Picking the right library or framework for development can be hard — after all, there are so many great options out there. Next JS and React are some of the best picks for making advanced web apps, and we at CHILLICODE know both of these tools inside out. We'll go over the primary distinctions between React and Next JS to help you select the right development software for your product. We’ll give answers to questions like: “What is the difference between Next JS and React JS?”, “What is Next JS used for?”, “How to create a Next.js app?”, and more. We’ll list the pros and cons of each development tool and compare React vs Next JS side by side. Additionally, we’ll check out some of the best apps created with these software options. {{ "title": "Write ChilliCode", "description": "To help you acknowledge your business needs and decide whether IT services will work for you, I’ve sorted out a list of cases.", "buttonText": "Contact us" }} React vs Next JS — a brief overview To start, let’s go over what makes these tools useful. Though they have some common characteristics, they are completely different. It’s important to know what sets them apart to decide if you need to integrate them into your technology stack. We’ll do a brief analysis of each software, beginning with React. What is React? React (or React JS) is a JavaScript-based library intended for creating complex user interfaces for different types of applications, including native and web. It was made by Facebook (now Meta) with the intent of making UI development simpler. Shortly after its public release in 2013, React began to get more popular among developers, who praised it for its great performance and impressive UI functionality. Even now, React is regarded as one of the most efficient solutions for developing any app. React is made up of individual components that function as building blocks for developing engaging UIs Caption React is made up of many different components, enabling programmers to break user interfaces down into separate modules. Each module functions more or less independently and can be modified. React’s modules make it possible to quickly make user interfaces from individual blocks. Many programmers like to tackle isolated modules one by one, rather than laboring on a unified, enormous body of code. React’s numerous individual components make it possible to do just that. This can potentially make the development process easier and bring development costs down. A notable advantage of React is its support of external tools that expand its core functionality. Many libraries that were created with React in mind. These include Material UI, a component library based on Google’s own design language. React is fully compatible with other JavaScript-based libraries — this enables developers to create unique apps from scratch. After getting familiar with its functionality, it’s not surprising that React is regarded as one of the most useful development software. But what is Next JS used for and how is it distinct from React? What is Next JS? Next.js is a framework created for developing web apps. It was made by Vercel and launched in 2016. It’s React-based and serves to extend the library’s functionality. Next.js is one of the most renowned frameworks, recognized even by corporations like Apple and Starbucks. Programmers usually combine Next.js with React to make use of its impressive web development functionality. The framework has several advantages, such as server-side rendering and static site generation that make it possible to build highly responsive apps.Server-side rendering (SSR) makes it possible to dynamically generate dynamic content on the server and transmit the HTML pages to the user’s browser, drastically decreasing loading times. Static site generation (SSG) is somewhat similar to SSR, but instead of creating dynamic content, it builds HTML files in advance and stores them on the server. When a customer visits the site, the pre-made HTML file is automatically sent to their browser. This allows for a significant decrease in the loading times of web pages and improves the performance of websites.Thanks to these advantages, Next.js is regarded by developers as an indispensable instrument for improving user engagement and making web app maintenance easier. So, would it be better to create a React app vs Next JS? To find out, let’s see how Next.js and React can be implemented in your development project, and look at what makes these tools different. Next.js is a very respected framework — dozens of successful companies make use of it to create their apps Caption Next JS vs React — which one to settle on for your product? When picking between React vs Next.js for developing your product, think of factors like development time and cost, as well as the complexity of your app. Next, we’ll look at some of the development scenarios to find out if you need Next or React for your product. When to use Next JS vs React? So, is it a good idea to make use of Next JS vs create a React app? Unfortunately, there is no one answer to this. Whether you’d benefit from incorporating Next JS or React in your tech stack will be dictated by the needs of your project. Maybe you’d like to develop and quickly launch a web platform with a standard functionality — if so, Next.js will be the most practical solution. On the other hand, an ambitious ecommerce project with a lot of unique features may require utilizing both of these instruments. React and Next JS are ecommerce powerhouses, and many modern digital stores use both of them. The Next.js website provides useful guides on building ecommerce services based on Next.js It’s clear that there is no universal answer here, as the effectiveness of these tools will depend on what kind of app you would like to develop. Before selecting a programming language, first outline the main goals and requirements of your development project. Next, we’ll go over the benefits and drawbacks of both React and Next.js to assist you with figuring out when to use each software. Strengths and weaknesses of React ✅ Strengths ❌ Weaknesses Highly customizable and flexible.React makes it easy to develop custom UI features tailored to your specific requirements. It also supports extensions based on JavaScript, further increasing the potential for customization. Can be time-consuming to learn. React requires developers to be familiar with JavaScript as well as other third-party tools and libraries. This can potentially complicate development. Modular architecture. Developers can reuse code for individual components, which can help simplify workflow and