7 Best React State Management Libraries for Any Project Size

You may know your app’s state will determine how your user interface looks and behaves. As your React applications grow, managing state updates across multiple components can be challenging. Fortunately, React state management libraries can help you. They provide tools and patterns to centralize and manage your application's state effectively.

In this article, we’ll cover 7 popular React state management libraries, explore their pros and cons, and help you choose the right one for your project.

>> Read more about React: 

• Top 6 Best React Component Libraries for Your Projects
• Mastering React Higher-Order Components (HOCs)
• The Best React Design Patterns with Code Examples
• Mastering React Test Renderer for Streamlined Testing

What is React State Management?

React state management means managing the state of a React component, which determines how that component looks and behaves. The component's React current state changes over time because of many factors like user input, network requests, or other events. For this reason, having powerful react state management libraries is essential for developing responsive React apps with dynamic user interfaces.

Benefits of Using React State Management Libraries

Here are some typical advantages of using libraries for managing state in React apps:

• Maintenance: Centralizing your state keeps your code clean and organized, so easier to understand and maintain. New team members can also learn the software quickly without much training.

• Scalability: These libraries handle complex state needs, so your app can grow smoothly without state difficulties.

• Simplified Collaboration: With a single source of truth for state, developers can work on different parts of the app without worrying about conflicting state updates.

• Predictable Updates: State management libraries use clear patterns for state changes, your app is thus more predictable and bug-free.
  

Overall, you can build cleaner, more scalable, and more maintainable React applications with React state management libraries.

7 Popular React State Management Libraries

Redux

Redux is a predictable state container for JavaScript applications. It enforces a unidirectional data flow architecture, where the entire application state is stored in a single global “store.” This approach separates how the state changes (actions) from how it’s updated (reducers), simplifying debugging and testing.

State changes are made through actions (plain JavaScript objects) that are dispatched to reducers (pure functions that update the state based on the action). These reducers create a new state object from the previous state, so you can keep data consistency and understand how state changes occur.

Code Example: 

const counterReducer = (state = 0, action) => {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'INCREMENT':
      return state + 1;
    case 'DECREMENT':
      return state - 1;
    default:
      return state;
  }
};

const store = createStore(counterReducer);

// Dispatching actions to update state
store.dispatch({ type: 'INCREMENT' });

While Redux is powerful, its primary drawback is the amount of boilerplate code required for defining actions, reducers, and setting up the store. Redux Toolkit was created to solve this issue by reducing boilerplate and simplifying Redux usage.

Why Redux Toolkit?

Redux Toolkit includes utility functions to make common tasks easier:

• configureStore: Simplifies store creation and setup.
• createSlice: Combines reducers and action creators into a single slice of logic.
• createAsyncThunk: Simplifies asynchronous actions (e.g., API calls).
• Built-in middleware for development (e.g., Redux DevTools integration).

Code Example: Redux Toolkit

Below is an example using Redux Toolkit to achieve the same counter functionality as in traditional Redux.

import { createSlice, configureStore } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';

// Create a slice of state
const counterSlice = createSlice({
  name: 'counter',
  initialState: 0,
  reducers: {
    increment: (state) => state + 1,
    decrement: (state) => state - 1,
  },
});

// Extract the actions and reducer
const { increment, decrement } = counterSlice.actions;
const counterReducer = counterSlice.reducer;

// Create the store
const store = configureStore({
  reducer: {
    counter: counterReducer,
  },
});

// Dispatch actions to update state
store.dispatch(increment());
store.dispatch(decrement());

Recoil

Recoil is a state management library created by Facebook to overcome some of the challenges with React’s Context API. It makes managing shared state in React apps easier and more efficient by introducing two main concepts: atoms (individual state values) and selectors (derived state values based on atoms)

Components can subscribe to atoms to access and update shared states across the application. Selectors are pure functions that derive values from atoms or other selectors. Selectors automatically update whenever the atoms they depend on change, keeping everything in sync.

One of Recoil’s standout features is its performance and scalability. It smartly tracks dependencies, so only the components that rely on a changed atom or selector will re-render. Additionally, its modifiability, maintenance, and integration with React Suspense are also excellent.

However, Recoil has a young React community and ecosystem. Additionally, it is only available in React js.

Code Example:

import { atom, selector } from 'recoil';

const todoListState = atom({
  key: 'todoListState',
  default: [],
});

const todoListLength = selector({
  key: 'todoListLengthState',
  get: ({ get }) => get(todoListState).length,
});

function TodoList() {
  const [todos, setTodos] = useState(useRecoilValue(todoListState));

  const addTodo = (text) => {
    setTodos([...todos, { text, completed: false }]);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <button onClick={() => addTodo('New Todo')}>Add Todo</button>
      <ul>
        {todos.map((todo) => (
          <li key={todo.text}>{todo.text}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
      <p>Total Todos: {useRecoilValue(todoListLength)}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

MobX

MobX is a state management library based on the concept of observable data structures and following the OOP paradigm. It automatically tracks changes in your app’s state and updates the components that rely on that state.

MobX promotes immutability, encouraging you to update state by creating new state objects instead of mutating existing ones. This helps prevent unintended side effects in your application.

Unlike some other libraries that require you to use explicit actions and reducers, MobX takes a more reactive approach. This can make your code shorter and easier to read, although it might take a bit of getting used to if you're used to more structured state management methods.

Code Example:

import { observable, action } from 'mobx';

const counterStore = observable({
  count: 0,
});

counterStore.increment = action(() => {
  counterStore.count++;
});

counterStore.decrement = action(() => {
  counterStore.count--;
});

function Counter() {
  const { count, increment

Zustand

Zustand offers a lightweight approach to state management for React apps. It offers a simple API (inspired by Context API and hooks) to create and manage a centralized state store. This store makes it simple for different components to access and update shared state.

