sass vs @emotion/react vs styled-jsx vs styled-components
CSS-in-JS and Preprocessors Comparison
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What's CSS-in-JS and Preprocessors?

These packages provide various approaches to styling in web development, each with unique features and methodologies. They cater to different developer preferences and project requirements, enabling efficient styling practices. While some focus on dynamic styling through JavaScript, others emphasize traditional CSS preprocessing, allowing for a wide range of styling capabilities in modern web applications.

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sass16,194,1504,0415.69 MB737 days agoMIT
@emotion/react9,691,42517,654817 kB3483 months agoMIT
styled-jsx8,358,0087,7511.03 MB849 months agoMIT
styled-components6,304,26040,6991.66 MB313a month agoMIT
Feature Comparison: sass vs @emotion/react vs styled-jsx vs styled-components

Styling Methodology

  • sass:

    Sass is a CSS preprocessor that extends CSS with features like variables, nesting, and mixins. It compiles down to standard CSS, making it suitable for projects that require a more traditional approach to styling but with enhanced capabilities.

  • @emotion/react:

    @emotion/react utilizes a CSS-in-JS approach, allowing developers to write CSS directly within JavaScript files. This enables dynamic styling based on component props and themes, providing a powerful way to manage styles in a React application.

  • styled-jsx:

    styled-jsx is a CSS-in-JS solution specifically designed for Next.js. It allows developers to write scoped CSS directly in their components, ensuring styles are applied only to the respective component, thus avoiding global styles conflicts.

  • styled-components:

    styled-components also employs a CSS-in-JS methodology, allowing developers to create styled components that encapsulate styles within the component itself. This promotes modularity and reusability, making it easier to manage styles in large applications.

Dynamic Styling

  • sass:

    Sass does not inherently support dynamic styling as it compiles to static CSS. However, it allows for the use of variables and mixins to create reusable styles, which can help manage complex stylesheets more effectively.

  • @emotion/react:

    @emotion/react excels in dynamic styling, allowing styles to change based on component props and application state. This feature is particularly useful for creating responsive and interactive UI elements that adapt to user interactions.

  • styled-jsx:

    styled-jsx supports dynamic styling through JavaScript expressions, allowing styles to adapt based on component state or props. This makes it a flexible choice for styling in React components.

  • styled-components:

    styled-components provides robust support for dynamic styling, enabling developers to change styles based on props. This feature is particularly beneficial for creating responsive designs and theming within applications.

Performance

  • sass:

    Sass compiles to static CSS, which is inherently performant as it does not require runtime calculations. The performance largely depends on how the CSS is structured and organized, making it suitable for large-scale applications with complex styles.

  • @emotion/react:

    @emotion/react is optimized for performance, using a caching mechanism to minimize the runtime cost of styling. It ensures that styles are only recalculated when necessary, which can lead to improved rendering times in applications.

  • styled-jsx:

    styled-jsx is designed for performance in Next.js applications, ensuring that styles are scoped and only applied when necessary. This minimizes the impact on rendering performance, especially in server-rendered applications.

  • styled-components:

    styled-components can introduce some overhead due to its runtime styling capabilities. However, it offers features like server-side rendering and style deduplication to mitigate performance issues, making it suitable for modern React applications.

Learning Curve

  • sass:

    Sass has a relatively gentle learning curve for those already familiar with CSS. Its syntax enhancements are straightforward to grasp, making it an easy transition for CSS developers looking to improve their stylesheets.

  • @emotion/react:

    @emotion/react has a moderate learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with CSS-in-JS concepts. However, its API is well-documented, making it accessible for developers transitioning from traditional CSS.

  • styled-jsx:

    styled-jsx is easy to learn for developers already familiar with CSS and React. Its syntax is intuitive, allowing developers to quickly integrate scoped styles into their components without a steep learning curve.

  • styled-components:

    styled-components has a moderate learning curve, particularly for developers new to CSS-in-JS. Understanding how to create styled components and manage props for dynamic styling may take some time, but it is well-documented and widely adopted.

