Star Rating Components for React: Technical Comparison

When building React applications that need user feedback systems, star rating components are a common requirement. The four packages we're comparing — react-rating, react-rating-stars-component, react-simple-star-rating, and react-star-ratings — all solve this problem but with different approaches to maintenance, customization, and modern React patterns. Let's break down the technical differences.

⚠️ Maintenance Status: Active vs Deprecated

This is the most critical factor for production applications.

react-star-ratings is deprecated and no longer maintained. The npm page and repository indicate it should not be used in new projects.

// react-star-ratings - DEPRECATED, do not use
import StarRatings from 'react-star-ratings';

// This package is no longer receiving updates or security fixes
<StarRatings
  rating={3}
  starRatedColor="red"
  numberOfStars={5}
  name='rating'
/>

react-simple-star-rating is actively maintained with regular updates and modern React patterns.

// react-simple-star-rating - Actively maintained
import { StarRating } from 'react-simple-star-rating';

<StarRating
  rating={3}
  size={24}
  fillColor="#ffd700"
  emptyColor="#e4e5e9"
/>

react-rating receives occasional updates but less frequently than react-simple-star-rating.

// react-rating - Moderately maintained
import Rating from 'react-rating';

<Rating
  initialRating={3}
  emptySymbol="far fa-star"
  fullSymbol="fas fa-star"
/>

react-rating-stars-component has limited maintenance activity.

// react-rating-stars-component - Limited maintenance
import ReactStars from "react-rating-stars-component";

<ReactStars
  count={5}
  value={3}
  size={24}
  color2="#ffd700"
/>

🎨 Customization: Symbols and Styling

How you customize the appearance varies significantly between packages.

react-rating uses React elements for symbols, giving you maximum flexibility.

// react-rating - Custom symbols with React elements
import Rating from 'react-rating';

<Rating
  initialRating={3}
  emptySymbol={<span className="star-empty">☆</span>}
  fullSymbol={<span className="star-full">★</span>}
  fractions={2} // Supports half-stars
/>

react-simple-star-rating offers color and size props with SVG-based rendering.

// react-simple-star-rating - Color and size customization
import { StarRating } from 'react-simple-star-rating';

<StarRating
  rating={3.5}
  size={32}
  fillColor="#ffd700"
  emptyColor="#e4e5e9"
  allowHalf={true}
  transition
/>

react-rating-stars-component provides basic color and size options.

// react-rating-stars-component - Basic styling
import ReactStars from "react-rating-stars-component";

<ReactStars
  count={5}
  value={4}
  size={24}
  activeColor="#ffd700"
  color2="#ffd700"
  isHalf={true}
/>

react-star-ratings uses string-based color props (deprecated pattern).

// react-star-ratings - String-based colors (deprecated)
import StarRatings from 'react-star-ratings';

<StarRatings
  rating={3}
  starRatedColor="rgb(238, 204, 13)"
  starEmptyColor="rgb(238, 204, 13)"
  numberOfStars={5}
/>

🖱️ Interaction: Read-Only vs Interactive Modes

All packages support both display-only and user-interactive ratings, but the APIs differ.

react-rating uses the readonly prop to disable interaction.

// react-rating - Interactive vs read-only
import Rating from 'react-rating';

// Interactive
<Rating
  initialRating={3}
  onChange={(value) => console.log(value)}
/>

// Read-only
<Rating
  initialRating={3}
  readonly
/>

react-simple-star-rating uses the readonly prop similarly.

// react-simple-star-rating - Interactive vs read-only
import { StarRating } from 'react-simple-star-rating';

// Interactive
<StarRating
  rating={3}
  onClick={(value) => console.log(value)}
/>

// Read-only
<StarRating
  rating={3}
  readonly
/>

react-rating-stars-component uses the edit prop to control interaction.

// react-rating-stars-component - Edit prop for interaction
import ReactStars from "react-rating-stars-component";

// Interactive
<ReactStars
  count={5}
  value={3}
  edit={true}
  onChange={(value) => console.log(value)}
/>

// Read-only
<ReactStars
  count={5}
  value={3}
  edit={false}
/>

react-star-ratings uses changeRating callback to determine interactivity.

// react-star-ratings - Callback-based interaction (deprecated)
import StarRatings from 'react-star-ratings';

// Interactive
<StarRatings
  rating={3}
  changeRating={(newRating) => console.log(newRating)}
  numberOfStars={5}
/>

// Read-only (no changeRating callback)
<StarRatings
  rating={3}
  numberOfStars={5}
/>

♿ Accessibility: Screen Reader Support

Accessibility features vary significantly across these packages.

react-simple-star-rating includes better accessibility support with ARIA attributes.

