Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Create React App VS React.run

Compare Create React App VS React.run and see what are their differences

Create React App logo Create React App

Create React apps with no build configuration

React.run logo React.run

Quick in-browser prototyping for React Components!
  • Create React App Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-18
  • React.run Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-11

Create React App features and specs

  • Ease of Setup
    Create React App provides a simple command to quickly set up a new React project. This reduces the time required for initial configuration.
  • Zero Configuration
    The tool comes with a large set of defaults out of the box. You don't need to configure Webpack, Babel, or other build tools manually.
  • Best Practices
    It encapsulates a lot of best practices for building React applications, ensuring you start off on the right foot.
  • Development Server
    Includes a local development server with hot-module reloading powered by Webpack, which improves the development experience.
  • Community Support
    As a Facebook-backed project with a wide user base, Create React App benefits from extensive documentation and community support.
  • Testing Setup
    Initial Jest configuration is included, providing a straightforward way to start writing and running tests.
  • Production Optimizations
    Built-in optimizations for production builds, such as code splitting and minification.

Possible disadvantages of Create React App

  • Limited Customization
    While the zero-configuration approach is convenient, it can be limiting if you need to modify the underlying configurations (Webpack, Babel, etc.).
  • Monolithic
    Create React App is a single monolithic package, which can make it difficult to understand or change certain aspects without ejecting.
  • Eject Complexity
    Ejecting from Create React App exposes all underlying configurations, which can be overwhelming and increase the complexity of your project.
  • Dependency Management
    Because it abstracts away many details, you may not be aware of what dependencies are being used in your project.
  • Less Control
    Advanced users may find Create React App restrictive as it abstracts many details and does not easily allow for deep customization.
  • Performance Overhead
    For very small applications, the built-in tooling might be overkill and add unnecessary complexity and performance overhead.

React.run features and specs

  • Simplified Setup
    React.run provides a streamlined and efficient setup for starting new React projects, minimizing the initial configuration time.
  • Pre-configured Environment
    It comes with a pre-configured environment that includes essential tools and libraries, reducing the need for additional setup and compatibility checks.
  • Boost developer productivity
    By automating much of the setup process, React.run allows developers to focus more on coding and less on configuring their development environment.
  • Consistency
    Ensures a standardized environment across different projects, which can be particularly beneficial for teams and large-scale applications.
  • Community Support
    Being an officially supported tool, it benefits from strong community support and timely updates from the React team.

Possible disadvantages of React.run

  • Limited Flexibility
    The pre-configured setup may not suit all project requirements, and making customizations can sometimes be challenging or require additional steps.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers new to React.run might face a learning curve as they adapt to the specific configurations and conventions used by the tool.
  • Dependency on Tool
    Relying heavily on React.run can create dependency, making it harder to switch to different tools or configurations if needed in the future.
  • Updates and Compatibility
    Although it receives updates, there's always a risk that a new version might introduce breaking changes or compatibility issues with existing projects.
  • Potential Overhead
    The inclusion of tools and libraries that may not be necessary for all projects can potentially add overhead and bloat to the development environment.

Analysis of Create React App

Overall verdict

  • Create React App is a good choice for developers looking for a straightforward way to start React applications without delving into setup configurations. It's a robust, flexible tool for beginners and those who appreciate productivity and ease of use over micromanaging build setups.

Why this product is good

  • Create React App is widely appreciated for streamlining the setup of new React projects. It abstracts away the complex configurations of tools like Webpack and Babel, allowing developers to focus on building applications rather than managing build processes. It offers a strong development environment with features like hot reloading, a development server, and support for the latest JavaScript features. Additionally, it provides a sensible set of defaults and is maintained by the React team, ensuring compatibility and access to the latest React updates.

Recommended for

  • Beginners who are new to React and want to start building projects quickly.
  • Developers who want to focus on app development rather than configuration details.
  • Teams that require a standardized project setup to streamline the development process.
  • Projects that do not require a highly customized build process, as Create React App might be restrictive for advanced use cases that need significant flexibility.