speed up development. Limited to UI development.When used on its own, React is limited to building user interfaces. It’s purely a front-end library that doesn’t have any built-in backend functionality. Provides extensive learning resources. The React website gives developers access to official documentation, as well as other useful learning materials. React’s community is diverse and can help with any issue Can be harder to configure for SEO compared to other development tools. React functions as a client-side tool, meaning that it generates dynamic content in the user’s browser. That can negatively impact SEO, as search engines often have trouble processing dynamic pages. Great scalability potential. Makes it easier to scale applications as they grow larger in scope. React makes it possible to split code and use chunks of it independently. This can help improve the performance of apps with large codebases, making them easier to scale and maintain. Fragmented ecosystem. React is rarely used independently and relies on a lot of third-party tools to increase its functionality. This can be a problem if you're looking for a one-stop solution for web development. Next, let’s move on to Nextjs and explore the strengths and weaknesses of this framework. Strengths and weaknesses of Next.js ✅ Strengths ❌ Weaknesses Improves website performance.Thanks to its robust set of features, such as SSR and SSG, Next JS can serve as a powerful tool for improving website load times and performance. Limited flexibility. Next.js is somewhat limited in terms of its functionality, which can be a problem if you want to develop custom features. Next JS is dependent on other technology, including React and Node JS, so it may require additional work to set up correctly. Offers advanced web development functionality.SSR and SSG are very effective for improving the user experience of your product and boosting your website’s performance. Requires developers to be familiar with React. While it’s possible to work with Next JS without knowledge of React, it’s inadvisable. Next JS is React-based and relies on its architecture. Can have a positive impact on SEO Nextjs works great for improving SEO. It improves website load times, which has a positive impact on how websites perform on search engines. This will allow your website to be more visible to users. Searching for qualified programmers can be hard. Utilizing Next JS requires finding programmers skilled in both Next JS and React. Next JS is a more specialized software than React, which is why it has a smaller pool of developers. Great rendering functionality. Thanks to SSG & SSG, Next JS can efficiently render web pages. Developers can even combine SSR with SSG to implement hybrid rendering functionality. This allows them to choose which rendering method to use on each specific page of the site. Can be hard to integrate with other tools. Setting up Next.js to work alongside other development tools can be challenging depending on what’s included in your tech stack. To get it right, hire a qualified team with expertise in integrating Next JS with other development tools. Now that we’ve made an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each development tool, let’s compare Next JS vs React. React vs Next JS in 2025 — a side-by-side comparison When it comes to comparing React vs Next.js, performance, development time, and several other points are important to pay attention to. Let's take a look at how these two development tools compare: Next JS React 💸 Development cost Can be more expensive.To utilize the full potential of Next JS, it is necessary to create the appropriate backend infrastructure, which will involve additional costs. Generally less expensive. React is a purely frontend development tool, so it's easier to integrate into any project. Many of the additional tools in the React ecosystem are free to use. ⌛ Development time & complexity Time to market tends to be shorter. Next JS is an out-of-the-box solution with many built-in features that help speed up development. If your goal is to launch the product as quickly as possible, you may find Next JS useful. Development may take longer depending on the number of custom features and the scope of the project. The process of configuring React to work with other libraries and frameworks can take some time. 💪 Flexibility Not as flexible and does not allow the same amount of customization. Although Next JS can be used for full-stack development, its features are fairly standardized, which makes it unsuitable for highly specialized tasks. Allows for increased development flexibility. React can be integrated with almost any other development tool to build custom features from scratch. The many modules of React allow developers to modify the tool to fit the requirements of any project. ⚡ Performance SSR and SSG make it possible to attain great performance. Unlike React, Next JS utilizes SSR to speed up app performance. The backend functionality of Next JS delivers increased performance potential. Optimizing performance can be more difficult when it comes to larger applications. While React provides several features to optimize performance, such as lazy loading, it can have difficulty rendering complex UIs if not set up correctly. 🔧 Long-term app maintenance In the long run, it may be harder to maintain products made with Next JS. While it offers a wide set of features, Next JS doesn’t support as many third-party development tools as React. Next JS isn’t as customizable, which makes the tool less adaptable in the long run. The large selection of additional React-compatible tools can help support apps over the long term. The self-contained nature of React’s components allows developers to add additional modules without breaking the old ones. This makes the maintenance process smooth and unintrusive. 