ZeeshanAli-0704

Posted on Dec 21

Frontend System Design: Redux Toolkit vs Zustand vs Jotai

#systemdesign #frontend #react #javascript

🧠 Redux Toolkit vs Zustand vs Jotai

Which State Management Library Should You Use?

📌 Table of Contents

Why This Comparison Matters
Mental Models
High Level Architecture Comparison
Redux Toolkit (RTK)
Zustand
Jotai
Side by Side Comparison Table
Performance & Re render Behavior
Scalability & Team Collaboration
When to Use What (Decision Guide)
Real World Use Case Mapping
Interview Ready Summary

Why This Comparison Matters

As your React app grows, local state stops being enough.

You start dealing with:

Shared data across screens
Async API calls
Caching
Global UI state
Predictable debugging

That’s where Redux Toolkit, Zustand, and Jotai come in — each solving the problem very differently.

Mental Models (TL;DR)

Library	Think of it as
Redux Toolkit	Centralized enterprise data system
Zustand	Simple global store with hooks
Jotai	Atomic state pieces wired together

High Level Architecture Comparison

Redux Toolkit

flowchart TB
  UI -->|dispatch| Store
  Store --> Reducers
  Reducers --> Store
  Store -->|select| UI

Zustand

flowchart TB
  UI --> Store
  Store --> UI

Jotai

flowchart TB
  UI --> Atom1
  UI --> Atom2
  Atom1 --> Atom3

Redux Toolkit (RTK)

What It Is

Redux Toolkit is the official, opinionated way to use Redux.

It enforces:

Single source of truth
Immutable updates
One-way data flow
Predictability

Example

const usersSlice = createSlice({
  name: "users",
  initialState: [],
  reducers: {
    setUsers: (state, action) => action.payload,
  },
});

Pros

✅ Best for large teams
✅ Excellent debugging (Redux DevTools)
✅ Clear architecture & conventions
✅ First-class async support (RTK Query)

Cons

❌ More boilerplate than others
❌ Steeper learning curve

Zustand

What It Is

Zustand is a minimal global state library built on hooks.

No reducers.
No actions.
No ceremony.

Example

const useUserStore = create(set => ({
  users: [],
  setUsers: users => set({ users }),
}));

Pros

✅ Extremely simple
✅ Minimal boilerplate
✅ Very fast to build features
✅ No provider required

Cons

❌ No strict structure
❌ Can become messy in large apps
❌ Debugging less predictable

Jotai

What It Is

Jotai is based on atomic state.

Each piece of state is independent and composable.

Example

const usersAtom = atom([]);
const filteredUsersAtom = atom(get =>
  get(usersAtom).filter(u => u.active)
);

Pros

✅ Fine-grained re-renders
✅ Derived state is very clean
✅ Excellent for complex UI logic

Cons

❌ Harder mental model
❌ No central overview
❌ Not ideal for very large teams

Side by Side Comparison Table

Feature	Redux Toolkit	Zustand	Jotai
Boilerplate	Medium	Very Low	Low
Mental Model	Reducers & Actions	Hook-based store	Atomic state
Debugging	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐
Async Support	Excellent	Manual	Manual
Scalability	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Learning Curve	Medium	Low	Medium
Best For	Enterprise apps	Small–mid apps	Complex UI state

Performance & Re render Behavior

Library	Re-render Strategy
Redux Toolkit	Selector-based
Zustand	Subscription-based
Jotai	Atom-level reactivity

👉 Jotai is the most granular
👉 Redux is the most predictable
👉 Zustand is the simplest

Scalability & Team Collaboration

Redux Toolkit

✔ Strong boundaries
✔ Feature isolation
✔ Best for 10+ developers

Zustand

✔ Great for solo or small teams
❌ Hard to enforce discipline

Jotai

✔ Great for UI-heavy apps
❌ Hard to trace ownership

When to Use What (Decision Guide)

Use Redux Toolkit if:

App has 100+ screens
Multiple teams work in parallel
You care about long-term maintainability

Use Zustand if:

App is small or medium
You want speed & simplicity
State logic is not complex

Use Jotai if:

UI logic is very complex
Derived state is heavy
Performance is critical

Real World Use Case Mapping

Scenario	Best Choice
Enterprise dashboard	Redux Toolkit
Admin panel	Zustand
Design tools	Jotai
E-commerce	Redux Toolkit
Side projects	Zustand

Interview Ready Summary

Redux Toolkit is best for large, long-living apps.
Zustand is best for simple, fast development.
Jotai shines in UI-heavy, highly reactive scenarios.