Analysis of React.run

Overall verdict

  • Yes, React.run (react.dev) is a valuable resource for understanding and utilizing React effectively.

Why this product is good

  • React.run, the official website for React's documentation and learning resources, is well-regarded because it provides comprehensive, up-to-date information on React. It is maintained by developers with intimate knowledge of the library. The site features tutorials, guides, and best practices that are essential for both beginners and advanced users.

Recommended for

    It is recommended for developers of all levels who are working with or interested in React. Beginners can benefit from the structured tutorials and foundational information, while experienced developers can find advanced topics and the latest developments in the React ecosystem.

Create React App videos

Why You Should Stop Using Create React App | React.js Todo List | Code Review #4 Part 2

More videos:

  • Review - Create React App Explained

React.run videos

No React.run videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Create React App and React.run)
Javascript UI Libraries
38 38%
62% 62
Developer Tools
36 36%
64% 64
JS Library
51 51%
49% 49
Front-End Frameworks
18 18%
82% 82

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, React.run should be more popular than Create React App. It has been mentiond 194 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Create React App mentions (121)

  • Understanding Docker multi-stage builds
    Let's start by preparing a sample application that we want to place in a Docker image. This will be a web application created using the React framework and its create-react-app tool. It will generate a code template and configuration, allowing us to focus on the image creation aspects. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Those Golden Era of React...๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ’ปโ˜บ๏ธ
    This project was bootstrapped with Create React App. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • You should know this before choosing Next.js
    I could totally see how you'd arrive there. Backstory: create-react was a starter boilerplate for React built and maintained by Facebook. This was when webpack was the standard and just getting a local development environment to "hello world" for React could be challenging.[1] That project was depreciated and the popularity of the Next.js site framework for react projects (plus I certainly assume heavy lobbying... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Updating my website's tech stack in 2025
    My website's previous iteration was built in 2021. It was bootstrapped using (the now deprecated) Create React App and it took approximately 2 months to build. The home page included a bunch of photos that I had taken myself of my desk and keyboard as background for several sections and it included most of the information on the website. In the middle of the page I put the SkillsTerminal (which also features in... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Micro-libraries need to die already
    This is just a discourse based on "I need to churn out something, I need that fast and I didn't start in the web game when Backbone and E4X were a solid corporate choice". If you are not in a hurry, work in a solid team and have a good attention span, a lot of clickbait idiocy around JS may not happen. I'm presenting you one of countless examples: a lot of coding bootcamps teach React, maybe with TS, maybe with... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
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React.run mentions (194)

  • Next.js Is Infuriating
    Itโ€™s already been captured. Check out the docs for creating a new React app on react.dev: https://react.dev/learn/creating-a-react-app It throws you straight at Next.js. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Next.js Is Infuriating
    > The train of thought is โ€œwhat is everyone using? Iโ€™ll use that tooโ€ I'm not so sure about that. We're seeing Next.js being pushed as the successor of create-react-app even in react.dev[1], which as a premise is kind of stupid. There is something definitely wrong going on. [1] https://react.dev/learn/creating-a-react-app. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Next.js Is Infuriating
    The React documentation is infamously responsible of recommending Next as a "default". After a lot of backlash it got somewhat toned down, but it's still the first thing they suggest[1] for creating a new app [1] https://react.dev/learn/creating-a-react-app. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • You Might Not Need Next.js
    In times when the official React documentation says:. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • NuxtLabs (Nuxt) is joining Vercel
    Vercel's playbook with Next so far has been to make convoluted features that exist solely to pad out how much people spend on hosting costs. They also make sure that hosting it anywhere but Vercel comes with footguns, even though theoretically you can host your Next app anywhere you want (and it's gotten better recently solely because of backlash). See https://opennext.js.org/ for example. They've been so... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Create React App and React.run, you can also consider the following products

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

Vite - Next Generation Frontend Tooling

React Boilerplate - Offline-first, highly scalable foundation for your next app

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps

Redux.js - Predictable state container for JavaScript apps