Architecting Rich Text Editors in Modern React Applications
@udecode/plate-core, draft-js, quill, slate, and tinymce are all solutions for adding rich text editing capabilities to web applications, but they differ significantly in architecture, customization, and maintenance status. tinymce is a mature, feature-complete WYSIWYG editor often delivered via iframe, while quill offers a simpler, DOM-based approach. slate provides a fully customizable framework for building editors from scratch using React. @udecode/plate-core is a plugin system built on top of slate to accelerate development. draft-js is a legacy React-rich text framework from Facebook that is no longer actively developed for new use cases.
Npm Package Weekly Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Architecting Rich Text Editors in Modern React Applications
Choosing the right rich text editor (RTE) is one of the hardest decisions in frontend architecture. @udecode/plate-core, draft-js, quill, slate, and tinymce all solve the same problem — letting users format text — but they take very different approaches. Some give you a finished product, while others give you the tools to build your own. Let's compare how they handle data, customization, and integration.
🏗️ Architecture: Iframe vs. ContentEditable vs. Virtual DOM
The underlying technology determines how the editor interacts with the rest of your app.
tinymce runs inside an iframe.
- This isolates the editor's CSS and JavaScript from your app.
- Prevents style conflicts but makes layout integration harder.
// tinymce: Initialized via DOM ID or selector
tinymce.init({
selector: '#my-editor',
plugins: 'lists link'
});
quill uses a contenteditable div with a custom DOM delta model.
- It manages the DOM directly but exposes a clean API.
- Easier to style than an iframe but can conflict with global CSS.
// quill: Initialized on a container div
const quill = new Quill('#editor', {
theme: 'snow',
modules: { toolbar: true }
});
slate uses React components for everything.
- The editor content is rendered as standard React elements.
- Gives you full control over rendering but requires more setup.
// slate: Editor component with editable children
<Slate editor={editor} initialValue={initialValue}>
<Editable placeholder="Enter some rich text..." />
</Slate>
@udecode/plate-core builds on slate with a plugin architecture.
- It wraps
slate'sEditablecomponent with pre-built logic. - You still use React components but with less boilerplate.
// plate: Plate component wraps the editor
<Plate plugins={plugins} initialValue={initialValue}>
<Editable />
</Plate>
draft-js uses an immutable data model with contenteditable.
- It relies on older React patterns (class components).
- The DOM is managed by the library, not directly by you.
// draft-js: Editor component with EditorState
<Editor
editorState={editorState}
onChange={setEditorState}
/>
📝 Data Model: JSON vs. HTML vs. Delta
How the content is stored affects how you save it to your database and render it later.
tinymce defaults to HTML.
- You get a string of HTML tags back.
- Easy to display anywhere but can be unsafe if not sanitized.
// tinymce: Get HTML content
const content = tinymce.get('my-editor').getContent();
// Returns: "<p><strong>Bold</strong> text</p>"
quill uses Delta (a JSON format).
- Describes operations like "insert text", "add bold".
- Can be converted to HTML or kept as JSON.
// quill: Get Delta object
const delta = quill.getContents();
// Returns: { ops: [{ insert: "Bold", attributes: { bold: true } }] }
slate uses a custom JSON tree.
- You define the node structure (paragraphs, headings).
- Fully serializable but requires you to write the serializer.
// slate: Value is a list of nodes
const value = [
{ type: 'paragraph', children: [{ text: 'A line of text' }] }
];
@udecode/plate-core uses slate's JSON tree.
- Inherits the same data model as
slate. - Adds standard types for common elements like tables.
// plate: Same Slate node structure
const value = [
{ type: 'p', children: [{ text: 'A line of text' }] }
];
draft-js uses a raw JSON representation of content blocks.
- Complex structure with entity maps.
- Hard to convert to HTML without external libraries.
// draft-js: Export to raw JSON
const raw = convertToRaw(editorState.getCurrentContent());
// Returns complex block/structure object
🛠️ Customization: Plugins vs. From Scratch
Different projects need different levels of control over the editing experience.
tinymce offers configuration options.
- You turn features on or off via a config object.
- Hard to change core behavior without paid plugins.
// tinymce: Configuring toolbar
init({
toolbar: 'bold italic | alignleft aligncenter'
});
quill supports modules and themes.
- You can swap out the toolbar or clipboard handling.
- Extending requires writing custom blots (DOM nodes).
// quill: Registering a custom blot
class BoldBlot extends Inline { }
Quill.register(BoldBlot);
slate requires building everything.
- No built-in toolbar or buttons.
- You write React components to handle bold, italic, etc.
// slate: Custom toolbar button
const MarkButton = ({ format }) => (
<button onMouseDown={e => toggleMark(editor, format)}>
{format}
</button>
);
@udecode/plate-core provides a plugin system.
- Import plugins for tables, mentions, or code blocks.
- You can still write custom plugins if needed.
// plate: Adding a plugin
const plugins = [
createBoldPlugin(),
createTablePlugin()
];
draft-js uses decorators and block renderers.
- You map content types to React components.
- API is verbose and relies on older React patterns.
// draft-js: Custom block renderer
const blockRendererFn = (block) => {
if (block.getType() === 'atomic') {
return { component: MediaBlock, editable: false };
}
};
⚠️ Maintenance and Future Proofing
Using a library that is no longer updated is a major risk for long-term projects.
tinymce is actively maintained by a commercial company.
- Regular updates and security patches.
- Some advanced features require a paid license.
// tinymce: Cloud setup requires API key
tinymce.init({
cloud_channel: '5',
license_key: 'gpl'
});
quill has slower update cycles.
- Version 2.0 has been in development for a long time.
- Stable for basic use but new features arrive slowly.
