react-icons vs font-awesome vs feather-icons vs material-design-icons
Icon Libraries for Web Development Comparison
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What's Icon Libraries for Web Development?

Icon libraries provide a collection of scalable vector icons that can be easily integrated into web applications. They enhance user interfaces by offering visual cues that improve usability and accessibility. These libraries vary in design philosophy, icon styles, and ease of use, catering to different design needs and preferences. Choosing the right icon library can significantly impact the aesthetic and functional quality of a web application.

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react-icons3,450,62111,99886.2 MB2052 months agoMIT
font-awesome870,53774,918-4,1518 years ago(OFL-1.1 AND MIT)
feather-icons129,07025,375625 kB489a year agoMIT
material-design-icons65,82551,363-3519 years agoApache-2.0
Feature Comparison: react-icons vs font-awesome vs feather-icons vs material-design-icons

Design Philosophy

  • react-icons:

    React Icons is not tied to a specific design philosophy but rather aggregates icons from various libraries, allowing developers to choose icons that best fit their design needs. This flexibility makes it a great choice for projects that require a mix of styles.

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome offers a diverse range of icons with a more detailed and stylized approach. It provides both solid and outline versions of icons, allowing for greater customization and flexibility in design. This library is well-suited for applications that require a rich visual language.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons embraces a minimalist design philosophy, focusing on simplicity and clarity. The icons are designed with a consistent stroke width and are easily recognizable, making them suitable for modern web applications that prioritize a clean aesthetic.

  • material-design-icons:

    Material Design Icons follow Google's Material Design principles, emphasizing depth, motion, and a tactile experience. The icons are designed to be intuitive and consistent with the overall Material Design aesthetic, making them ideal for applications targeting Android and web users.

Customization

  • react-icons:

    React Icons allows for customization through props in React components, enabling developers to easily adjust size, color, and other styles directly in their JSX. This makes it straightforward to integrate into React applications.

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome provides extensive customization options, including the ability to change icon size, color, and even add animations. The library supports CSS classes for styling, making it easy to adapt icons to fit various design requirements.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are highly customizable due to their SVG format. Developers can easily change the stroke width, color, and size, allowing for seamless integration into different design systems without losing quality.

  • material-design-icons:

    Material Design Icons offer limited customization compared to others, as they are designed to adhere strictly to Material Design guidelines. However, they can still be styled using CSS, allowing for some degree of flexibility in color and size adjustments.

Performance

  • react-icons:

    React Icons is efficient as it allows developers to import only the icons they need from various libraries, reducing the overall bundle size. This modular approach helps maintain performance in React applications.

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome can be heavier than other libraries due to its extensive icon set. However, developers can selectively include only the icons they need, which can help mitigate performance issues. The library also supports SVG and web fonts, allowing for optimization based on project requirements.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are lightweight and optimized for performance, making them ideal for applications where load time is critical. Their SVG format ensures that icons are sharp and scalable without impacting performance.

  • material-design-icons:

    Material Design Icons are generally optimized for performance, but their size can vary depending on the implementation. Using SVG versions can enhance performance, especially in applications that require high-quality visuals without sacrificing speed.

Ease of Use

  • react-icons:

    React Icons is designed specifically for React applications, making it easy to use within the React ecosystem. The ability to import icons from multiple libraries in a single package simplifies the process for developers.

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome is user-friendly, with extensive documentation and a wide range of icons that are easy to search and implement. The library's popularity means that many developers are already familiar with its usage, reducing the learning curve.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are straightforward to use, with a simple API that allows developers to easily integrate icons into their projects. The minimalist design makes it easy to find suitable icons for various applications.

  • material-design-icons:

    Material Design Icons are easy to use for developers familiar with Material Design principles. The icons are well-documented, and their consistent style makes it easy to choose appropriate icons for various contexts.

Community and Support

  • react-icons:

    React Icons has a supportive community within the React ecosystem, with many resources available for developers. Its integration with various icon libraries means that developers can find help across multiple platforms.

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome has a large and active community, providing extensive support through forums, documentation, and tutorials. Its widespread use means that developers can easily find solutions to common issues.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons has a growing community, but it is smaller compared to more established libraries. Support is primarily through GitHub, where developers can contribute and report issues.

