# Alternatives to shadcn/ui, what each one is actually for

What to use instead of shadcn/ui depending on the job: primitives you own, motion-heavy blocks, full design systems. With measured component counts.

> Page: https://ui.eneawork.it/alternatives/shadcn-ui
> Markdown: https://ui.eneawork.it/alternatives/shadcn-ui.md

shadcn/ui is not a library you install, it is a set of components you copy into your project, so it has no runtime to replace. The real question is which registry you point your CLI at next. These are the six that matter, with their real size in the catalog.

| Option | Components | Libraries | Licenza |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 21st.dev registries | 8,924 | 1001 | MIT License |
| Material UI | 356 | 3 | MIT |
| Magic UI | 247 | 2 | MIT |
| Aceternity UI | 204 | 2 | Custom (free w/ attribution, no resale) |
| HyperUI | 0 | 0 | ,  |

## When to pick it

- **21st.dev registries**, You want to browse what the community publishes before committing to one registry.
- **Material UI**, You need a complete, opinionated system with data tables and date pickers, not primitives.
- **Magic UI**, You want more shadcn-shaped blocks: bento grids, marquees, animated lists.
- **Aceternity UI**, The page has to look expensive, and animation is part of the brief.
- **HyperUI**, You are on HTML/CSS, or you want the markup without a React install step.

## Verdict

shadcn/ui stays the default for application UI; the others are better at marketing surfaces or at being a whole system. Keep one registry for primitives and one for expressive blocks, and do not mix all four in the same project.

## FAQ

### How many components does this page cover?

9,731 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.