React Input Libraries Comparison
react-select vs react-autosuggest vs react-autocomplete
1 Year
react-selectreact-autosuggestreact-autocompleteSimilar Packages:
What's React Input Libraries?

React input libraries facilitate the creation of user-friendly and dynamic input fields in React applications. They enhance user experience by providing features such as suggestions, multiple selections, and customizable styles. These libraries help developers implement complex input functionalities with ease, improving both usability and accessibility in web applications. Choosing the right library depends on the specific requirements of the project, such as the need for autocomplete, multiple selections, or custom styling.

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react-select4,981,66927,698724 kB4375 days agoMIT
react-autosuggest292,2395,967-2614 years agoMIT
react-autocomplete72,1582,166-917 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-select vs react-autosuggest vs react-autocomplete

Autocomplete Functionality

  • react-select:

    react-select does not focus solely on autocomplete but includes it as part of a broader selection component. It allows users to search through options efficiently, making it ideal for applications with large datasets.

  • react-autosuggest:

    react-autosuggest offers a more sophisticated autocomplete experience with features like customizable suggestion rendering and support for keyboard navigation. It allows developers to create a more interactive and user-friendly input experience.

  • react-autocomplete:

    react-autocomplete provides a straightforward implementation of autocomplete functionality, allowing users to receive suggestions as they type. It is easy to integrate and requires minimal configuration, making it suitable for simple use cases.

Customization

  • react-select:

    react-select excels in customization, offering a wide range of props to style the component, control its behavior, and customize the rendering of options and values, making it highly adaptable to various design requirements.

  • react-autosuggest:

    react-autosuggest offers a high degree of customization, allowing developers to define how suggestions are rendered and styled. This flexibility makes it suitable for applications that require a unique look and feel.

  • react-autocomplete:

    Customization options in react-autocomplete are limited compared to others. It allows basic styling but does not provide extensive customization capabilities for the suggestion list or input field.

Performance

  • react-select:

    react-select is designed to handle large datasets efficiently, with features like lazy loading and virtualization to improve performance when dealing with many options.

  • react-autosuggest:

    react-autosuggest is optimized for performance, especially with larger datasets, as it efficiently manages rendering and updates based on user input, ensuring a smooth experience even with many suggestions.

  • react-autocomplete:

    Performance in react-autocomplete is generally good for small datasets, but it may struggle with larger datasets due to its simplistic approach to rendering suggestions.

Accessibility

  • react-select:

    react-select is designed with accessibility in mind, providing keyboard navigation and ARIA attributes to ensure that it is usable by people with disabilities.

  • react-autosuggest:

    react-autosuggest includes built-in accessibility features, making it easier to navigate suggestions using the keyboard, which enhances usability for all users, including those with disabilities.

  • react-autocomplete:

    react-autocomplete has basic accessibility features, but may require additional work to ensure full compliance with accessibility standards, especially for keyboard navigation.

Learning Curve

  • react-select:

    react-select has a steeper learning curve compared to the others due to its extensive features and customization capabilities, but it offers powerful functionality for complex selection needs.

  • react-autosuggest:

    react-autosuggest has a moderate learning curve due to its additional features and customization options, which may require some familiarity with React concepts.

  • react-autocomplete:

    react-autocomplete has a gentle learning curve, making it easy for developers to implement basic autocomplete functionality quickly without extensive knowledge of React.

How to Choose: react-select vs react-autosuggest vs react-autocomplete
  • react-select:

    Opt for react-select if you need a robust and versatile select input component that supports single and multi-select options, custom styling, and asynchronous loading of options. It is perfect for applications that require complex selection capabilities and a polished user interface.

  • react-autosuggest:

    Select react-autosuggest when you require a more advanced autocomplete experience, including support for suggestions based on user input and the ability to customize the rendering of suggestions. This package is ideal for applications that need a flexible and user-friendly autocomplete component with enhanced features like keyboard navigation and accessibility.