  • material-design-icons:

    Material Design Icons benefit from Google's backing, ensuring robust support and documentation. The community is active, especially among developers adhering to Material Design guidelines.

How to Choose: react-icons vs font-awesome vs feather-icons vs material-design-icons
  • react-icons:

    Use React Icons if you are building a React application and want a seamless integration of various icon libraries. This package allows you to easily import icons from multiple libraries, making it versatile for developers who prefer flexibility.

  • font-awesome:

    Opt for Font Awesome if you need a comprehensive icon set with extensive customization options and a wide variety of icons. It is suitable for projects requiring a diverse range of icons and robust support for accessibility features.

  • feather-icons:

    Choose Feather Icons if you prefer a minimalist design with a focus on simplicity and clarity. This library is ideal for projects that prioritize a clean aesthetic and lightweight icons.

  • material-design-icons:

    Select Material Design Icons if you are developing applications that adhere to Google's Material Design guidelines. This library is perfect for projects that aim for a modern, cohesive look and feel consistent with Android and web applications.

Similar Npm Packages to react-icons

react-icons is a popular library that provides a comprehensive collection of customizable icons for React applications. It allows developers to easily integrate icons from various icon sets, such as Font Awesome, Material Design, and more, into their projects. With a simple and intuitive API, react-icons makes it easy to import and use icons as React components, enabling seamless styling and customization. This library is particularly useful for developers looking to enhance their user interfaces with visually appealing icons without the hassle of managing multiple icon libraries.

An alternative to react-icons is react-feather. This library offers a collection of open-source icons that are designed with a minimalistic approach. Each icon in react-feather is built using SVG, ensuring that they are lightweight and easily scalable. The icons are designed to be simple and clean, making them a great choice for applications that prioritize a modern aesthetic. react-feather provides a straightforward API for integrating icons into your React components, allowing for easy customization and styling.

For a detailed comparison of these two libraries, check out the following link: Comparing react-feather vs react-icons.

Similar Npm Packages to font-awesome

font-awesome is a popular icon library that provides a vast collection of scalable vector icons that can be easily customized with CSS. It is widely used in web development to enhance user interfaces with visually appealing icons. While Font Awesome is a go-to choice for many developers, there are several alternatives available that also offer icon sets. Here are a few notable options:

  • ionicons is an open-source icon set crafted for use with Ionic applications, but it can also be used in any web project. Ionicons provides a comprehensive collection of beautifully designed icons that are specifically tailored for mobile and web applications. With a focus on simplicity and usability, Ionicons is a great choice for developers looking for modern and clean icons that integrate seamlessly into their designs.

  • material-icons is a set of icons developed by Google as part of the Material Design guidelines. These icons are designed to be consistent, visually appealing, and easy to use across various platforms. Material Icons offer a wide range of icons that can be easily customized and styled, making them a great choice for developers who want to adhere to Material Design principles in their applications.

To see how Font Awesome compares with Ionicons and Material Icons, check out the comparison: Comparing font-awesome vs ionicons vs material-icons.

Similar Npm Packages to feather-icons

feather-icons is a collection of open-source icons that are designed to be simple, beautiful, and customizable. Each icon is crafted with a minimalistic approach, making them ideal for modern web applications. Feather icons are vector-based, which means they can be scaled to any size without losing quality, and they can easily be styled with CSS. This makes them a popular choice among developers looking for a clean and elegant icon set for their projects.

While feather-icons provides a great selection of icons, there are other libraries that offer similar functionalities. Here are a few alternatives:

  • material-icons is a set of icons designed by Google that follows the Material Design guidelines. This library includes a wide variety of icons that are perfect for web and mobile applications. Material icons are also vector-based and can be easily customized with CSS. If you are building an application that adheres to Material Design principles, using material-icons will ensure consistency and a polished look throughout your user interface.
  • react-icons is a popular library that provides a comprehensive collection of icons from various icon sets, including Font Awesome, Material Icons, and many others. This library is specifically designed for React applications, allowing developers to easily import and use icons as React components. If you need a diverse range of icons and want the flexibility to choose from multiple icon sets, react-icons is an excellent choice.

