What is Preact? A Fast and Lightweight React Alternative

Scott Cosentino

Software Developer

Preact is quickly gaining attention as a go-to framework for developers because of its lightweight design, simple API, and small size. Its fast build times and compatibility with React make it a good choice for building high-performance apps. Developers can take advantage of React’s vast library and ecosystem, making Preact a versatile and powerful tool. It’s also widely used in the industry, with companies like Lyft and Uber taking advantage of the framework’s capabilities.

In this article, we’ll explore various uses and key benefits of Preact, ranging from building MVPs to complex Progressive Web Applications (PWAs). We’ll also look at how it compares to React and help you determine if Preact is the right choice for your next project.

Table Of Contents

What is Preact?
Best Uses and Key Benefits of Using Preact
Is Preact Suitable for Large Apps?
Preact vs React: Key Features and Main Differences
Is Preact the Right Fit For Your Software Project?

What is Preact?

Preact is a JavaScript library designed to be an efficient and lightweight alternative to React. It’s also compatible with React, so developers can scale an MVP into a full React application if needed. Preact has a small virtual DOM and, weighing only 3KB in size, it enables quick transfers from server to client and optimizes load times. Preact also provides a compatibility layer with React and works great as a drop-in replacement. This makes it easy for developers to incorporate into their current applications since the same code and libraries can be used, but with better performance.

Best Uses and Key Benefits of Using Preact

It’s clear why Preact is so popular: it’s incredibly versatile and easy to use, making it an ideal choice for a variety of projects. Many companies have successfully taken advantage of Preact’s capabilities to build practical and useful applications for their customers. Let’s take a look at some of the top uses and advantages Preact can offer.

The benefits of using Preact for web applications

Preact is Compatible with React

Preact’s compatibility with React makes it a great choice for building lightweight, yet feature-rich applications. Using just Preact, developers can implement the majority of traditional React features and use preact/compat to pull in extra components from React if needed. This means you can include only the components you actually need, resulting in less code.

Originally published on Jan 23, 2023Last updated on Jan 4, 2024

Key Takeaways

What is Preact?

Preact is a JavaScript library designed to be a more efficient and compact option than React. It’s also compatible with React, allowing developers to upgrade from an MVP to a full React application if required. Preact’s small size (3KB) enables quick transfers from server to client and optimizes load times. It also provides a compatibility layer with React, making it easy for developers to incorporate into their current applications to improve performance.

Is Preact better than React?

The best choice between Preact and React depends on the requirements of your project. Preact is a great option for projects that prioritize speed and optimization, as it features a smaller bundle size and a faster virtual DOM. On the other hand, React is a better fit for more intricate projects, as its API is more feature-rich and flexible. When choosing between the two, it's important to consider the specific needs of your project.

What is different between React and Preact?

React and Preact are JavaScript libraries used for creating user interfaces. Both use a virtual DOM, but there are some key distinctions between them. For instance, React offers a more feature-rich and flexible API, whereas Preact has a smaller bundle size and faster virtual DOM implementation, making it better suited for certain types of projects.