react-datepicker vs flatpickr vs timepicker vs bootstrap-timepicker
JavaScript Date and Time Picker Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-datepickerflatpickrtimepickerbootstrap-timepickerSimilar Packages:
What's JavaScript Date and Time Picker Libraries?

Date and time picker libraries are essential tools in web development that allow users to select dates and times through a user-friendly interface. These libraries enhance user experience by providing intuitive controls for inputting date and time values, reducing errors, and ensuring data consistency. They often come with various features such as localization, customization options, and responsive design, making them suitable for a wide range of applications from simple forms to complex scheduling systems.

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react-datepicker2,496,4308,2061.93 MB3059 days agoMIT
flatpickr977,77516,2681.09 MB829-MIT
timepicker39,8311,88492.5 kB242 years agoMIT
bootstrap-timepicker26,2961,638-1309 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-datepicker vs flatpickr vs timepicker vs bootstrap-timepicker

Integration

  • react-datepicker:

    React-datepicker is built specifically for React applications, utilizing React's component lifecycle for optimal performance. It allows for easy state management and event handling, making it a natural choice for React developers.

  • flatpickr:

    Flatpickr is designed to be easily integrated into any project, regardless of the framework. It can be used with vanilla JavaScript or any modern framework, providing flexibility in how it is implemented. Its lightweight nature ensures minimal impact on performance.

  • timepicker:

    Timepicker is straightforward to integrate into any web project. It is lightweight and does not require any additional dependencies, making it easy to add to existing forms without complicating the setup.

  • bootstrap-timepicker:

    Bootstrap-timepicker integrates seamlessly with Bootstrap, allowing developers to maintain a consistent look and feel across their web applications. It leverages Bootstrap's grid system and styles, making it easy to implement in existing Bootstrap projects.

Customization

  • react-datepicker:

    React-datepicker provides a range of customization options, including date formats, localization, and styling through CSS. It allows developers to create a date picker that fits their application's design and user experience requirements.

  • flatpickr:

    Flatpickr shines in customization capabilities, allowing developers to modify almost every aspect of the picker, including themes, formats, and behaviors. It supports custom plugins for added functionality, making it highly adaptable to various use cases.

  • timepicker:

    Timepicker allows for basic customization such as changing the time format and appearance. However, it may lack advanced customization features found in more comprehensive libraries.

  • bootstrap-timepicker:

    Bootstrap-timepicker offers basic customization options such as changing the format of the time displayed and adjusting the appearance to fit Bootstrap themes. However, it may not provide extensive customization compared to other libraries.

Features

  • react-datepicker:

    React-datepicker includes a wide array of features such as date range selection, time selection, and keyboard navigation. It is designed to handle complex date and time input scenarios, making it ideal for applications that require detailed date management.

  • flatpickr:

    Flatpickr is feature-rich, supporting date ranges, time selection, multiple calendars, and localization. It also offers features like inline mode and custom date formatting, making it versatile for complex applications.

  • timepicker:

    Timepicker is focused solely on time input, providing essential features for selecting hours and minutes. It is best suited for applications that do not require date selection.

  • bootstrap-timepicker:

    Bootstrap-timepicker focuses on time selection and provides basic functionalities such as time format options and AM/PM toggling. It is suitable for simple use cases but lacks advanced features like date selection or range picking.

Performance

  • react-datepicker:

    React-datepicker is efficient in rendering and updating the UI, leveraging React's virtual DOM for optimal performance. It is designed to handle frequent updates without significant performance hits, making it suitable for dynamic applications.

  • flatpickr:

    Flatpickr is optimized for performance, ensuring fast rendering and responsiveness even with complex configurations. Its lightweight nature helps maintain application speed without sacrificing functionality.

  • timepicker:

    Timepicker is lightweight and performs well for simple use cases. However, it may not be suitable for applications requiring extensive interactions or complex date handling.

  • bootstrap-timepicker:

    Bootstrap-timepicker is lightweight and performs well in most scenarios, but its performance may be affected if used in highly interactive applications due to its reliance on jQuery.

Localization

  • react-datepicker:

    React-datepicker supports localization through external libraries, allowing developers to implement various languages and formats. It is flexible enough to accommodate different regional settings, making it a good choice for international applications.

  • flatpickr:

    Flatpickr excels in localization, supporting multiple languages and formats out of the box. It allows developers to easily adapt the date and time picker to different locales, making it suitable for global applications.

  • timepicker:

    Timepicker has minimal localization capabilities, primarily supporting English. Additional localization may require custom implementation.

  • bootstrap-timepicker:

    Bootstrap-timepicker has limited localization support, primarily focusing on English and basic time formats. It may require additional work for full localization in multi-language applications.

How to Choose: react-datepicker vs flatpickr vs timepicker vs bootstrap-timepicker
  • react-datepicker:

    Select react-datepicker if you are working within a React application and need a date picker that seamlessly integrates with React's component-based architecture. It offers a rich set of features and is easy to customize, making it perfect for React developers looking for a robust solution.

  • flatpickr:

    Opt for flatpickr if you need a lightweight, highly customizable date and time picker that supports a wide range of features including date ranges, time selection, and localization. It is suitable for projects that require flexibility and modern design without the overhead of a larger library.

  • timepicker:

    Use timepicker if you require a straightforward, no-frills time selection tool that is easy to implement and customize. It is best for projects that need a simple time input without additional date functionalities.

  • bootstrap-timepicker:

    Choose bootstrap-timepicker if you are already using Bootstrap in your project and need a simple, easy-to-integrate time picker that matches Bootstrap's design. It is ideal for projects that require a straightforward time selection without extensive customization.

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.