# shadcn/ui vs Tailwind CSS

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Tailwind CSS

| Attribute | shadcn/ui | Tailwind CSS |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 62.4 (51% (medium)) | 72 (79% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 87 | 34 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 1,049,673 |
| adoption.github_stars | 122,199 | 97,335 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 126,824,276 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | - |
| description.long | An open-source React component library that provides ready-made UI components built on Radix UI and styled with Tailwind CSS. You copy components directly into your codebase and customize them to match your design requirements. | A CSS framework providing a library of styling utilities you can apply directly to your HTML elements. It scans your code and generates only the CSS you actually use, with built-in support for responsive layouts, dark mode, and theme customization. |
| features.capabilities | `{"paradigm":"Component library and design system toolkit","bundle_size":"small","ssr_support":true,"virtual_dom":true,"component_model":true,"router_official":false,"state_management":true,"typescript_first":true,"signals_reactivity":false}` | `{"paradigm":"Utility-first CSS framework","bundle_size":"tiny","ssr_support":true}` |
| integrations.count | 6 | 7 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Radix UI"},{"name":"React"},{"name":"React Aria"},{"name":"Tailwind CSS"},{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"Vite"}]` | `[{"name":"Laravel"},{"name":"SvelteKit"},{"name":"React Router"},{"name":"Nuxt"},{"name":"SolidJS"},{"name":"Vite"},{"name":"PostCSS"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://ui.shadcn.com/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:34:38.943Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://tailwindcss.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:24:55.725Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 3 | 17 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.19.0","date":"2026-08-21T17:28:23Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.18.0","date":"2026-08-13T18:44:31Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.17.0","date":"2026-08-11T20:39:12Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/%40shadcn/helpers%400.2.0","date":"2026-08-11T20:49:34Z","type":"stable","version":"@shadcn/helpers@0.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.16.2","date":"2026-08-06T11:37:08Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/%40shadcn/react%400.3.0","date":"2026-08-05T19:13:18Z","type":"stable","version":"@shadcn/react@0.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.16.1","date":"2026-07-31T13:58:43Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.16.0","date":"2026-07-27T18:32:08Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.15.0","date":"2026-07-25T18:05:56Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.14.1","date":"2026-07-23T16:02:41Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.14.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.14.0","date":"2026-07-22T11:06:55Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.13.1","date":"2026-07-17T15:23:41Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.13.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/%40shadcn/react%400.2.1","date":"2026-07-08T08:11:58Z","type":"stable","version":"@shadcn/react@0.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.13.0","date":"2026-07-03T12:29:04Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/%40shadcn/react%400.2.0","date":"2026-06-30T06:34:55Z","type":"stable","version":"@shadcn/react@0.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.12.0","date":"2026-06-26T17:26:57Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.11.1","date":"2026-06-26T07:16:31Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.11.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.11.0","date":"2026-06-08T13:49:39Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.10.0","date":"2026-06-01T10:59:03Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases/tag/shadcn%404.9.0","date":"2026-05-31T12:19:26Z","type":"stable","version":"shadcn@4.9.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.3","date":"2026-07-16T11:55:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.2","date":"2026-06-29T14:21:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.1","date":"2026-06-12T17:50:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2026-05-08T20:17:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.4","date":"2026-04-21T13:09:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.3","date":"2026-04-20T20:46:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2026-03-18T16:06:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2026-02-23T12:51:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2026-02-18T14:58:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.18","date":"2025-12-11T16:31:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v3.4.19","date":"2025-12-10T18:39:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.17","date":"2025-11-06T15:34:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.16","date":"2025-10-23T10:55:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.15","date":"2025-10-20T13:17:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.14","date":"2025-10-01T16:00:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v3.4.18","date":"2025-10-01T15:29:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.13","date":"2025-09-04T17:29:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.12","date":"2025-08-14T12:48:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.11","date":"2025-06-26T10:52:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v4.1.10","date":"2025-06-11T20:37:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.10"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 6.7 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=hghcn&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=tailwindcss&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Frontend UI Frameworks)

| Capability | shadcn/ui | Tailwind CSS |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Paradigm | Component library and design system toolkit | Utility-first CSS framework |
| 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 | Small (10–40kb) | Tiny (<10kb) |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:33:03.916Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*