# EneUI vs 21st.dev, catalog, install path and agent access

Two catalogs for the same job. 21st.dev indexes community registries; EneUI carries the source, the license and an install command for 100k+ components, with a public MCP server and no key.

> Page: https://ui.eneawork.it/alternatives/eneui-vs-21st
> Markdown: https://ui.eneawork.it/alternatives/eneui-vs-21st.md

Both projects answer the same question, where do I get a component that is already written, and both expose the answer to coding agents. The difference is what the record contains: 21st.dev is a discovery layer over other people's registries; EneUI stores the source and serves it over MCP, CLI and API.

| Option | Components | Libraries | Licenza |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EneUI | 111,985 | 1472 | MIT (components keep their source licence) |
| 21st.dev | 8,924 | 1001 | MIT License |
| shadcn/ui | 2,414 | 21 | Unknown (community registry — see https://shadcnui-blocks.com) |
| Magic UI | 247 | 2 | MIT |

## When to pick it

- **EneUI**, You want one endpoint an agent can read: source, licence, dependencies and the install command, with a free tier that needs no key.
- **21st.dev**, You want to browse what the community published most recently, including registries EneUI has not harvested yet.
- **shadcn/ui**, You want primitives you own and will style yourself, with no catalog in between.
- **Magic UI**, You want animated landing blocks and do not need a search API.

## Verdict

Use 21st.dev to discover, EneUI to install. The two overlap in intent but not in payload: a discovery layer knows a component exists, a catalog can hand it to your agent with its licence and its files.

## FAQ

### How many components does this page cover?

123,570 components measured in the catalog, across 4 families.

### How were the counts measured?

By reading the catalog: every component carries its source library and the license declared upstream. The numbers are computed per request, not copied from a post.

### Can I install them with shadcn?

Yes, every component page shows the `npx shadcn add` command against our registry, with a free token.