  • react-autocomplete:

    Choose react-autocomplete if you need a simple, lightweight solution for providing autocomplete suggestions based on user input. It is best suited for scenarios where you want to enhance a single input field with basic autocomplete functionality without the overhead of additional features.

README for react-select

NPM CircleCI Coverage Status Supported by Thinkmill

React-Select

The Select control for React. Initially built for use in KeystoneJS.

See react-select.com for live demos and comprehensive docs.

React Select is funded by Thinkmill and Atlassian. It represents a whole new approach to developing powerful React.js components that just work out of the box, while being extremely customisable.

For the story behind this component, watch Jed's talk at React Conf 2019 - building React Select

Features include:

  • Flexible approach to data, with customisable functions
  • Extensible styling API with emotion
  • Component Injection API for complete control over the UI behaviour
  • Controllable state props and modular architecture
  • Long-requested features like option groups, portal support, animation, and more

Using an older version?

Installation and usage

The easiest way to use react-select is to install it from npm and build it into your app with Webpack.

yarn add react-select

Then use it in your app:

With React Component

import React from 'react';
import Select from 'react-select';

const options = [
  { value: 'chocolate', label: 'Chocolate' },
  { value: 'strawberry', label: 'Strawberry' },
  { value: 'vanilla', label: 'Vanilla' },
];

class App extends React.Component {
  state = {
    selectedOption: null,
  };
  handleChange = (selectedOption) => {
    this.setState({ selectedOption }, () =>
      console.log(`Option selected:`, this.state.selectedOption)
    );
  };
  render() {
    const { selectedOption } = this.state;

    return (
      <Select
        value={selectedOption}
        onChange={this.handleChange}
        options={options}
      />
    );
  }
}

With React Hooks

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import Select from 'react-select';

const options = [
  { value: 'chocolate', label: 'Chocolate' },
  { value: 'strawberry', label: 'Strawberry' },
  { value: 'vanilla', label: 'Vanilla' },
];

export default function App() {
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);

  return (
    <div className="App">
      <Select
        defaultValue={selectedOption}
        onChange={setSelectedOption}
        options={options}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

Props

Common props you may want to specify include:

  • autoFocus - focus the control when it mounts
  • className - apply a className to the control
  • classNamePrefix - apply classNames to inner elements with the given prefix
  • isDisabled - disable the control
  • isMulti - allow the user to select multiple values
  • isSearchable - allow the user to search for matching options
  • name - generate an HTML input with this name, containing the current value
  • onChange - subscribe to change events
  • options - specify the options the user can select from
  • placeholder - change the text displayed when no option is selected
  • noOptionsMessage - ({ inputValue: string }) => string | null - Text to display when there are no options
  • value - control the current value

See the props documentation for complete documentation on the props react-select supports.

Controllable Props

You can control the following props by providing values for them. If you don't, react-select will manage them for you.

  • value / onChange - specify the current value of the control
  • menuIsOpen / onMenuOpen / onMenuClose - control whether the menu is open
  • inputValue / onInputChange - control the value of the search input (changing this will update the available options)

If you don't provide these props, you can set the initial value of the state they control:

  • defaultValue - set the initial value of the control
  • defaultMenuIsOpen - set the initial open value of the menu
  • defaultInputValue - set the initial value of the search input

Methods

React-select exposes two public methods:

  • focus() - focus the control programmatically
  • blur() - blur the control programmatically

Customisation

Check the docs for more information on:

TypeScript

The v5 release represents a rewrite from JavaScript to TypeScript. The types for v4 and earlier releases are available at @types. See the TypeScript guide for how to use the types starting with v5.

Thanks

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this project. It's been a wild ride.

If you like React Select, you should follow me on twitter!

Shout out to Joss Mackison, Charles Lee, Ben Conolly, Tom Walker, Nathan Bierema, Eric Bonow, Emma Hamilton, Dave Brotherstone, Brian Vaughn, and the Atlassian Design System team who along with many other contributors have made this possible ❤️

License

MIT Licensed. Copyright (c) Jed Watson 2022.