// quill: Current stable version usage
import Quill from 'quill';
// Check release notes for v2.0 status before committing
slate is community-driven and active.
- Frequent updates but breaking changes occur.
- Requires careful version management.
// slate: Check package version
// npm view slate version
// Ensure your plugins match the core version
@udecode/plate-core is actively developed.
- Keeps pace with
slateupdates. - Strong focus on React best practices.
// plate: Plugin updates
// Plugins are updated independently or via core
import { createPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-core';
draft-js is deprecated for new projects.
- Facebook announced it is in maintenance mode.
- No new features or major improvements expected.
// draft-js: Warning in documentation
// "Draft.js is not being actively developed..."
// Avoid importing for new greenfield projects
🤝 Similarities: Shared Ground Between Editors
Despite their differences, these libraries share common goals and patterns.
1. 📄 ContentEditable Foundation
- Most rely on the browser's
contenteditableattribute (excepttinymce's iframe wrapper). - All must handle browser inconsistencies in input events.
// Common: Handling selection changes
// All libraries expose some way to listen to selection
editor.on('selection-change', (range) => { /*...*/ });
2. 🔌 Extensibility
- All allow adding custom behavior (bold, images, embeds).
- Mechanism varies (plugins, modules, decorators).
// Common: Adding bold functionality
// Concept exists in all, implementation differs
toggleFormat('bold');
3. 🌐 Serialization
- All can convert internal state to HTML or JSON.
- Necessary for saving to a database.
// Common: Saving data
const data = editor.getValue();
await api.save({ content: data });
4. ♿ Accessibility Support
- All strive to support keyboard navigation and screen readers.
- Level of compliance varies by implementation.
// Common: ARIA attributes
// Editors generally manage role="textbox" internally
<div role="textbox" aria-multiline="true" />
5. 📱 Mobile Considerations
- All face challenges with mobile keyboards and touch events.
tinymceandquilloften handle this better out of the box.
// Common: Mobile viewport handling
// Often requires meta viewport tags in HTML
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" />
📊 Summary: Key Similarities
| Feature | Shared by All Packages |
|---|---|
| Core Input | 📄 Text formatting & input |
| Output | 🌐 HTML or JSON serialization |
| Extensibility | 🔌 Custom blocks/marks supported |
| Integration | ⚛️ Works with React (via wrappers) |
| Accessibility | ♿ Keyboard nav & ARIA support |
🆚 Summary: Key Differences
| Feature | tinymce | quill | slate | plate | draft-js |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | 🖼️ Iframe-based | 🌳 DOM-based | ⚛️ React Components | ⚛️ React + Plugins | 🧱 Immutable Blocks |
| Data Format | 📝 HTML | 🔺 Delta (JSON) | 🌲 Custom JSON Tree | 🌲 Custom JSON Tree | 🗄️ Raw JSON |
| Customization | ⚙️ Config Options | 🧩 Modules | 🛠️ Build from Scratch | 🔌 Plugin System | 🎨 Decorators |
| Maintenance | ✅ Active (Commercial) | ⚠️ Slow Updates | ✅ Active (Community) | ✅ Active (Community) | ❌ Maintenance Mode |
| Learning Curve | 🟢 Low | 🟢 Low | 🔴 High | 🟡 Medium | 🟡 Medium |
💡 The Big Picture
tinymce is the safe, enterprise choice 🏢. It works like Microsoft Word in the browser. Choose this if your users expect a traditional editing experience and you don't want to maintain editor code.
quill is the lightweight standard 🪶. It strikes a balance between features and simplicity. Choose this for standard forms, comments, or simple content creation where you need reliability without complexity.
slate is the developer's toolkit 🧰. It gives you infinite flexibility but demands engineering time. Choose this if you are building a product where the editor is a core feature (like Notion or Medium).
@udecode/plate-core is the accelerator 🚀. It sits on top of slate to save you time. Choose this if you want slate's power but need to ship faster with pre-built components.
draft-js is the legacy option 🕰️. It pioneered React-rich text but is now outdated. Do not choose this for new projects; migrate to slate or plate if possible.
Final Thought: The best editor is the one that matches your team's capacity. If you want to build features, pick tinymce. If you want to build an editor, pick slate or plate.
How to Choose: @udecode/plate-core vs draft-js vs quill vs slate vs tinymce
- @udecode/plate-core:
Choose
@udecode/plate-coreif you want the flexibility ofslatebut need a faster start with pre-built plugins for common features like tables, mentions, and comments. It is ideal for teams building complex, Notion-like editors who want to avoid writing low-level editor logic from scratch while retaining full control over the React component structure. - draft-js:
Avoid
draft-jsfor new projects as it is in maintenance mode and lacks modern React patterns like hooks. Only choose it if you are maintaining an existing legacy application that already depends on it and migration costs are too high. For any new development, evaluateslateor@udecode/plate-coreinstead. - quill:
Choose
quillif you need a reliable, standard rich text editor that works out of the box with minimal configuration. It is suitable for simple comment sections, blog inputs, or admin panels where you need bold, italic, and lists without building custom tools or complex data models. - slate:
Choose
slateif you need to build a highly custom editor with unique behavior, such as a collaborative document editor or a specialized input field. It is best for teams with the engineering bandwidth to construct their own toolbar, serialization logic, and plugin architecture from the ground up. - tinymce:
Choose
tinymceif you need a comprehensive, Word-like editing experience with minimal engineering effort. It is the best fit for enterprise applications requiring advanced features like paste from Word, accessibility checks, and cloud services without building them yourself.
Popular Comparisons
README for @udecode/plate-core
Plate Core
This package provides the foundational structure of the Plate editor framework.
Documentation
Visit https://platejs.org/docs/api/core to view the documentation.