Blog

How to Install shadcn/ui: shadcn/ui vs Material UI for React Projects

/ by Ava Taylor

Choose shadcn/ui if you want full control over your React components, clean Tailwind styling, and code you can edit directly. Choose Material UI if you want a mature, ready-made component system with strong defaults, deep docs, and less setup thinking.

TLDR: shadcn/ui is best for teams that care about custom design and do not want their app to look like a stock component kit. Material UI is better when speed, consistency, and enterprise-grade components matter more than full ownership. For example, a team building a SaaS dashboard with 40 screens might save 25–35% setup time with Material UI, while a brand-heavy marketing app may get cleaner results with shadcn/ui. If your designer keeps asking for “just a small tweak,” shadcn/ui will usually hurt less.

Image not found in postmeta

What shadcn/ui Actually Is

shadcn/ui is not a normal component library. That surprises many React developers. You do not install one big package and import every component from it. Instead, the CLI copies component source code into your project.

That means you own the code. You can edit the button, dialog, dropdown, input, card, or table like any other local file. No fighting hidden styles. No waiting for a library update to fix a small design issue. Honestly, it feels like a relief when a component finally behaves like your own code.

shadcn/ui is built around:

  • React for component structure
  • Tailwind CSS for styling
  • Radix UI for accessible primitives
  • TypeScript for safer component work
  • Lucide React for icons in many examples

The result is a component setup that feels modern, light, and easy to customize. The tradeoff is clear: you must be comfortable with Tailwind and project configuration.

How to Install shadcn/ui in a React Project

The easiest route is a Vite React project with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS. If you already have a React app, make sure Tailwind is installed first.

Start with a new Vite project:

npm create vite@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm install

Pick React and TypeScript when prompted. Then install Tailwind CSS:

npm install tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite

Update your Vite config so Tailwind runs through the plugin:

import { defineConfig } from "vite"
import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react"
import tailwindcss from "@tailwindcss/vite"

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react(), tailwindcss()],
})

In your main CSS file, usually src/index.css, import Tailwind:

@import "tailwindcss";

Now initialize shadcn/ui:

npx shadcn@latest init

The CLI will ask a few questions. You can choose a style, base color, CSS variable setup, and file paths. For most projects, the defaults are safe.

Then add your first component:

npx shadcn@latest add button

You can now use it in React:

import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"

export default function App() {
  return <Button>Save changes</Button>
}

If the alias @/ does not work, check your TypeScript and Vite path settings. This is one of those tiny setup issues that can waste 10 minutes for no good reason.

Installing Material UI

Material UI is more traditional. You install packages, import components, and start building.

npm install @mui/material @emotion/react @emotion/styled

Then use a component:

import Button from "@mui/material/Button"

export default function App() {
  return <Button variant="contained">Save changes</Button>
}

That is a huge strength. Material UI has polished components, advanced tables through MUI X, date pickers, layout tools, themes, and strong accessibility behavior. It also has years of production use behind it.

shadcn/ui vs Material UI: The Main Difference

The biggest difference is ownership.

With shadcn/ui, components live inside your codebase. You can rewrite them, rename classes, change markup, and remove anything you dislike. That makes it great for custom products, design systems, and apps where visual identity matters.

With Material UI, components come from an installed package. You configure and theme them, but the internals mostly stay in the library. That makes it great for speed, stability, and teams that want standard patterns.

Category shadcn/ui Material UI
Setup More steps, Tailwind required Fast package install
Customization Excellent, edit source directly Good, mostly through theming
Design style Neutral and modern Material Design by default
Component depth Growing set Very large ecosystem
Best fit Custom apps and design systems Admin panels and enterprise apps

When shadcn/ui Is the Better Pick

Use shadcn/ui when your product needs to feel custom. It is especially strong for SaaS apps, AI tools, landing pages, internal dashboards with a polished brand, and startups that want a sharp interface without building every primitive from scratch.

It works well when:

  • You already use Tailwind CSS
  • You want component code inside your repository
  • Your designer expects precise spacing, color, and interaction changes
  • You want accessible primitives without giving up control
  • You dislike heavy default styling

The catch is that shadcn/ui asks more from the developer. You need to understand Tailwind classes, file paths, composition, and sometimes Radix behavior. If your team is new to all of that, the first day may feel slower.

When Material UI Is the Better Pick

Use Material UI when you need to ship a functional interface quickly. It is a strong choice for admin panels, CRM tools, analytics screens, insurance portals, finance dashboards, and apps where usability matters more than a unique look.

Material UI works well when:

  • You need many components right away
  • Your team wants detailed documentation
  • You need robust form controls, menus, modals, tabs, and tables
  • You prefer a packaged library over copied source files
  • Your product can accept a Material Design feel

Its weak spot is customization. Yes, the theme system is powerful. But deep visual changes can feel heavier than expected. A button tweak may turn into theme overrides, style props, class selectors, and a few sighs.

Performance and Bundle Size

shadcn/ui can be very lean because you add only what you need. Since components are copied into your project, there is no giant all-in-one dependency for the UI layer. Your final size depends on your code, Tailwind output, Radix packages, and imported utilities.

Material UI is optimized, but it is still a large ecosystem. If you import carefully, modern bundlers can keep things reasonable. Still, complex MUI apps often carry more library weight than a minimal shadcn/ui setup.

Which One Should You Choose?

Pick shadcn/ui if design control is a core requirement. It gives you a clean starting point, accessible parts, and local code you can shape as your product grows.

Pick Material UI if your team needs reliable components now. It is faster for common business software, especially when the interface is dense and form-heavy.

A practical rule works well: if your app must look unlike its competitors, use shadcn/ui. If your app must be built under a tight deadline with lots of standard screens, use Material UI.

Both are excellent for React projects. They simply solve different problems. shadcn/ui gives you control. Material UI gives you coverage. The right choice depends on whether your team values ownership or speed more on this project.

To top