Developers can use preact/compat to keep most React code unchanged.
• Signals and Hooks: It offers tools for reactive programming and managing state, similar to React.

Advantages of Preact:

• Small bundle size helps with rapid page loading.
• Performs well in environments with limited resources.
• React projects can switch to it with minimal effort.

Disadvantages of Preact:

• Smaller library ecosystem with fewer Preact-centric tools.
• It lacks certain advanced React features like full Suspense/Concurrent Mode.
• It needs more setup to match the functionality of React.

Preact vs React: How They Differ?

Although the two share certain similarities, Preact and React also differ from each other, which impacts the development process. So let’s break down the key disparities.

Bundle Size

One of the most evident differences between React and Preact lies in their size. React's bundle, including React-DOM, ends up being 100 to 150kB when both minified and gzipped, depending on the version being used. Preact, on the other hand, is a lot smaller at just 3kB gzipped. It sticks to providing the core features. This small size makes Preact a strong option for apps that need to save bandwidth, like mobile websites or PWAs.

Performance

Preact tends to have faster startup times and better runtime efficiency because of its smaller size and its Virtual DOM, which is designed for speed. It skips React's synthetic event system and uses the browser's built-in event handling instead. This improves both its speed and its compliance with DOM standards. In performance tests, Preact renders lightweight apps faster than React. But for more complex apps, the advanced optimizations of React fill the gap.

API Compatibility

Preact matches React's API, covering about 99% compatibility with versions 15 through 19. However, minor inconvenience can occur sometimes. To achieve complete alignment, you can use the preact/compat package to replace modules. While features such as Portals, Suspense, and lazy loading exist, their behavior might vary compared to React.

Event Handling

React relies on a synthetic event system to handle events across different browsers. Preact instead uses the native addEventListener approach, which keeps the library smaller and faster. Because of this, events don’t bubble through portals in Preact. Some handlers, like onChange and onInput, also work unless you enable compat mode.

Ecosystem and Community

React has a massive ecosystem with thousands of libraries and tools supported by Meta, along with an active community. Preact’s ecosystem is smaller, but it is expanding. It relies on being compatible with React to enable reuse. In 2025, React continues to dominate in usage, but Preact attracts attention for projects where lightweight solutions matter the most.

Debugging

Preact uses a dedicated preact/debug module to display warnings while developing. React, on the other hand, uses checks that depend on the environment. The approach of Preact offers more control but requires importing this module.

React vs Preact: When to Choose Which?

Consider the following scenarios for choosing between Preact and React JS libraries.

Choose Preact If;

• When you require a micro bundle size to build mobile web apps, PWAs, or static websites.
• In scenarios where bandwidth is limited, speed and fast loading times matter most.
• You are switching from React, but in need of a smaller overhead.
• For designing smaller front-ends.

Choose React If;

• You want to build large-scale apps requiring advanced state management.
• You need tools to handle SSR, routing, or animations from an extensive ecosystem.
• Long-run maintainability with community support matters for the project.
• Your project heavily relies on React-specific third-party libraries.

How to Migrate from React to Preact?

Switching from React to Preact is straightforward. Follow the steps below to make a switch.

• Install Preact and Compatibility Layer

npm install preact

• Add aliases in your build config.

// webpack.config.js 
resolve: { 
alias: { 
react: 'preact/compat',
'react-dom': 'preact/compat'
}
}

• Test current components and check if all works without modification.
• Remove unutilized React-specific code for better optimization.

Conclusion

So in this blog, we broke down the core disparities between Preact and React. When it comes to focus on high performance and bundle size, Preact is the clear winner with its lightweight nature and high-speed use case. When ecosystem and tool matter, React takes the place as it offers unmatched ecosystem depth to build complex solutions. Both libraries are evolving and deliver exceptional web app experiences to users, so it’s safe to make a call with whatever option you prefer. Evaluate your core requirements to choose the right fit. Hope this helps you select the right choice.

Still feeling stuck? React out to us. Lucent Innovation is a prominent React.js development company helping clients build robust solutions tailored to their unique business goals. We boast a team of vetted experts proficient in building future-ready solutions to help you grow.