To see how feather-icons compares with material-icons and react-icons, check out the comparison: Comparing feather-icons vs material-icons vs react-icons.

Similar Npm Packages to material-design-icons

material-design-icons is a popular icon library that provides a comprehensive set of icons designed according to Google's Material Design guidelines. These icons are vector-based and can be easily scaled, making them suitable for various applications and user interfaces. The library is widely used in web and mobile applications to enhance user experience and provide visual cues. While material-design-icons is a robust choice for icons, there are several alternatives available in the ecosystem. Here are a few notable ones:

  • feather-icons is a collection of open-source icons that are designed to be simple and customizable. Feather icons are minimalistic and clean, making them a great choice for modern web applications. The icons are designed as SVGs, which allows for easy styling and scaling. If you prefer a lightweight and elegant icon set that can be easily customized, feather-icons is an excellent alternative to consider.
  • font-awesome is one of the most widely used icon libraries in the world. It offers a vast collection of icons, including both solid and outlined styles, as well as brand icons. Font Awesome is highly versatile and can be easily integrated into various projects. It also provides additional features like icon animations and accessibility support. If you need a comprehensive icon library with a wide range of options, font-awesome is a solid choice.
  • react-icons is a library that provides a collection of popular icon sets as React components. It allows developers to easily use icons from various libraries, including Font Awesome, Material Design Icons, and others, within their React applications. React-icons is particularly useful for developers who want to have access to multiple icon sets without the need to import each library separately. If you are building a React application and want flexibility in choosing icons, react-icons is a great option.

To see how material-design-icons compares with feather-icons, font-awesome, and react-icons, check out the comparison: Comparing feather-icons vs font-awesome vs material-design-icons vs react-icons.

README for react-icons
React Icons

React Icons

npm

Include popular icons in your React projects easily with react-icons, which utilizes ES6 imports that allows you to include only the icons that your project is using.

Installation (for standard modern project)

yarn add react-icons
# or
npm install react-icons --save

example usage

import { FaBeer } from "react-icons/fa";

function Question() {
  return (
    <h3>
      Lets go for a <FaBeer />?
    </h3>
  );
}

View the documentation for further usage examples and how to use icons from other packages. NOTE: each Icon package has it's own subfolder under react-icons you import from.

For example, to use an icon from Material Design, your import would be: import { ICON_NAME } from 'react-icons/md';

Installation (for meteorjs, gatsbyjs, etc)

Note This option has not had a new release for some time. More info https://github.com/react-icons/react-icons/issues/593

If your project grows in size, this option is available. This method has the trade-off that it takes a long time to install the package.

yarn add @react-icons/all-files
# or
npm install @react-icons/all-files --save

example usage

import { FaBeer } from "@react-icons/all-files/fa/FaBeer";

function Question() {
  return (
    <h3>
      Lets go for a <FaBeer />?
    </h3>
  );
}