Zustand leverages React hooks, allowing components to subscribe only to relevant parts of the state and automatically re-render when those parts change. This prevents unnecessary re-renders, and user experience is thus improved.

Plus, Zustand handles asynchronous operations right within the store, making data fetching and keeping your components in sync much easier. It is appropriate for projects that need more than simple state management but don't want complex libraries.

Code Example:

import create from 'zustand';

const useUserStore = create((set) => ({
  user: null,
  setUser: (user) => set({ user }),
}));

function App() {
  const { user, setUser } = useUserStore();

  const login = (username, password) => {
    // Simulate authentication logic
    setUser({ username, loggedIn: true });
  };

  return (
    <div>
      {user ? (
        <p>Welcome, {user.username}</p>
      ) : (
        <button onClick={() => login('user', 'password')}>Login</button>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Jotai

Jotai is a minimal state management library based on atoms (individual state values). It offers a concise API for creating and accessing atoms throughout your application.

For fast, basic state management, consider Jotai. It’s lightweight and has a really clean and easy-to-use API. With Jotai, you work with atoms, which are individual pieces of state. You can use these atoms alone for simple state needs or combine them for more complex scenarios.

Jotai works really well with React Suspense and other popular libraries, so you can easily add it to your current projects. Plus, Jotai also uses JavaScript’s garbage collection to keep memory usage efficient and updates running smoothly without any slowdowns.

Code Example:

import { atom, useAtom } from 'jotai';

const counterAtom = atom(0);

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useAtom(counterAtom);

  const increment = () => setCount(count + 1);
  const decrement = () => setCount(count - 1);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      

Rematch

Rematch takes a simpler way than tools like Redux. It builds on familiar Redux concepts such as reducers and actions but offers a simpler API and a lighter footprint. This makes Rematch a great choice for projects that don’t need the full complexity of Redux.

Rematch uses models to organize states, reducers, and effects into a single entity. Each model focuses on a specific part of your app, so your codebase is more organized and easier to manage.

Rematch is written in TypeScript, supports various plugins, and isn’t limited to just React—you can use it with Vue and Angular. You know, Rematch is thus flexible, fast, and scalable for different project needs.

Overall, Rematch, easy to learn and has a clean interface, is a great option for developers who are new to state management or starting new React projects from scratch.

Code Example:

import createModel from '@rematch/core';

const initialState = { count: 0 };

export const counterModel = createModel({
  reducers: {
    increment(state) {
      return { count: state.count + 1 };
    },
    decrement(state) {
      return { count: state.count - 1 };
    },
  },
  effects: () => ({
    async incrementAsync(payload = 1) {
      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
      return { type: 'increment', payload };
    },
  }),
  initialState,
});

Hookstate

Hookstate is a lightweight state management library for React applications. It uses a simple method by using React hooks to manage your state.

Hookstate defines both global state that your whole app can access and local state that's just for specific components. Specifically, you can update only the parts you need without having to change everything else. This increases the efficiency of updates and reduces unnecessary re-renders. Hookstate also works seamlessly with React’s built-in tools for handling asynchronous operations, like promises (async/await), so managing data fetching and other async tasks is easier.

However, Hookstate is simpler compared to some other state management libraries. It doesn’t include advanced features like selectors, centralized stores, or developer tools, so you might need more robust libraries.

Code Example:

import React, { useState, useCallback } from 'react';
import { useHookstate } from 'hookstate';

const initialState = {
  todos: [],
};

const { actions, state } = useHookstate(initialState);

const addTodo = useCallback((text) => {
  actions.set({ todos: [...state.get().todos, { text, done: false }] });
}, []);

const toggleTodo = useCallback((index) => {
  actions.set({
    todos: state
      .get()
      .todos.map((todo, i) => (i === index ? { ...todo, done: !todo.done } : todo)),
  });
}, []);

function App() {
  const todos = state.get().todos;

  return (
    <div className="App">
      <h1>To-Do List</h1>
      <input type="text" placeholder="Add a to-do" onKeyDown={(event) => {
        if (event.key === 'Enter') {
          addTodo(event.target.value);
          event.target.value = '';
        }
      }} />
      <ul>
        {todos.map((todo, index) => (
          <li key={index}>
            <input type="checkbox" checked={todo.done} onChange={() => toggleTodo(index)} />
            {todo.text}
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Here is a comparison table of the aforementioned React State Management Libraries:

Key Considerations When Choosing A React State Management Library

Project size and complexity (Small vs. Large projects)

• Zustand, Jotai, and Hookstate are lightweight options for small projects.
• Redux, Recoil, and MobX are good state management libraries for large applications.

Team familiarity and preference

Pick a library your team understands and feels comfortable with to improve adoption and maintenance.

Unidirectional data flow vs. Bidirectional data flow

• Redux's unidirectional data flow makes state updates predictable and understandable.
• For complicated state exchanges, bidirectional data flow (MobX) is simpler but harder to debug.

Performance considerations

Evaluate the trade-offs between performance and complexity based on your project's requirements. Smaller libraries might offer better performance for simple applications.

>> Read more: An Ultimate Guide to Build Interactive Charts with React Chart.js

Conclusion

State management is essential for complex and scalable React projects, you know. React's Context API is good for sharing simple data, while state management libraries handle more complex state demands.  You can explore the options discussed above to find the one that fits your project best.

Ultimately, the best library depends on factors like your project’s size and complexity, your team’s experience, how data flows in your app, and the performance you need. Take some time to assess your project’s requirements and compare the pros and cons of each tool before making a decision. I hope this blog has given you some useful insights!