Four Ways to Pick Dates in React Native: react-native-date-picker, react-native-modal-datetime-picker, react-native-paper-dates, and react-native-datepicker

Modern React Native apps need predictable date/time inputs that honor platform conventions, enforce constraints, and fit into existing state and validation flows. These four libraries converge on that need but diverge on how much they rely on native controls, how they expose state, and what higher-level UX they bundle.

Native-first versus design-system-first changes everything

• react-native-date-picker renders the platform-native picker either inline or as a modal, exposing a thin, cross-platform prop surface. You get OS-native motion and accessibility with minimal abstraction.
• react-native-modal-datetime-picker is a modal wrapper around the community native picker. It focuses on a polished confirm/cancel flow while delegating actual selection UI to the OS.
• react-native-paper-dates implements a Material calendar/time UI in JS. It enables features like date-range selection and input patterns and integrates tightly with react-native-paper theming, at the cost of deviating from the platform-native look.
• react-native-datepicker represents an older generation: string-based values, legacy props, and a custom UI approach that no longer aligns with modern RN patterns. It is deprecated.

State shape and data flow alter validation and interop

• react-native-date-picker and react-native-modal-datetime-picker use Date objects end-to-end. This is ideal for schema validation (Zod/Valibot/TypeScript), timezone arithmetic, and serialization.
• react-native-paper-dates returns Date objects for dates and { hours, minutes } payloads for times. Range selection returns { startDate, endDate }, enabling higher-level validation like non-overlapping intervals.
• react-native-datepicker emits formatted strings. This forces parsing/formatting logic on your side and introduces mismatches with libraries expecting Date instances.

The hidden cost of locale, timezone, and constraints

• Locale: native-based libraries (react-native-date-picker, react-native-modal-datetime-picker) rely on the device’s locale, with optional props to override (platform-dependent). react-native-paper-dates uses its own locale prop and integrates with react-native-paper for typography/density.
• Timezones: all four essentially operate in device-local time; none provide built-in timezone conversion. Cross-timezone flows require external handling (e.g., converting from UTC to local on input, and back on submission).
• Constraints: native pickers enforce minimumDate/maximumDate at the control level. react-native-paper-dates uses validRange and inline validation messaging. Range selection is first-class only in react-native-paper-dates.

Performance and accessibility trade-offs are predictable

• Native pickers (react-native-date-picker, react-native-modal-datetime-picker) have minimal JS overhead and inherit platform accessibility affordances. Rendering and scrolling are GPU-optimized by the OS.
• react-native-paper-dates incurs a JS-rendered calendar grid and animations but gains deep theming and layout control. Accessibility depends on the component’s ARIA-like semantics and react-native-paper primitives.
• react-native-datepicker carries legacy UI assumptions and a string API that increases app-level parsing/validation work.

The same user flow, four APIs: pick a start/end datetime with 15-minute steps

Goal: capture a date range with start and end datetimes. Enforce end ≥ start and a 15-minute interval.

react-native-modal-datetime-picker

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { Button, View, Text } from 'react-native';
import DateTimePickerModal from 'react-native-modal-datetime-picker';

export function RangePicker() {
  const [visible, setVisible] = useState(false);
  const [phase, setPhase] = useState<'start'|'end'|null>(null);
  const [start, setStart] = useState<Date | null>(null);
  const [end, setEnd] = useState<Date | null>(null);

  const openFor = (p: 'start'|'end') => { setPhase(p); setVisible(true); };
  const roundTo15 = (d: Date) => new Date(Math.round(d.getTime() / (15*60*1000)) * 15*60*1000);

  return (
    <View>
      <Button title="Pick start" onPress={() => openFor('start')} />
      <Button title="Pick end" onPress={() => openFor('end')} />
      <Text>{start?.toString() ?? '—'} → {end?.toString() ?? '—'}</Text>

      <DateTimePickerModal
        isVisible={visible}
        mode="datetime"
        date={(phase === 'end' && start) ? start : (start ?? new Date())}
        minimumDate={phase === 'end' ? start ?? undefined : undefined}
        minuteInterval={15}
        onConfirm={(d) => {
          const rounded = roundTo15(d);
          if (phase === 'start') setStart(rounded); else setEnd(rounded);
          setVisible(false); setPhase(null);
        }}
        onCancel={() => { setVisible(false); setPhase(null); }}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

react-native-date-picker

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { Button, View, Text } from 'react-native';
import DatePicker from 'react-native-date-picker';

export function RangePicker() {
  const [open, setOpen] = useState<null | 'start' | 'end'>(null);
  const [start, setStart] = useState<Date | null>(null);
  const [end, setEnd] = useState<Date | null>(null);
  const roundTo15 = (d: Date) => new Date(Math.round(d.getTime() / (15*60*1000)) * 15*60*1000);

  return (
    <View>
      <Button title="Pick start" onPress={() => setOpen('start')} />
      <Button title="Pick end" onPress={() => setOpen('end')} />
      <Text>{start?.toString() ?? '—'} → {end?.toString() ?? '—'}</Text>

