react-datepicker vs react-calendar vs @fullcalendar/react vs react-big-calendar
React Calendar Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-datepickerreact-calendar@fullcalendar/reactreact-big-calendarSimilar Packages:
What's React Calendar Libraries?

React calendar libraries provide developers with tools to integrate calendar functionalities into their applications. These libraries offer various features such as date selection, event management, and customizable views, catering to different use cases from simple date pickers to complex scheduling applications. They aim to enhance user experience by providing intuitive and interactive interfaces for managing dates and events, making them essential for applications that require time-based data handling.

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react-datepicker2,607,0168,2351.99 MB2336 days agoMIT
react-calendar807,3663,687580 kB436 months agoMIT
@fullcalendar/react475,3732,21123.7 kB213 days agoMIT
react-big-calendar427,6538,2382.59 MB3982 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-datepicker vs react-calendar vs @fullcalendar/react vs react-big-calendar

Event Management

  • react-datepicker:

    react-datepicker is primarily a date and time picker, so it does not have built-in event management features. It is designed for simple date selection in forms, making it ideal for applications where event management is not a priority.

  • react-calendar:

    react-calendar is more focused on date selection rather than event management. It does not provide built-in support for managing events, making it less suitable for applications that require complex event handling. However, it can be integrated with other libraries for event management if needed.

  • @fullcalendar/react:

    @fullcalendar/react excels in event management, allowing users to create, edit, and delete events seamlessly. It supports drag-and-drop functionality, enabling users to move events between different time slots or days easily. The library also provides extensive APIs to manage event data dynamically, making it suitable for applications with complex scheduling needs.

  • react-big-calendar:

    react-big-calendar offers solid event management capabilities, allowing users to add, modify, and delete events. While it supports drag-and-drop, its primary focus is on providing a clear and organized view of events, making it suitable for applications that prioritize readability and simplicity in event handling.

Customization

  • react-datepicker:

    react-datepicker is easy to customize, allowing developers to change styles and formats for date and time inputs. It provides a straightforward API for customization, making it suitable for applications that need a quick and simple date picker.

  • react-calendar:

    react-calendar is straightforward to customize, with options for changing styles and themes. However, its customization capabilities are limited compared to more complex libraries, making it ideal for applications that need a simple, clean calendar without extensive customization requirements.

  • @fullcalendar/react:

    @fullcalendar/react is highly customizable, allowing developers to modify styles, templates, and behaviors to fit their application's needs. It supports custom rendering for events and tooltips, enabling a tailored user experience that aligns with the application's design.

  • react-big-calendar:

    react-big-calendar provides a decent level of customization, allowing developers to style components and modify the appearance of events and views. However, it may not offer as extensive customization options as @fullcalendar/react, making it suitable for applications that require moderate customization.

Learning Curve

  • react-datepicker:

    react-datepicker is very easy to use and integrate into forms, making it ideal for developers of all skill levels. Its simple API and clear documentation allow for quick implementation, making it suitable for projects with tight deadlines.

  • react-calendar:

    react-calendar is easy to learn and implement, making it a great choice for beginners or projects with simple requirements. Its straightforward API allows developers to quickly integrate it into their applications without extensive training.

  • @fullcalendar/react:

    @fullcalendar/react has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive features and customization options. Developers may need to invest time in understanding its API and configuration to leverage its full potential, making it more suitable for projects with experienced developers.

  • react-big-calendar:

    react-big-calendar has a moderate learning curve, as it strikes a balance between functionality and simplicity. Developers familiar with React will find it relatively easy to integrate and customize, making it suitable for teams with varying levels of experience.

Performance

  • react-datepicker:

    react-datepicker is optimized for performance in date selection scenarios, ensuring quick rendering and responsiveness. Its lightweight nature makes it suitable for forms where performance is crucial.

  • react-calendar:

    react-calendar is lightweight and performs efficiently for basic date selection tasks. Its simplicity ensures quick rendering times, making it ideal for applications that require minimal overhead.

  • @fullcalendar/react:

    @fullcalendar/react is optimized for performance, especially in applications with a large number of events. It efficiently handles rendering and updates, ensuring smooth interactions even with complex schedules, making it suitable for high-performance applications.

  • react-big-calendar:

    react-big-calendar performs well for standard use cases, but may experience performance issues with a very high number of events or complex interactions. Developers can optimize performance by managing state effectively and minimizing unnecessary re-renders.

How to Choose: react-datepicker vs react-calendar vs @fullcalendar/react vs react-big-calendar
  • react-datepicker:

    Use react-datepicker for a user-friendly date and time picker that is easy to integrate and customize. It is ideal for forms where users need to select dates or times, providing a clean interface and various configuration options.

  • react-calendar:

    Opt for react-calendar if you need a lightweight, simple date picker or calendar component. It is perfect for applications that require basic date selection without the overhead of extensive features, making it easy to implement and customize for straightforward use cases.

  • @fullcalendar/react:

    Choose @fullcalendar/react if you need a robust, feature-rich calendar with extensive customization options and support for complex event management, including drag-and-drop functionality and a variety of views (month, week, day). It's ideal for applications requiring detailed scheduling features.

  • react-big-calendar:

    Select react-big-calendar if you want a flexible calendar component that supports various views and is easy to integrate with existing React applications. It offers a good balance between functionality and simplicity, making it suitable for applications that need a straightforward calendar without excessive complexity.