// react-simple-star-rating - Better accessibility
import { StarRating } from 'react-simple-star-rating';

<StarRating
  rating={4}
  ariaLabel="Rating: 4 out of 5 stars"
  readonly
/>

react-rating supports custom aria-labels through props.

// react-rating - Custom accessibility
import Rating from 'react-rating';

<Rating
  initialRating={3}
  aria-label="Product rating"
  tabIndex={0}
/>

react-rating-stars-component has limited built-in accessibility features.

// react-rating-stars-component - Basic accessibility
import ReactStars from "react-rating-stars-component";

<ReactStars
  count={5}
  value={3}
  // Limited ARIA support, may need wrapper for full accessibility
/>

react-star-ratings has minimal accessibility support (another reason to avoid).

// react-star-ratings - Minimal accessibility (deprecated)
import StarRatings from 'react-star-ratings';

<StarRatings
  rating={3}
  // No built-in ARIA attributes
  numberOfStars={5}
/>

📐 Half-Star Support

Half-star ratings are important for precise feedback systems.

react-rating supports fractional ratings through the fractions prop.

// react-rating - Fractional support
import Rating from 'react-rating';

<Rating
  initialRating={3.5}
  fractions={2} // Enables half-stars
  onChange={(value) => console.log(value)}
/>

react-simple-star-rating has explicit allowHalf prop.

// react-simple-star-rating - Half-star support
import { StarRating } from 'react-simple-star-rating';

<StarRating
  rating={3.5}
  allowHalf={true}
  onClick={(value) => console.log(value)}
/>

react-rating-stars-component supports half-stars with isHalf prop.

// react-rating-stars-component - Half-star support
import ReactStars from "react-rating-stars-component";

<ReactStars
  count={5}
  value={3.5}
  isHalf={true}
  onChange={(value) => console.log(value)}
/>

react-star-ratings supports half-stars but is deprecated.

// react-star-ratings - Half-star support (deprecated)
import StarRatings from 'react-star-ratings';

<StarRatings
  rating={3.5}
  starHalfColor="rgb(238, 204, 13)"
  numberOfStars={5}
/>

🔧 TypeScript Support

Type safety matters for large codebases.

react-simple-star-rating has built-in TypeScript definitions.

// react-simple-star-rating - TypeScript support
import { StarRating } from 'react-simple-star-rating';

interface RatingProps {
  rating: number;
  onRate: (value: number) => void;
}

const ProductRating: React.FC<RatingProps> = ({ rating, onRate }) => (
  <StarRating
    rating={rating}
    onClick={onRate}
    size={24}
  />
);

react-rating has community-maintained type definitions.

// react-rating - Community types
import Rating from 'react-rating';

interface CustomRatingProps {
  initialRating: number;
  onChange: (value: number) => void;
}

const CustomRating: React.FC<CustomRatingProps> = ({ initialRating, onChange }) => (
  <Rating
    initialRating={initialRating}
    onChange={onChange}
  />
);

react-rating-stars-component has limited TypeScript support.

// react-rating-stars-component - Limited types
import ReactStars from "react-rating-stars-component";

// May need @types or manual type definitions
const Rating: React.FC = () => (
  <ReactStars
    count={5}
    value={3}
    onChange={(value: number) => console.log(value)}
  />
);

react-star-ratings has outdated type definitions (deprecated).

// react-star-ratings - Outdated types (deprecated)
import StarRatings from 'react-star-ratings';

// Type definitions may not match current React patterns
const Rating: React.FC = () => (
  <StarRatings
    rating={3}
    numberOfStars={5}
  />
);

📊 Summary: Key Differences

💡 The Big Picture

react-simple-star-rating is the best choice for new projects — it's actively maintained, has TypeScript support, and follows modern React patterns. Use this for production applications where long-term support matters.

react-rating works well if you need maximum customization with custom React elements as symbols. Choose this for unique designs that go beyond standard stars.

react-rating-stars-component is suitable for simple use cases where you need basic star ratings without complex requirements. Good for quick prototypes or small projects.

react-star-ratings should NOT be used in new projects. It's deprecated and no longer maintained. If you're using this in existing code, plan a migration to react-simple-star-rating.

Final Thought: For most production React applications, react-simple-star-rating offers the best balance of features, maintenance, and modern patterns. Reserve react-rating for cases where you need custom symbol flexibility, and avoid react-star-ratings entirely in new development.