      <DatePicker
        modal
        open={open !== null}
        mode="datetime"
        date={(open === 'end' && start) ? start : (start ?? new Date())}
        minimumDate={open === 'end' ? start ?? undefined : undefined}
        minuteInterval={15}
        onConfirm={(d) => {
          const rounded = roundTo15(d);
          if (open === 'start') setStart(rounded); else setEnd(rounded);
          setOpen(null);
        }}
        onCancel={() => setOpen(null)}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

react-native-paper-dates

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { View, Text, Button } from 'react-native';
import { DatePickerModal, TimePickerModal } from 'react-native-paper-dates';

export function RangePicker() {
  const [dateVisible, setDateVisible] = useState(false);
  const [timeFor, setTimeFor] = useState<null | 'start' | 'end'>(null);
  const [range, setRange] = useState<{ startDate: Date | undefined; endDate: Date | undefined}>({ startDate: undefined, endDate: undefined });
  const [times, setTimes] = useState<{ start?: {h:number;m:number}; end?: {h:number;m:number} }>({});

  const roundTo15 = (h:number, m:number) => ({ h, m: Math.round(m/15)*15 % 60 });

  return (
    <View>
      <Button title="Pick date range" onPress={() => setDateVisible(true)} />
      <Button title="Pick start time" onPress={() => setTimeFor('start')} />
      <Button title="Pick end time" onPress={() => setTimeFor('end')} />
      <Text>
        {range.startDate?.toDateString() ?? '—'} {times.start ? `${times.start.h}:${String(times.start.m).padStart(2,'0')}` : ''}
        →
        {range.endDate?.toDateString() ?? '—'} {times.end ? `${times.end.h}:${String(times.end.m).padStart(2,'0')}` : ''}
      </Text>

      <DatePickerModal
        locale="en"
        mode="range"
        visible={dateVisible}
        onDismiss={() => setDateVisible(false)}
        startDate={range.startDate}
        endDate={range.endDate}
        validRange={{ startDate: undefined, endDate: undefined }}
        onConfirm={({ startDate, endDate }) => { setRange({ startDate, endDate }); setDateVisible(false); }}
      />

      <TimePickerModal
        visible={timeFor !== null}
        onDismiss={() => setTimeFor(null)}
        onConfirm={({ hours, minutes }) => {
          const { h, m } = roundTo15(hours, minutes);
          if (timeFor === 'start') setTimes((t) => ({ ...t, start: { h, m } }));
          else setTimes((t) => ({ ...t, end: { h, m } }));
          setTimeFor(null);
        }}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

react-native-datepicker (deprecated; string-based API)

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { View, Text } from 'react-native';
import DatePicker from 'react-native-datepicker';

// Note: values are strings formatted per the `format` prop.
export function RangePicker() {
  const [start, setStart] = useState<string>('');
  const [end, setEnd] = useState<string>('');
  const format = 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm';

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Start</Text>
      <DatePicker
        date={start}
        mode="datetime"
        format={format}
        minuteInterval={15}
        onDateChange={(s) => setStart(s)}
      />
      <Text>End</Text>
      <DatePicker
        date={end}
        mode="datetime"
        format={format}
        minDate={start || undefined}
        minuteInterval={15}
        onDateChange={(s) => setEnd(s)}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

Limitations: here, "minDate" comparison is string-based, and you’ll need to parse/compare when validating end ≥ start. Interop with Date-centric code requires conversion.

When range selection is first-class, validation becomes declarative

Only react-native-paper-dates exposes range selection directly, enabling constraints via validRange and providing structured callback payloads. With native-based libraries, range validation is implemented at the application layer (e.g., choosing min/max dynamically for the second picker).

Theming and UI consistency versus platform fidelity

• Native-based libraries inherit the OS typographic rhythm, dark mode, and accessibility without design-system coupling.
• react-native-paper-dates delivers consistent Material theming across platforms and aligns with react-native-paper components (TextInput, Buttons), ensuring a coherent overall UI.

Dependency and packaging considerations

• react-native-modal-datetime-picker depends on @react-native-community/datetimepicker, so you manage both packages and their platform configs.
• react-native-paper-dates depends on react-native-paper and its theming/provider setup.
• react-native-date-picker ships as a native module with no design-system peer deps.
• react-native-datepicker is deprecated and aligned with older RN lifecycles.

Summary table

The pattern reveals a split between native-control wrappers optimized for platform fidelity and lean state handling versus a design-system implementation optimized for theming, higher-level UX (like ranges), and cross-platform visual consistency.