README for react-datepicker

React Date Picker

npm version Test suite codecov Downloads

A simple and reusable Datepicker component for React (Demo)

Installation

The package can be installed via npm:

npm install react-datepicker --save

Or via yarn:

yarn add react-datepicker

You’ll need to install React and PropTypes separately since those dependencies aren’t included in the package. If you need to use a locale other than the default en-US, you'll also need to import that into your project from date-fns (see Localization section below). Below is a simple example of how to use the Datepicker in a React view. You will also need to require the CSS file from this package (or provide your own). The example below shows how to include the CSS from this package if your build system supports requiring CSS files (Webpack is one that does).

import React, { useState } from "react";
import DatePicker from "react-datepicker";

import "react-datepicker/dist/react-datepicker.css";

// CSS Modules, react-datepicker-cssmodules.css
// import 'react-datepicker/dist/react-datepicker-cssmodules.css';

const Example = () => {
  const [startDate, setStartDate] = useState(new Date());
  return <DatePicker selected={startDate} onChange={(date) => setStartDate(date)} />;
};

Configuration

The most basic use of the DatePicker can be described with:

<DatePicker selected={startdate} onChange={(date) => setStartDate(date)} />

You can use onSelect event handler which fires each time some calendar date has been selected

<DatePicker
  selected={date}
  onSelect={handleDateSelect} //when day is clicked
  onChange={handleDateChange} //only when value has changed
/>

onClickOutside handler may be useful to close datepicker in inline mode

See here for a full list of props that may be passed to the component. Examples are given on the main website.

Time picker

You can also include a time picker by adding the showTimeSelect prop

<DatePicker selected={date} onChange={handleDateChange} showTimeSelect dateFormat="Pp" />

Times will be displayed at 30-minute intervals by default (default configurable via timeIntervals prop)

More examples of how to use the time picker are given on the main website

Localization

The date picker relies on date-fns internationalization to localize its display components. By default, the date picker will use the locale globally set, which is English. Provided are 3 helper methods to set the locale:

  • registerLocale (string, object): loads an imported locale object from date-fns
  • setDefaultLocale (string): sets a registered locale as the default for all datepicker instances
  • getDefaultLocale: returns a string showing the currently set default locale
import { registerLocale, setDefaultLocale } from  "react-datepicker";
import { es } from 'date-fns/locale/es';
registerLocale('es', es)

<DatePicker
  locale="es"
/>

Locales can be changed in the following way:

  • Globally - setDefaultLocale('es');

Compatibility

React

We're always trying to stay compatible with the latest version of React. We can't support all older versions of React.

Latest compatible versions:

  • React 16 or newer: React-datepicker v2.9.4 and newer
  • React 15.5: React-datepicker v2.9.3
  • React 15.4.1: needs React-datepicker v0.40.0, newer won't work (due to react-onclickoutside dependencies)
  • React 0.14 or newer: All above React-datepicker v0.13.0
  • React 0.13: React-datepicker v0.13.0
  • pre React 0.13: React-datepicker v0.6.2

Moment.js

Up until version 1.8.0, this package was using Moment.js. Starting v2.0.0, we switched to using date-fns, which uses native Date objects, to reduce the size of the package. If you're switching from 1.8.0 to 2.0.0 or higher, please see the updated example above of check out the examples site for up to date examples.

Browser Support

The date picker is compatible with the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, and IE10+.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to support legacy browsers while maintaining our ability to develop new features in the future. For IE9 support, it is known that the classlist polyfill is needed, but this may change or break at any point in the future.

Local Development

The main branch contains the latest version of the Datepicker component.

To begin local development:

  1. Run yarn install from project root
  2. Run yarn build from project root
  3. Run yarn start from project root

The last step starts documentation app as a simple webserver on http://localhost:5173.

You can run yarn test to execute the test suite and linters. To help you develop the component we’ve set up some tests that cover the basic functionality (can be found in /tests). Even though we’re big fans of testing, this only covers a small piece of the component. We highly recommend you add tests when you’re adding new functionality.

Please refer to CONTRIBUTING.md file for more details about getting set up.

The examples

The examples are hosted within the docs folder and are ran in the simple app that loads the Datepicker. To extend the examples with a new example, you can simply duplicate one of the existing examples and change the unique properties of your example.

Accessibility

Keyboard support

  • Left: Move to the previous day.
  • Right: Move to the next day.
  • Up: Move to the previous week.
  • Down: Move to the next week.
  • PgUp: Move to the previous month.
  • Shift+PgUp: Move to the same day and month of the previous year. If that day does not exist, moves focus to the last day of the month.
  • PgDn: Move to the next month.
  • Shift+PgDn: Move to the same day and month of the next year. If that day does not exist, moves focus to the last day of the month.
  • Home: Move to the first day (e.g Sunday) of the current week.
  • End: Move to the last day (e.g. Saturday) of the current week.
  • Enter/Esc/Tab: close the calendar. (Enter & Esc calls preventDefault)

For month picker

  • Left: Move to the previous month.
  • Right: Move to the next month.
  • Enter: Select date and close the calendar

License

Copyright (c) 2014-2025 HackerOne Inc. and individual contributors. Licensed under MIT license, see LICENSE for the full license.