Community and Ecosystem

  • sass:

    Sass has a long-standing community and is one of the most popular CSS preprocessors. It is widely supported and has a rich ecosystem of tools and frameworks that enhance its capabilities.

  • @emotion/react:

    @emotion/react has a strong community and is widely adopted in the React ecosystem. It integrates well with other libraries and tools, making it a popular choice for modern React applications.

  • styled-jsx:

    styled-jsx, while primarily focused on Next.js, has a growing community. Its integration with Next.js makes it a valuable tool for developers working within that framework.

  • styled-components:

    styled-components has a large and active community, with extensive resources and documentation available. Its popularity in the React ecosystem ensures ongoing support and development.

How to Choose: sass vs @emotion/react vs styled-jsx vs styled-components
  • sass:

    Choose Sass if you prefer a traditional CSS preprocessor that enhances CSS with features like variables, nesting, and mixins. It is ideal for projects that require complex stylesheets and a structured approach to CSS, especially when working with large codebases.

  • @emotion/react:

    Choose @emotion/react if you need a powerful CSS-in-JS solution that offers both performance and flexibility, allowing for dynamic styling based on props and themes. It integrates well with React and provides a rich API for styling components directly in JavaScript.

  • styled-jsx:

    Choose styled-jsx if you are using Next.js and want a simple way to style your components with scoped styles. It allows for writing CSS directly within your components, ensuring styles are encapsulated and only apply to the respective component.

  • styled-components:

    Choose styled-components if you want to leverage the full power of CSS-in-JS with a focus on component-based styling. It allows for scoped styles and dynamic styling based on props, making it a great choice for React applications that benefit from encapsulated styles.

Similar Npm Packages to sass

sass is a popular CSS preprocessor that extends the capabilities of CSS with features like variables, nested rules, mixins, and more. It allows developers to write more maintainable and organized stylesheets, making it easier to manage complex styles in large projects. While Sass is widely used, there are several alternatives that also offer unique features and benefits. Here are a few notable alternatives:

  • less is a dynamic stylesheet language that extends CSS with features such as variables, mixins, and nested rules, similar to Sass. It is known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it a great choice for developers who want to enhance their CSS without a steep learning curve. Less compiles to standard CSS and can be integrated into various build systems, making it a flexible option for many projects.
  • postcss is a tool for transforming CSS with JavaScript plugins. Unlike traditional preprocessors, PostCSS allows developers to use a wide range of plugins to add features like variables, nesting, and autoprefixing. This modular approach gives developers the flexibility to customize their workflow according to their specific needs. PostCSS is particularly useful for teams that want to adopt modern CSS features while maintaining compatibility with older browsers.
  • stylus is another CSS preprocessor that offers a unique syntax and a variety of features, including variables, mixins, and functions. Stylus is known for its flexibility and minimalism, allowing developers to write CSS in a more concise and expressive way. It supports both an indented syntax and a traditional CSS-like syntax, catering to different developer preferences. Stylus is a good choice for those who appreciate a more expressive and less verbose way of writing styles.

To see how Sass compares with Less, PostCSS, and Stylus, check out the comparison: Comparing less vs postcss vs sass vs stylus.

Similar Npm Packages to @emotion/react

@emotion/react is a popular library for styling React applications using CSS-in-JS. It allows developers to write CSS styles directly within their JavaScript files, providing a seamless way to style components with dynamic and theme-based styles. With its powerful features, such as automatic vendor prefixing and support for server-side rendering, Emotion has become a go-to choice for many React developers. However, there are several alternatives available that also cater to styling needs in React applications. Here are a few noteworthy options:

