react-error-overlay is a development tool designed to provide a better error reporting experience in React applications. It overlays the application with a user-friendly error message when a JavaScript error occurs, making it easier for developers to identify and fix issues during development. This package enhances the development experience by providing clear and actionable error messages, which can significantly speed up the debugging process. While react-error-overlay is a valuable tool, there are several alternatives that offer similar functionalities. Here are a few:

• @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin is a plugin for Webpack that enables React Fast Refresh, allowing developers to see changes in their React components in real-time without losing the component state. This plugin enhances the development experience by providing instant feedback on code changes and reducing the need for full page reloads. While it primarily focuses on hot reloading, it also helps in catching errors during development, making it a useful alternative to react-error-overlay.

• react-dev-utils is a set of utility functions and tools for React development, commonly used in Create React App projects. It includes various utilities for error handling, logging, and development server configuration. While it does not provide an overlay specifically for error reporting, it offers a comprehensive set of tools that can assist in debugging and improving the development workflow.

• react-error-boundary is a higher-order component that allows developers to catch JavaScript errors in their component tree and display a fallback UI instead of crashing the entire application. This package is particularly useful for handling errors in production and providing a better user experience when something goes wrong. While it serves a different purpose than react-error-overlay, it complements error handling in React applications.

• react-hot-loader is another library that enables hot reloading for React components, allowing developers to see changes instantly without losing their component state. While its primary focus is on hot reloading, it can also help catch errors during development. However, it is worth noting that react-hot-loader is less commonly used in recent projects due to the rise of React Fast Refresh.

For a comprehensive comparison of these packages, check out this link: Comparing @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin vs react-dev-utils vs react-error-boundary vs react-error-overlay vs react-hot-loader.