@emotion/styled vs styled-components vs @mui/styled-engine vs emotion vs styled-system vs twin.macro
CSS-in-JS Libraries
@emotion/styledstyled-components@mui/styled-engineemotionstyled-systemtwin.macroSimilar Packages:
CSS-in-JS Libraries

CSS-in-JS libraries allow developers to write CSS directly within JavaScript, enabling dynamic styling based on component state and props. These libraries provide a way to manage styles in a modular fashion, promoting reusability and maintainability. They often support features like theming, nesting, and scoped styles, making it easier to create complex UIs without worrying about global CSS conflicts. The libraries listed here have unique features and use cases, catering to different development needs and preferences.

Npm Package Weekly Downloads Trend
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@emotion/styled9,578,38717,938247 kB3635 months agoMIT
styled-components7,999,62140,9981.77 MB3386 months agoMIT
@mui/styled-engine7,432,66097,43491.6 kB1,7428 days agoMIT
emotion871,262---5 years agoMIT
styled-system754,487---6 years agoMIT
twin.macro62,8188,033138 kB182 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: @emotion/styled vs styled-components vs @mui/styled-engine vs emotion vs styled-system vs twin.macro

Dynamic Styling

  • @emotion/styled:

    @emotion/styled allows for dynamic styling based on props, enabling developers to create styles that change in response to component state or props. This feature enhances the interactivity of components, making it easier to implement responsive designs.

  • styled-components:

    Styled-components enable dynamic styling by allowing props to influence styles directly within the component definition. This makes it easy to create components that visually respond to user interactions or state changes.

  • @mui/styled-engine:

    @mui/styled-engine provides dynamic styling capabilities that are tightly integrated with Material-UI components, allowing for easy customization of styles based on component props and theme variables.

  • emotion:

    Emotion supports dynamic styling through both styled components and the css prop, making it versatile for various use cases. This flexibility allows developers to write styles that adapt to changing conditions in the application.

  • styled-system:

    Styled-system focuses on utility-first styling, allowing developers to create responsive styles based on props. This approach simplifies the creation of complex layouts that adapt to different screen sizes and design requirements.

  • twin.macro:

    Twin.macro combines Tailwind CSS with dynamic styling capabilities, allowing developers to use utility classes alongside styled-components or emotion. This provides a powerful way to create responsive designs while maintaining the benefits of CSS-in-JS.

Theming Support

  • @emotion/styled:

    @emotion/styled offers robust theming support, allowing developers to define a theme and access it throughout their styled components. This makes it easy to maintain a consistent look and feel across the application.

  • styled-components:

    Styled-components includes built-in theming support, allowing developers to create a theme provider that wraps the application. This makes it easy to manage and switch themes dynamically.

  • @mui/styled-engine:

    @mui/styled-engine is designed to work seamlessly with Material-UI's theming system, enabling developers to create components that automatically adapt to the current theme, ensuring consistency across the UI.

  • emotion:

    Emotion provides a flexible theming solution that can be easily integrated into applications. Developers can define themes and access them in styled components, promoting a cohesive design language.

  • styled-system:

    Styled-system is built around the concept of design tokens and theming, allowing developers to create a consistent design system that can be easily adapted and reused across components.

  • twin.macro:

    Twin.macro allows for theming by leveraging Tailwind's configuration, enabling developers to define custom themes and use them alongside styled-components or emotion for consistent styling.

Performance

  • @emotion/styled:

    @emotion/styled is optimized for performance, using a runtime that minimizes the amount of CSS generated and injected into the DOM. This results in faster rendering times and improved application performance.

  • styled-components:

    Styled-components can introduce some overhead due to runtime style generation, but it offers optimizations like server-side rendering and caching to mitigate performance issues in larger applications.

  • @mui/styled-engine:

    @mui/styled-engine is designed for optimal performance within Material-UI, ensuring that styles are generated efficiently and only when necessary, which helps maintain fast load times.

  • emotion:

    Emotion is built with performance in mind, providing features like server-side rendering and critical CSS extraction to enhance the loading speed and responsiveness of applications.

  • styled-system:

    Styled-system focuses on performance by allowing developers to create responsive styles using utility functions that generate minimal CSS. This results in efficient rendering and reduced bundle sizes.

  • twin.macro:

    Twin.macro combines the performance benefits of Tailwind CSS with CSS-in-JS, allowing for optimized style generation while maintaining the flexibility of styled-components or emotion.

Learning Curve

  • @emotion/styled:

    @emotion/styled has a moderate learning curve, especially for developers familiar with CSS-in-JS concepts. Its API is straightforward, making it accessible for new users while offering advanced features for experienced developers.

  • styled-components:

    Styled-components is known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it beginner-friendly. Developers can quickly grasp the concept of styled components and start building applications without extensive setup.

  • @mui/styled-engine:

    @mui/styled-engine is easy to learn for those already familiar with Material-UI, as it follows the same conventions and patterns. New users may need to familiarize themselves with Material-UI's component structure.

  • emotion:

    Emotion has a gentle learning curve, especially for developers who are already using React. Its dual approach to styling (styled components and css prop) provides flexibility while remaining intuitive.

  • styled-system:

    Styled-system may have a steeper learning curve due to its utility-first approach and reliance on design tokens. However, once understood, it can significantly speed up the development process for responsive layouts.

  • twin.macro:

    Twin.macro has a moderate learning curve as it combines Tailwind CSS with CSS-in-JS. Developers need to understand both Tailwind's utility classes and the CSS-in-JS paradigm to fully leverage its capabilities.

How to Choose: @emotion/styled vs styled-components vs @mui/styled-engine vs emotion vs styled-system vs twin.macro
  • @emotion/styled:

    Choose @emotion/styled if you need a highly performant solution with a focus on flexibility and dynamic styling. It integrates seamlessly with React and provides powerful theming capabilities.

  • styled-components:

    Use styled-components if you prefer a widely adopted library with a strong community and extensive documentation. It is ideal for building reusable styled components and supports theming out of the box.

  • @mui/styled-engine:

    Select @mui/styled-engine if you are using Material-UI and want to leverage its styling solution. It is optimized for use with Material-UI components, ensuring consistent styling across your application.

  • emotion:

    Opt for emotion if you want a comprehensive CSS-in-JS solution that supports both styled components and CSS prop syntax. It is great for projects that require both static and dynamic styling.

  • styled-system:

    Choose styled-system if you want to build a design system with a focus on responsive design and utility-first styling. It provides a set of style functions that can be easily combined to create consistent layouts.

  • twin.macro:

    Select twin.macro if you want to combine the benefits of Tailwind CSS with the power of CSS-in-JS. It allows you to use Tailwind's utility classes alongside styled-components or emotion, providing a flexible styling approach.

README for @emotion/styled

@emotion/styled

The styled API for @emotion/react

Install

yarn add @emotion/react @emotion/styled

Usage

import styled from '@emotion/styled'

let SomeComp = styled.div({
  color: 'hotpink'
})

let AnotherComp = styled.div`
  color: ${props => props.color};
`

render(
  <SomeComp>
    <AnotherComp color="green" />
  </SomeComp>
)

More documentation is available at https://emotion.sh/docs/styled.