  • sass is a preprocessor scripting language that extends CSS with features like variables, nested rules, and mixins. It allows developers to write more maintainable and organized stylesheets. While Sass is not specific to React, it can be easily integrated into React projects, making it a popular choice for those who prefer traditional CSS methodologies. If you are looking for a powerful and flexible way to write CSS with enhanced features, Sass is a solid option.
  • styled-components is another popular CSS-in-JS library that enables developers to write actual CSS code to style their components. It leverages tagged template literals to create styled components, making it easy to manage styles alongside component logic. Styled-components also support theming and dynamic styling, similar to Emotion. If you prefer a syntax that closely resembles traditional CSS while still enjoying the benefits of CSS-in-JS, styled-components is an excellent choice.
  • styled-jsx is a library developed by Vercel that allows you to use scoped CSS in your React components. It enables developers to write CSS directly within their components, ensuring that styles are scoped to the component and do not leak into other parts of the application. Styled-jsx is particularly useful for Next.js applications, as it integrates seamlessly with the framework. If you are working with Next.js or prefer a simple solution for scoped styles, styled-jsx is worth considering.

To see how @emotion/react compares with sass, styled-components, and styled-jsx, check out the comparison: Comparing @emotion/react vs sass vs styled-components vs styled-jsx.

Similar Npm Packages to styled-jsx

styled-jsx is a CSS-in-JS library specifically designed for styling React applications. Developed by the team behind Next.js, it allows developers to write scoped CSS directly within their components, ensuring that styles are applied only to the relevant elements. This approach helps to avoid style conflicts and makes it easier to manage styles in large applications. While styled-jsx provides a robust solution for styling, there are several alternatives in the React ecosystem that also offer unique features. Here are a few notable ones:

  • emotion is a popular CSS-in-JS library that provides powerful and flexible styling capabilities for React applications. It allows developers to write styles using both string and object syntax, making it versatile for various use cases. Emotion also supports theming, server-side rendering, and dynamic styling, making it a great choice for applications that require complex styling solutions. Its performance and developer experience make it a strong alternative to styled-jsx.
  • glamorous is another CSS-in-JS library that focuses on providing a simple and intuitive API for styling React components. It allows developers to create styled components with ease, leveraging the power of JavaScript to define styles. Glamorous supports theming and responsive design, making it suitable for modern web applications. While it may not be as widely adopted as some other libraries, it offers a clean and straightforward approach to styling.
  • styled-components is one of the most popular CSS-in-JS libraries in the React ecosystem. It allows developers to create styled components using tagged template literals, enabling a seamless integration of styles with component logic. Styled-components also support theming, global styles, and server-side rendering, making it a comprehensive solution for styling React applications. Its widespread adoption and strong community support make it a reliable choice for many developers.

To see how styled-jsx compares with emotion, glamorous, and styled-components, check out the comparison: Comparing emotion vs glamorous vs styled-components vs styled-jsx.

Similar Npm Packages to styled-components

styled-components is a popular library for styling React applications using tagged template literals. It allows developers to write CSS directly within their JavaScript files, creating styled components that encapsulate styles and logic. This approach promotes modularity and reusability, making it easier to maintain styles across large applications. Styled-components also support theming, dynamic styling, and server-side rendering, making it a versatile choice for modern web development.

However, there are several alternatives to styled-components that also provide unique features and benefits:

  • emotion is a highly performant and flexible CSS-in-JS library that offers similar capabilities to styled-components. It provides a powerful styling solution with a focus on performance and developer experience. Emotion allows for both styled components and traditional CSS styles, giving developers the flexibility to choose their preferred method of styling. With features like theming, dynamic styles, and a small bundle size, Emotion is an excellent choice for those looking for a robust CSS-in-JS solution that can easily integrate with existing projects.

  • styled-jsx is a library developed by Vercel that provides scoped CSS for React components. It allows developers to write CSS directly within their components while ensuring that styles are scoped to the component, preventing style leakage. Styled-jsx is particularly useful for projects using Next.js, as it integrates seamlessly with its server-side rendering capabilities. If you are looking for a solution that offers scoped styles with minimal configuration and works well with Next.js, styled-jsx is a great option.