Icons

| Icon Library | License | Version | Count | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ----: | | Circum Icons | MPL-2.0 license | 1.0.0 | 288 | | Font Awesome 5 | CC BY 4.0 License | 5.15.4-3-gafecf2a | 1612 | | Font Awesome 6 | CC BY 4.0 License | 6.5.2 | 2045 | | Ionicons 4 | MIT | 4.6.3 | 696 | | Ionicons 5 | MIT | 5.5.4 | 1332 | | Material Design icons | Apache License Version 2.0 | 4.0.0-98-g9beae745bb | 4341 | | Typicons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | 2.1.2 | 336 | | Github Octicons icons | MIT | 18.3.0 | 264 | | Feather | MIT | 4.29.1 | 287 | | Lucide | ISC | v5.1.0-6-g438f572e | 1215 | | Game Icons | CC BY 3.0 | 12920d6565588f0512542a3cb0cdfd36a497f910 | 4040 | | Weather Icons | SIL OFL 1.1 | 2.0.12 | 219 | | Devicons | MIT | 1.8.0 | 192 | | Ant Design Icons | MIT | 4.4.2 | 831 | | Bootstrap Icons | MIT | 1.11.3 | 2716 | | Remix Icon | Apache License Version 2.0 | 4.2.0 | 2860 | | Flat Color Icons | MIT | 1.0.2 | 329 | | Grommet-Icons | Apache License Version 2.0 | 4.12.1 | 635 | | Heroicons | MIT | 1.0.6 | 460 | | Heroicons 2 | MIT | 2.1.3 | 888 | | Simple Icons | CC0 1.0 Universal | 12.14.0 | 3209 | | Simple Line Icons | MIT | 2.5.5 | 189 | | IcoMoon Free | CC BY 4.0 License | d006795ede82361e1bac1ee76f215cf1dc51e4ca | 491 | | BoxIcons | MIT | 2.1.4 | 1634 | | css.gg | MIT | 2.1.1 | 704 | | VS Code Icons | CC BY 4.0 | 0.0.35 | 461 | | Tabler Icons | MIT | 3.2.0 | 5237 | | Themify Icons | MIT | v0.1.2-2-g9600186 | 352 | | Radix Icons | MIT | @radix-ui/react-icons@1.3.0-1-g94b3fcf | 318 | | Phosphor Icons | MIT | 2.1.1 | 9072 | | Icons8 Line Awesome | MIT | 1.3.1 | 1544 |

You can add more icons by submitting pull requests or creating issues.

Configuration

You can configure react-icons props using React Context API.

Requires React 16.3 or higher.

import { IconContext } from "react-icons";

<IconContext.Provider value={{ color: "blue", className: "global-class-name" }}>
  <div>
    <FaFolder />
  </div>
</IconContext.Provider>;

| Key | Default | Notes | | ----------- | --------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | color | undefined (inherit) | | | size | 1em | | | className | undefined | | | style | undefined | Can overwrite size and color | | attr | undefined | Overwritten by other attributes | | title | undefined | Icon description for accessibility |

Migrating from version 2 -> 3

Change import style

Import path has changed. You need to rewrite from the old style.

// OLD IMPORT STYLE
import FaBeer from "react-icons/lib/fa/beer";

function Question() {
  return (
    <h3>
      Lets go for a <FaBeer />?
    </h3>
  );
}

// NEW IMPORT STYLE
import { FaBeer } from "react-icons/fa";

function Question() {
  return (
    <h3>
      Lets go for a <FaBeer />?
    </h3>
  );
}

Ending up with a large JS bundle? Check out this issue.

Adjustment CSS

From version 3, vertical-align: middle is not automatically given. Please use IconContext to specify className or specify an inline style.

Global Inline Styling

<IconContext.Provider value={{ style: { verticalAlign: 'middle' } }}>

Global className Styling

Component

<IconContext.Provider value={{ className: 'react-icons' }}>

CSS

.react-icons {
  vertical-align: middle;
}

TypeScript native support

Dependencies on @types/react-icons can be deleted.

Yarn

yarn remove @types/react-icons

NPM

npm remove @types/react-icons

Contributing

./build-script.sh will build the whole project. See also CI scripts for more information.

Development

yarn
cd packages/react-icons
yarn fetch  # fetch icon sources
yarn build

Add/Update icon set

First, check the discussion to see if anyone would like to add an icon set.

https://github.com/react-icons/react-icons/discussions/categories/new-icon-set

The SVG files to be fetched are managed in this file. Edit this file and run yarn fetch && yarn check && yarn build.

https://github.com/react-icons/react-icons/blob/master/packages/react-icons/src/icons/index.ts

Preview

Note The project is not actively accepting PR for the preview site at this time.

The preview site is the react-icons website, built in Astro+React.

cd packages/react-icons
yarn fetch
yarn build

cd ../preview-astro
yarn start

Demo

The demo is a Create React App boilerplate with react-icons added as a dependency for easy testing.

cd packages/react-icons
yarn fetch
yarn build

cd ../demo
yarn start

Why React SVG components instead of fonts?

SVG is supported by all major browsers. With react-icons, you can serve only the needed icons instead of one big font file to the users, helping you to recognize which icons are used in your project.

Related Projects

Licence

MIT

  • Icons are taken from the other projects so please check each project licences accordingly.
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