@mui/icons-material vs font-awesome vs @material-ui/icons vs bootstrap-icons vs feather-icons vs material-design-icons vs heroicons vs react-fontawesome vs ionicons vs react-icons

Package	Downloads	Stars	Size	Issues	Publish	License

@mui/icons-material	5,542,635	97,813	19.3 MB	1,743	4 days ago	MIT
font-awesome	924,773	76,341	-	312	9 years ago	(OFL-1.1 AND MIT)
@material-ui/icons	789,998	97,813	10.2 MB	1,743	-	MIT
bootstrap-icons	567,607	7,902	2.99 MB	470	9 months ago	MIT
feather-icons	150,153	25,815	625 kB	508	2 years ago	MIT
material-design-icons	75,671	52,867	-	390	9 years ago	Apache-2.0
heroicons	59,016	23,340	700 kB	1	a year ago	MIT
react-fontawesome	41,013	666	-	9	6 years ago	MIT
ionicons	0	17,988	6.22 MB	62	7 months ago	MIT
react-icons	0	12,498	86.2 MB	241	a year ago	MIT

Package

Downloads

Stars

Size

Issues

Publish

License

@mui/icons-material

5,542,635

97,813

19.3 MB

1,743

4 days ago

MIT

font-awesome

924,773

76,341

312

9 years ago

(OFL-1.1 AND MIT)

@material-ui/icons

789,998

97,813

10.2 MB

1,743

MIT

bootstrap-icons

567,607

7,902

2.99 MB

470

9 months ago

MIT

feather-icons

150,153

25,815

625 kB

508

2 years ago

MIT

material-design-icons

75,671

52,867

390

9 years ago

Apache-2.0

heroicons

59,016

23,340

700 kB

a year ago

MIT

react-fontawesome

41,013

666

6 years ago

MIT

ionicons

17,988

6.22 MB

7 months ago

MIT

react-icons

12,498

86.2 MB

241

a year ago

MIT

Integration with Frameworks

@mui/icons-material:
@mui/icons-material is the updated icon package for MUI v5, offering better performance and tree-shaking capabilities. It is fully integrated with the latest MUI framework, allowing for more efficient use of icons in modern React applications.
font-awesome:
font-awesome is a widely-used icon font that can be integrated into any web project. It provides icons in font format, SVG, and CSS, allowing for flexible use across different platforms and frameworks.
@material-ui/icons:
@material-ui/icons is specifically designed for integration with Material-UI (MUI) components, making it easy to use icons within MUI-based applications. The icons are optimized for use with MUI’s styling and theming system, ensuring a seamless experience.
bootstrap-icons:
bootstrap-icons is designed to work seamlessly with Bootstrap components, providing icons that match the Bootstrap design language. This makes it easy to incorporate icons into Bootstrap-based layouts and components without any additional styling.
feather-icons:
feather-icons provides standalone SVG icons that can be easily integrated into any web project, regardless of the framework. The icons are lightweight and can be styled with CSS, making them versatile for use in various applications.
material-design-icons:
material-design-icons provides a comprehensive set of icons that adhere to Google’s Material Design guidelines. The icons can be used in any web project and are compatible with various frameworks, ensuring consistency in design.
heroicons:
heroicons provides SVG icons that can be easily integrated into any web application. The icons are designed to be used with or without a framework, making them versatile and easy to implement in various projects.
react-fontawesome:
react-fontawesome is a React-specific library that allows for easy integration of Font Awesome icons as React components. It provides a simple API for using icons, making it ideal for React applications that require Font Awesome’s extensive icon library.
ionicons:
ionicons offers icons in SVG, font, and CSS formats, making them easy to integrate into any web or mobile application. The icons are designed to work well with both Ionic and non-Ionic projects, providing flexibility for developers.
react-icons:
react-icons is a flexible library that provides icons from multiple icon sets as React components. It allows developers to easily switch between different icon libraries, making it a great choice for projects that need a variety of icons from different sources.

Customization

@mui/icons-material:
@mui/icons-material offers improved customization options compared to its predecessor, allowing developers to easily style icons using MUI’s theming and styling capabilities. The icons are designed to be flexible and can be easily modified to fit the needs of modern applications.
font-awesome:
font-awesome icons can be customized using CSS, including changing their size, color, and adding animations. The library also provides classes for styling icons, making it easy to integrate them into various designs.
@material-ui/icons:
@material-ui/icons allows for basic customization of icons, such as changing their size and color using MUI’s styling system. However, the icons are primarily designed to be used as-is within the Material-UI framework.
bootstrap-icons:
bootstrap-icons allows for basic customization of icons using CSS, such as changing their size, color, and adding animations. The icons are designed to be easily styled, making them versatile for use in various Bootstrap components.
feather-icons:
feather-icons are highly customizable, as they are provided as SVG files. Developers can easily change their size, color, and stroke width using CSS or inline styles, allowing for a high degree of flexibility in design.
material-design-icons:
material-design-icons can be customized using CSS and SVG properties. Developers can change the size, color, and other attributes of the icons, allowing for flexibility in their design and implementation.
heroicons:
heroicons are SVG icons that can be easily customized using CSS. Developers can change their size, color, and other properties, allowing for flexibility in how the icons are displayed within applications.
react-fontawesome:
react-fontawesome provides a simple way to customize Font Awesome icons in React applications. Developers can easily change the size, color, and other properties of icons using props, making it easy to integrate them into various designs.
ionicons:
ionicons allows for customization of icons using CSS, including changing their size, color, and adding animations. The icons are designed to be easily styled, making them versatile for use in various applications.
react-icons:
react-icons allows for customization of icons from multiple libraries, as they are rendered as React components. Developers can change their size, color, and other styles using props and CSS, providing flexibility in how icons are displayed.

