Top 15 React Native Component Libraries You Can't Miss

A good component library saves a React Native team weeks of work. Instead of building buttons, inputs, modals, lists and animations from scratch, you start with tested components and spend your time on the features that make your app different.

The React Native ecosystem moves quickly, though. Several libraries that were popular a few years ago are now deprecated or unmaintained. This list covers 15 libraries that are worth using today, plus how to choose between them.

What is React Native?

React Native is an open-source framework from Meta for building mobile apps with JavaScript or TypeScript and React. Instead of writing separate apps in Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android, you write one codebase that renders real native UI components on both platforms. Since version 0.76, released in late 2024, its New Architecture is enabled by default, which improves performance and makes it easier to call native code.

Many teams use React Native together with Expo, which adds tooling for building, updating and publishing apps. Our comparisons of Flutter vs React Native and React Native vs Swift help if you are still choosing a framework.

Advantages of React Native

• One codebase for iOS and Android. Most of the code is shared, which cuts development and maintenance time.

• Native UI and good performance. Apps use real platform components, and performance-critical parts can be written in native code.

• Fast Refresh. Code changes appear in the running app within seconds, which speeds up development.

• Large ecosystem. There are libraries for navigation, animation, maps, payments and much more.

• Familiar for web developers. React developers can move to mobile with a short learning curve. See React vs React Native for the differences.

• Proven at scale. Meta uses it in its own apps, and companies such as Microsoft and Shopify use it in major products.

Disadvantages of React Native

• Very graphics-heavy apps, such as 3D games, are usually better built natively or with a game engine.

• Some features need native modules. New platform APIs may need custom Swift or Kotlin code before a library supports them.

• Dependency upkeep. Upgrading React Native versions and third-party libraries takes regular effort, and unmaintained libraries become a risk.

• Platform differences. You will still write some iOS-specific or Android-specific code for behaviour and design details.

What is a React Native component library?

A component library is a collection of ready-made UI building blocks, such as buttons, cards, forms, modals and navigation elements, designed to work and look consistent across iOS and Android. Some libraries give you finished, styled components. Others give you unstyled primitives or styling systems you build your own design system on.

Should you use a component library?

For most apps, yes. A library speeds up development, gives you accessible, tested components and keeps the UI consistent. The main exception is an app with a highly custom brand design, where a styling system or headless primitives may fit better than a fully styled kit.

How to choose a React Native component library

1. Check maintenance. Look at recent releases, open issues and whether it supports current React Native versions and the New Architecture.

2. Match your design. Material Design apps suit React Native Paper. Custom brands suit theming systems such as Tamagui, Restyle or NativeWind.

3. Check Expo support if you use Expo.

4. Look at accessibility and how easy it is to customise components.

5. Consider web support if you want to share UI with a web app.

15 React Native component libraries to use

1. React Native Paper

Maintained by Callstack, React Native Paper implements Google's Material Design, including Material You (version 3). It has a broad set of components, theming and good accessibility. It is a safe default for apps that follow Material Design.

2. gluestack-ui

gluestack-ui is the successor to NativeBase, which is now deprecated. Its components are styled with Tailwind classes through NativeWind, and you copy them into your project so you can change them freely. It works across iOS, Android and web.

3. Tamagui

Tamagui is a UI kit and styling system for React Native and web, with an optimising compiler that reduces runtime styling cost. It suits teams that want one design system across mobile and web.

4. React Native Elements

React Native Elements (RNE) is a long-running, community-maintained toolkit with a simple API and a wide set of cross-platform components. It is easy to start with.

5. React Native Reusables

React Native Reusables brings the shadcn/ui approach to React Native: well-designed components built on NativeWind that you copy into your codebase and own. It suits teams that like shadcn/ui on the web.

6. UI Kitten

UI Kitten is based on the Eva Design System and supports light and dark themes and runtime theme switching. Development has slowed in recent years, so check that it supports your React Native version before adopting it.

7. Ant Design Mobile RN

The React Native version of Ant Design gives you a large set of components in the Ant Design style. It is popular with teams that already use Ant Design on the web.

8. Restyle

Built by Shopify, Restyle is a type-safe theming system for building your own design system in TypeScript. It gives you primitives and a theme, not finished components.

9. NativeWind

NativeWind lets you style React Native components with Tailwind CSS classes. It is a styling layer rather than a component kit, and several libraries on this list, including gluestack-ui and React Native Reusables, build on it.

10. FlashList

Shopify's FlashList is a drop-in replacement for React Native's FlatList that recycles views to render long lists much more smoothly.

11. React Native Reanimated

Reanimated, from Software Mansion, runs animations on the UI thread, so they stay smooth even when JavaScript is busy. It is the standard choice for gestures and complex animation.

12. React Native Bottom Sheet

Gorhom's Bottom Sheet provides a performant, highly configurable bottom sheet, one of the most common mobile UI patterns. It is built on Reanimated and Gesture Handler.

13. Lottie for React Native

Lottie plays animations exported from After Effects as lightweight JSON files. It is ideal for onboarding screens, empty states and micro-interactions.

14. React Native Maps

React Native Maps gives you map views, markers, polylines and custom overlays using Apple Maps or Google Maps. It is the go-to library for location features.

15. React Native Gifted Chat

Gifted Chat provides a complete chat interface with message bubbles, input toolbar, avatars and loading of earlier messages. It is a quick way to add messaging to an app.

Libraries that are no longer a good choice

Some libraries still appear in older lists but are best avoided for new projects. NativeBase is deprecated in favour of gluestack-ui. Nachos UI, Galio and react-native-material-kit are no longer actively maintained. Chakra UI, Rebass and Material UI are web libraries and don't target React Native.

Is there a future for React Native?

Yes. Meta continues to invest in it, the New Architecture is now the default, and frameworks such as Expo have made building and shipping apps much easier. For most business apps that need to run on both iOS and Android, React Native remains one of the two leading choices, alongside Flutter.

Conclusion

The right library depends on your design, your team and whether you share UI with the web. For a Material Design app, start with React Native Paper. For a custom design system, look at gluestack-ui, Tamagui, React Native Reusables or Restyle with NativeWind. Add specialist libraries such as FlashList, Reanimated and Lottie as you need them. Whatever you choose, check that it is actively maintained.

Sterling Technolabs builds cross-platform apps with React Native. Learn more about our mobile app development services, or read our guide to hiring React developers.