Comparison

Headless UI vs Preact

On the evidence we track, Preact leads this comparison with a composite score of 81/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Headless UI full profile →Preact full profile →

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Headless UI69

★Preact81

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Headless UI	PreactLeader
Vioscale score	69 / 100medium · 62%	81 / 100medium · 72%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	-
Modelpricing.model	commercial	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	free
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	3	-
Security
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	4.2	5.7
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40headlessui%2Freact&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	Count: 2 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=preact&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	45,352	78,992
Github starsadoption.github_stars	28,721	38,834
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	7,182,960	31,234,030
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	100
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	12	13
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MIT	MIT
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	TypeScript	JavaScript

Score

Vioscale score

Headless UI69 / 100medium · 62%

Preact81 / 100medium · 72%

Pricing

Free tier

Headless UI✓

Preact–

Model

Headless UIcommercial

Preactcommercial

Price level

Headless UIfree

Preactfree

Integrations

Count

Headless UI3

Preact–

Security

Scorecard

Headless UI4.2

Preact5.7

Vulnerabilities

Headless UICount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40headlessui%2Freact&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

PreactCount: 2 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=preact&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH

Adoption

Dependent repos

Headless UI45,352

Preact78,992

Github stars

Headless UI28,721

Preact38,834

Package downloads weekly

Headless UI7,182,960

Preact31,234,030

Activity

Commits last 30d

Headless UI–

Preact100

Release

Cadence days

Headless UI12

Preact13

History

Headless UI20 items

Preact20 items

License

Spdx

Headless UIMIT

PreactMIT

Language

Primary

Headless UITypeScript

PreactJavaScript

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for frontend ui frameworks. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Frontend UI Frameworks
Capability	Headless UI	Preact
Core
Paradigm	Headless component library	Virtual DOM component library
Reusable component model	✓	✓
Rendering
Virtual DOM	✓	✓
Signals / fine-grained reactivity	-	-
SSR support	✓	✓
DX
First-class TypeScript	-	-
State
Built-in state management	-	✓
Ecosystem
Official router	-	-
Performance
Runtime size	Tiny (<10kb)	Tiny (<10kb)

Core

Paradigm

Headless UIHeadless component library

PreactVirtual DOM component library

Reusable component model

Headless UI✓

Preact✓

Rendering

Virtual DOM

Headless UI✓

Preact✓

Signals / fine-grained reactivity

Headless UI-

Preact-

SSR support

Headless UI✓

Preact✓

First-class TypeScript

Headless UI-

Preact-

State

Built-in state management

Headless UI-

Preact✓

Ecosystem

Official router

Headless UI-

Preact-

Performance

Runtime size

Headless UITiny (<10kb)

PreactTiny (<10kb)

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Headless UI

Open-source library of fully accessible UI components designed to be completely unstyled, providing seamless integration with Tailwind CSS

Independently observed

Preact

Leader

A minimal virtual DOM library that provides a React-compatible API with significantly reduced file size. Preact delivers performance-focused component development without the overhead of traditional frameworks.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Headless UI

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Preact

Leader

Open source

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Headless UI	Preact
WebPlatforms	✓	✓

Platforms

Web

Headless UI✓

Preact✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Headless UI

3 total

React
Vue
Tailwind CSS

Independently observed

Preact

Leader

Not documented yet.

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.