Icon Variety

@mui/icons-material:
@mui/icons-material offers an extensive collection of Material Design icons, with a focus on performance and tree-shaking. The library includes a wide range of icons, ensuring that developers have access to the icons they need for modern web applications.
font-awesome:
font-awesome is one of the largest and most comprehensive icon libraries available, featuring thousands of icons across various categories. The extensive variety makes it suitable for almost any project, from web applications to branding and marketing materials.
@material-ui/icons:
@material-ui/icons provides a comprehensive set of icons that adhere to Material Design guidelines. The library includes a wide variety of icons for different use cases, making it suitable for most applications that follow Material Design principles.
bootstrap-icons:
bootstrap-icons provides a simple yet effective set of icons that integrate seamlessly with Bootstrap. While the variety is not as extensive as some other libraries, it covers the essential icons needed for Bootstrap-based projects, making it a practical choice for developers.
feather-icons:
feather-icons offers a curated collection of simple, hand-drawn SVG icons. The variety is limited compared to larger icon libraries, but the icons are designed to be versatile and can be used in a wide range of applications, especially those with a minimalist aesthetic.
material-design-icons:
material-design-icons provides a comprehensive set of icons that follow Google’s Material Design guidelines. The library includes a wide variety of icons across different categories, ensuring that developers have access to a rich collection for their projects.
heroicons:
heroicons provides a focused collection of high-quality SVG icons designed for modern web applications. While the variety is not as vast as some other libraries, the icons are thoughtfully designed and cover a wide range of common use cases, making them a great choice for contemporary designs.
react-fontawesome:
react-fontawesome allows developers to use the extensive collection of Font Awesome icons within React applications. The variety of icons is vast, covering numerous categories and styles, making it one of the most versatile icon libraries for React.
ionicons:
ionicons offers a diverse set of icons, including outline, filled, and animated styles. The variety is well-suited for both web and mobile applications, making it a versatile choice for developers looking for a wide range of icons.
react-icons:
react-icons provides access to a wide range of icons from multiple popular icon sets, including Font Awesome, Material Icons, and more. This variety allows developers to choose from different styles and categories, making it a flexible option for projects that require icons from multiple sources.

Ease of Use: Code Examples

@mui/icons-material:

MUI Icons Example

import React from 'react';
import { Button } from '@mui/material';
import HomeIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Home';

function App() {
  return (
    <Button startIcon={<HomeIcon />}>Home</Button>
  );
}

export default App;

font-awesome:

Font Awesome Example

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/6.0.0-beta3/css/all.min.css">
<i class="fas fa-home"></i> Home

@material-ui/icons:

Material-UI Icons Example

import React from 'react';
import { Button } from '@mui/material';
import { Home } from '@mui/icons-material';

function App() {
  return (
    <Button startIcon={<Home />}>Home</Button>
  );
}

export default App;

bootstrap-icons:

Bootstrap Icons Example

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap-icons@1.5.0/font/bootstrap-icons.css">
<i class="bi bi-house"></i> Home

feather-icons:

Feather Icons Example

<script src="https://unpkg.com/feather-icons"></script>
<i data-feather="home"></i>
<script>feather.replace()</script>

material-design-icons:

Material Design Icons Example

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/icon?family=Material+Icons">
<i class="material-icons">home</i>

heroicons:

Heroicons Example

import { HomeIcon } from '@heroicons/react/solid';

function App() {
  return <HomeIcon className="h-6 w-6 text-blue-500" />;
}

react-fontawesome:

React Font Awesome Example

import { FontAwesomeIcon } from '@fortawesome/react-fontawesome';
import { faHome } from '@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons';

function App() {
  return <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faHome} />;
}

ionicons:

Ionicons Example

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/ionicons@5.5.2/dist/ionicons.min.css">
<ion-icon name="home-outline"></ion-icon>

react-icons:

React Icons Example

import { FaHome } from 'react-icons/fa';

function App() {
  return <FaHome />;
}

Contributing

The Icons package is updated via a script that reads through Google's Material Icons set and extracts the SVG elements from there. Because of this, we don't accept new icons that diverge from the source.

To update the @mui/icons-material package with the latest Material Icons set, run the following commands:

In the "mui-icons-material" directory, run pnpm src:download

In the "mui-icons-material" directory, run pnpm src:icons

In the root of the Material UI repo, run pnpm docs:mdicons:synonyms

If the number of icons changes significantly, edit the icons/icons.md and material-icons/material-icons.md under docs/data/material/components and update the numbers.

This process is performed by the maintainers on a quarterly basis.