tailwindcss vs bootstrap vs bulma vs materialize-css: Which is Better CSS Frameworks?

Package	Downloads	Stars	Size	Issues	Publish	License

tailwindcss	8,515,801	80,452	5.62 MB	47	a month ago	MIT
bootstrap	4,090,966	168,070	9.67 MB	579	5 months ago	MIT
bulma	164,976	48,854	5.97 MB	445	2 months ago	MIT
materialize-css	21,219	38,876	-	796	6 years ago	MIT

Design Principles

tailwindcss: Tailwind CSS promotes a utility-first approach to styling, providing a wide range of utility classes that can be combined to create custom designs without writing additional CSS code.
bootstrap: Bootstrap follows a mobile-first approach to design, focusing on responsive layouts and components that adapt to different screen sizes. It also emphasizes consistency and accessibility in its design principles.
bulma: Bulma prioritizes simplicity and flexibility in its design principles, offering a modular and lightweight framework that allows for easy customization and integration with other tools.
materialize-css: Materialize CSS adheres to Google's Material Design guidelines, which emphasize clean and intuitive UI elements, animations, and responsive layouts for a consistent user experience.

Customization

tailwindcss: Tailwind CSS offers extensive customization options through utility classes, configuration files, and plugins, giving developers full control over the styling and design of their projects.
bootstrap: Bootstrap offers a variety of customization options through SASS variables, themes, and plugins, allowing developers to tailor the framework to match their project's design requirements.
bulma: Bulma provides a flexible and modular architecture that enables easy customization through CSS variables, modifiers, and a modular design approach.
materialize-css: Materialize CSS allows for customization through SASS variables, theming, and the ability to override default styles to create a unique look and feel for your project.

Learning Curve

tailwindcss: Tailwind CSS has a unique learning curve due to its utility-first approach, which may require developers to learn a new way of styling elements using utility classes. Once mastered, Tailwind CSS can significantly speed up the development process and improve code maintainability.
bootstrap: Bootstrap has a moderate learning curve due to its extensive documentation and large community support. It provides a wide range of pre-built components and utilities, making it easy to get started but may require some time to master all its features.
bulma: Bulma has a relatively low learning curve compared to other frameworks, thanks to its simple and intuitive syntax. Developers can quickly grasp the core concepts and start building responsive layouts without much effort.
materialize-css: Materialize CSS has a moderate learning curve, especially for developers familiar with Google's Material Design principles. It offers a comprehensive set of components and utilities that follow a consistent design language, making it easier to create visually appealing interfaces.

Extensibility

tailwindcss: Tailwind CSS provides excellent extensibility through its utility classes, configuration options, and plugins that enable developers to create custom designs and components without writing additional CSS code.
bootstrap: Bootstrap is highly extensible through the use of custom themes, plugins, and extensions. Developers can enhance the framework's functionality by integrating third-party libraries and tools to extend its capabilities.
bulma: Bulma offers good extensibility through its modular design approach, allowing developers to create custom components, modifiers, and utilities that seamlessly integrate with the core framework.
materialize-css: Materialize CSS supports extensibility through custom themes, plugins, and the ability to create custom components and styles that align with the Material Design principles.

Maintenance

tailwindcss: Tailwind CSS is actively maintained by its creators and community contributors, with frequent updates and new features being added to enhance the framework's functionality and performance.
bootstrap: Bootstrap is well-maintained with regular updates, bug fixes, and new features being added by the community. It has a large user base and active support forums, making it easy to find solutions to common issues.
bulma: Bulma is actively maintained by its creators and community contributors, with regular updates and improvements to ensure compatibility with the latest web standards and best practices.
materialize-css: Materialize CSS is actively maintained by a dedicated team of developers, with regular updates and bug fixes to address issues and improve performance across different browsers and devices.

tailwindcss: Choose Tailwind CSS if you prefer a utility-first CSS framework that offers a customizable and low-level approach to styling. Tailwind CSS provides a set of utility classes that can be used to quickly style elements without writing custom CSS, allowing for rapid development and easy maintenance.

bootstrap: Choose Bootstrap if you need a comprehensive and feature-rich CSS framework with a large community and extensive documentation. Bootstrap offers a wide range of pre-built components, grid system, and responsive utilities, making it suitable for rapid prototyping and production-ready projects.

bulma: Choose Bulma if you prefer a lightweight and modern CSS framework that focuses on simplicity and flexibility. Bulma uses a modern CSS grid system and modular design approach, allowing for easy customization and integration with other front-end tools and libraries.

materialize-css: Choose Materialize CSS if you want a CSS framework that follows Google's Material Design guidelines. Materialize CSS provides a set of pre-designed components, animations, and responsive layout classes inspired by Material Design principles, making it ideal for projects that require a consistent and visually appealing UI.