Preact
Hacker ApprovedRanked 8 of 21 JavaScript frameworks by recommenders
A very small library for building user interfaces with a React-like API, recommended for lightweight front ends and as a smaller alternative to React. One critic says a different library performs noticeably better.
A very small library for building user interfaces with a React-like API, recommended for lightweight front ends and as a smaller alternative to React. One critic says a different library performs noticeably better.
36 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 35
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 97%
Recommended in 12 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 35 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 35 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Very small bundle size
“I don't use React itself when I can use the lighter Preact library instead, which provides signals as an escape hatch.”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Does Anybody Actually Like React?” “you can switch to Preact (4kb) most of the time without changes if filesize is an issue”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “JavaScript-heavy approaches are not compatible with long-term performance goals” “Preact have been fairly faithful to being <10k (compressed)!”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 in “Why Nextcloud feels slow to use” - Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “You don't need React: creating a minimal UI library in Vanilla JavaScript”
- Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: We built an open source, zero webhooks payment processor”
- Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Does Anybody Actually Like React?”
- Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Show HN: Vertex.js – A 1kloc SPA Framework”
Pairs well with other tools
“My preferred SPA stack these days involves Porsager’s Postgres library, a simple RPC stack with Zod schemas, and Preact”
Comment from 21 Jun 2026 in “Code duplication is far cheaper than the wrong abstraction” “I've used bun + preact_render_to_string for server side JSX templates before and it was nice”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “Vite 8.0 Is Out” “I've found the perfect balance to be Astro with Preact”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “You don't need React: creating a minimal UI library in Vanilla JavaScript” - Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Why AI Sucks at Front End”
- Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “You don't need React: creating a minimal UI library in Vanilla JavaScript”
Covers most front-end needs
“provides a pretty comprehensive and common set of solutions to the majority of front end problems”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Removing React.js from the codebase and adapting Htmx for UI interactivity” “Preact did vdom-diffing for me and mounting/unmounting which was enough for my need.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “So, you want to make a game engine (2023)” “So far haven't run into any limitations.”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “You don't need React: creating a minimal UI library in Vanilla JavaScript” - Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “jQuery 4.0.0 Released”
Simple and quick to use
“It's simple, it's very easy, and I get things done quickly without over-thinking it.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “jQuery 4.0.0 Released” “I agree Preact is the simpler and preferable of the two.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “The Overcomplexity of the Shadcn Radio Button” “React is not simple (preact is)”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “The Overcomplexity of the Shadcn Radio Button”
Other JavaScript frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other JavaScript frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 21 JavaScript frameworks, rankedWhat people said
37 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“These don't have a VDOM at all or use a super fast minimal one.”
“it is feasible to say, use an alternate library with JSX, like Preact.”
“While big solutions like Preact or Vue are great”
“couples well with preact browser only (no npm/node compilation)”
“So far haven't run into any limitations.”
“Astro+preact has been very nice”
“I've found the perfect balance to be Astro with Preact”
“you can lean into Preact for that”
“You will inevitably have some piece of functionality that's complex (say, a contact form) and you can lean into Preact for that.”
“I hate bloat and require lightness, so I use Preact.”
“Preact did vdom-diffing for me and mounting/unmounting which was enough for my need.”
“provides a pretty comprehensive and common set of solutions to the majority of front end problems”
“My preferred SPA stack these days involves Porsager’s Postgres library, a simple RPC stack with Zod schemas, and Preact”
“Performance is noticeably better than with preact.”
“I prefer Preact to React because it's smaller”
“I don't use React itself when I can use the lighter Preact library instead, which provides signals as an escape hatch.”
“It's really good with Preact + Tailwind.”
“Svelte, even Preact can be fun.”
“Shopify is quickly moving to Preact, and you can see that is paying off”
“a basic SPA with no SSR using something like preact would be a better choice”
“I've used bun + preact_render_to_string for server side JSX templates before and it was nice”
“preact is about 3kb which is my fav for years”
“Python and SolidJS or Preact will work perfectly for a SPA.”
“you can switch to Preact (4kb) most of the time without changes if filesize is an issue”
“I chose a no-build UI framework so that it could be modded by players without installing any build tools”
“I agree Preact is the simpler and preferable of the two.”
“React is not simple (preact is)”
“Our payload is quite a bit smaller yhan the jQuery prototype was.”
“It's simple, it's very easy, and I get things done quickly without over-thinking it.”
“You can do a lot with preact only”
“Moving to preact, at the very least, is not a huge endeavor.”
“for the JSX-like syntax without a build step”
“Moving towards Preact & signals currently seems like the best option for existing projects”
“You should look at using Preact (4kb alternative)”
“I have really been enjoying using Preact for frontend development recently”
“Same goes for most modern frameworks (Solid, Vue, Preact)”
“Preact have been fairly faithful to being <10k (compressed)!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.