To explore how styled-components compares with emotion and styled-jsx, check out the comparison: Comparing emotion vs styled-components vs styled-jsx.

README for sass

A pure JavaScript implementation of Sass. Sass makes CSS fun again.

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This package is a distribution of Dart Sass, compiled to pure JavaScript with no native code or external dependencies. It provides a command-line sass executable and a Node.js API.

Usage

You can install Sass globally using npm install -g sass which will provide access to the sass executable. You can also add it to your project using npm install --save-dev sass. This provides the executable as well as a library:

const sass = require('sass');

const result = sass.compile(scssFilename);

// OR

// Note that `compileAsync()` is substantially slower than `compile()`.
const result = await sass.compileAsync(scssFilename);

See the Sass website for full API documentation.

Legacy API

Dart Sass also supports an older JavaScript API that's fully compatible with Node Sass (with a few exceptions listed below), with support for both the render() and renderSync() functions. This API is considered deprecated and will be removed in Dart Sass 2.0.0, so it should be avoided in new projects.

Sass's support for the legacy JavaScript API has the following limitations:

  • Only the "expanded" and "compressed" values of outputStyle are supported.

  • Dart Sass doesn't support the precision option. Dart Sass defaults to a sufficiently high precision for all existing browsers, and making this customizable would make the code substantially less efficient.

  • Dart Sass doesn't support the sourceComments option. Source maps are the recommended way of locating the origin of generated selectors.

See Also

  • Dart Sass, from which this package is compiled, can be used either as a stand-alone executable or as a Dart library. Running Dart Sass on the Dart VM is substantially faster than running the pure JavaScript version, so this may be appropriate for performance-sensitive applications. The Dart API is also (currently) more user-friendly than the JavaScript API. See the Dart Sass README for details on how to use it.

  • Node Sass, which is a wrapper around LibSass, the C++ implementation of Sass. Node Sass supports the same API as this package and is also faster (although it's usually a little slower than Dart Sass). However, it requires a native library which may be difficult to install, and it's generally slower to add features and fix bugs.

Behavioral Differences from Ruby Sass

There are a few intentional behavioral differences between Dart Sass and Ruby Sass. These are generally places where Ruby Sass has an undesired behavior, and it's substantially easier to implement the correct behavior than it would be to implement compatible behavior. These should all have tracking bugs against Ruby Sass to update the reference behavior.

  1. @extend only accepts simple selectors, as does the second argument of selector-extend(). See issue 1599.

  2. Subject selectors are not supported. See issue 1126.

  3. Pseudo selector arguments are parsed as <declaration-value>s rather than having a more limited custom parsing. See issue 2120.

  4. The numeric precision is set to 10. See issue 1122.

  5. The indented syntax parser is more flexible: it doesn't require consistent indentation across the whole document. See issue 2176.

  6. Colors do not support channel-by-channel arithmetic. See issue 2144.

  7. Unitless numbers aren't == to unit numbers with the same value. In addition, map keys follow the same logic as ==-equality. See issue 1496.

  8. rgba() and hsla() alpha values with percentage units are interpreted as percentages. Other units are forbidden. See issue 1525.

  9. Too many variable arguments passed to a function is an error. See issue 1408.

  10. Allow @extend to reach outside a media query if there's an identical @extend defined outside that query. This isn't tracked explicitly, because it'll be irrelevant when issue 1050 is fixed.

  11. Some selector pseudos containing placeholder selectors will be compiled where they wouldn't be in Ruby Sass. This better matches the semantics of the selectors in question, and is more efficient. See issue 2228.

  12. The old-style :property value syntax is not supported in the indented syntax. See issue 2245.

  13. The reference combinator is not supported. See issue 303.

  14. Universal selector unification is symmetrical. See issue 2247.

  15. @extend doesn't produce an error if it matches but fails to unify. See issue 2250.

  16. Dart Sass currently only supports UTF-8 documents. We'd like to support more, but Dart currently doesn't support them. See dart-lang/sdk#11744, for example.

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