👨💻 Community of developers Next JS has a quickly evolving community of programmers, but it’s not as big compared to React. Next JS isn't as friendly to beginners as React — its community offers fewer learning materials. React’s programmer community is bigger and more diverse because of the library’s longevity. The community of React programmers offers many educational resources for both new and established programmers. It’s clear that both React and Next.js are effective software options that offer many advantages. Hopefully, from our text, you’ve learned everything you wanted to know about the main distinctions between Next JS and React. If you're still unsure which one to choose for your project, you can use both of these development tools to utilize the full potential of their combined functionality.Now, to provide a bit more context, we’ll check out some of the most impressive applications created with React and Next JS. Top 3 apps made with React Let’s start with the best applications utilizing the React library. Here’s our top 3: Netflix Netflix, the most reputable streaming platform, uses React to reduce the loading times performance of their service Caption While we don’t know the inner workings of how exactly Netflix utilizes React today, it’s clear that the platform has a fondness for the library. Back in 2015, Netflix posted an article on their official blog where they explained how they used React to enhance the user experience of their platform. In their blog post, they mentioned several things they found especially useful in React. For example, they said how React’s modular architecture made testing easier, and how the library allowed them to improve the startup speed of their service. Indeed, even today the Netflix web app remains very responsive and easy to use, and we strongly suspect that the platform still utilizes React’s functionality to this day. The remarkable success of their platform is proof of React's excellent potential for improving even the most complex apps. Discord Discord, today's most popular messaging platform, uses React to build and organize its impressive number of UI elements Another great app built with React is Discord, a social platform that has become very popular in the last several years due to its wide range of useful features. The Discord web app boasts a comprehensive user interface that the company improves through regular updates. It’s well known that the complex UI system utilized by the Discord app is powered by React. That’s not surprising, given that React is a true UI powerhouse. The Discord app requires rendering a lot of UI elements at the same time, and React is the best tool for the job. React allows Discord to improve the user experience and make the UI as accessible as possible for all users. Dropbox Dropbox, one of the most reliable cloud storage apps, relies on React to deliver a simple yet efficient user interface Caption File management web apps can be tough to optimize in terms of performance because of network latency and issues with file processing. To provide clients with a smooth user experience, these apps need to rely on powerful technology to improve loading and file transfer speeds. Such is the case with Dropbox, one of the longest-running cloud storage apps on the market. The Dropbox web app utilizes the full capabilities of React to improve performance, resulting in great file upload speeds and a responsive user interface. Thanks to React’s robust set of optimization features, Dropbox has managed to hold its position as one of the most reliable cloud storage apps ever. All in all, you can build really complex and impressive products with React, and these three web apps clearly demonstrate the library’s effectiveness. Now that we’ve looked at the best apps built with React, let’s move on to the best apps created with Next.js. Top 3 apps made with Next.js Since its release in 2016, Next JS has become one of the most in-demand frameworks around, and for good reason. To prove it, let’s look at some of the most impressive web apps built using Next JS. Notion Notion, a task management app launched in 2018, uses Next.js to provide clients with a wealth of interactive features for organizing their workflow, including calendars, task lists, and more Notion, a powerful organizational platform, is built with React and relies on Next JS to enhance its functionality. In 2021, the company announced in an official blog post that it had moved its marketing website to Next JS. The team at Notion leveraged the functionality of Next.js to improve the performance of their marketing site and managed to achieve impressive results. Notion uses Next JS in its core app as well. While the company hasn’t disclosed details on how exactly they use the framework in the app, Notion is listed in the “Showcase” section of the Next.js website. It's clear that the powerful functionality of Next JS fits the Notion app like a glove. Static page generation and SSR make it possible for the Notion app to load large amounts of content quickly and efficiently. All in all, it's safe to say that Next JS has contributed a lot to the app’s success. Max Max, which is among the top video streaming platforms, relies on Next.js to make the viewing experience as smooth as possible Caption A lot goes into making a quality streaming service. They’re notoriously hard to optimize and they require a reliable backend infrastructure to work correctly. Not to mention the massive amounts of content these apps need to load on demand. Max, one of the most successful streaming platforms, implemented Next JS to solve these issues. By utilizing the functionality of Next JS, the Max app achieves increased performance, allowing users almost instant access to hundreds of movies and shows. Through utilizing Next JS, the Max app can appropriately scale its resources during periods of high client traffic, which is crucial for any streaming app. Nike The Nike website takes advantage of Next JS to enhance the shopping experience on its online store Caption Modern shopping platforms need to be as accessible as possible to attract large audiences. Nike’s website is a great example of a user-centric online store — no wonder it’s also showcased on the Next JS website. The Nike web app relies on Next JS and its dynamic content-loading functionality to improve the shopping experience. Also, this tool enables Nike to improve the SEO metrics of their store, making the website more visible to audiences all around the world. All of this makes Nike's web app one of the best online stores operating today. sub Final thoughts It’s clear that both of these tools are powerful and can be used on any development project. Both of them can be used to build engaging applications of any scale and complexity. When trying to pick between Next.js and React, always put the needs of your project first. If you need to launch your product as quickly as possible, then Next.js would be a smart choice. In case you’d like to control and customize every aspect of your web app, React will give you the power to do so. We at CHILLICODE have a lot of experience with both React and Next.js and know how to create custom web apps for any business. Regardless of the size and scope of your project, we’ll be able to help you — contact us and we'll respond as quickly as possible.
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