Imagine your app loads twice as fast, uses half the memory, and still gives you that familiar React-like developer experience.
Sounds too good to be true?
This is where Preact steps into the spotlight, promising blazing speed and ultra-small bundle sizes. But does it really outperform React for all use cases?
And is it worth switching?
Let’s unpack the performance showdown between these two libraries — with real-world insights, examples, and useful resources to help you decide.
🔍 First, What’s the Difference?
Both React and Preact are used for building user interfaces, but Preact is designed to be a lighter, faster alternative to React — weighing in at just 3KB gzipped!
React, on the other hand, is a full-featured library with a huge ecosystem.
Let’s break this down with context 👇
💡 Why Developers Are Considering Preact in 2025
Smaller bundle size: Perfect for mobile-first, performance-critical applications.
Faster load times: Lower Time To Interactive (TTI), especially on slower networks.
Almost React-compatible: Preact has a compat module that allows you to use React packages in a Preact project.
Better suited for static site generators (SSG) and JAMstack projects.
📊 Performance Comparison (with Real Insights)
1. Bundle Size
React is ~42KB gzipped.
Preact? Just ~3KB.
This means faster load times, especially important for users on mobile or slower networks.
If your Lighthouse scores are hurting, consider trying Preact in your next build.
2. Rendering Performance
In most small to medium-sized projects, you won’t feel much difference. But if your app has hundreds of components or needs to load extremely fast, Preact shines.
🧪 Test it yourself using this [React vs Preact benchmark repo](https://github.com/krausest/js-framework-benchmark).
3. Ecosystem & Compatibility
React has the upper hand here.
It's backed by Meta, supported widely, and works seamlessly with libraries like React Router, Redux, etc.
But with Preact’s preact/compat, you can actually use many React libraries almost out of the box:
// Replace React with Preact
import React from 'preact/compat';
import ReactDOM from 'preact/compat';
It’s a clever way to get the performance benefits of Preact without rewriting your whole app.
🤯 Surprising Use Cases for Preact
- Embedding widgets or apps into existing pages without bloating page size.
- Accelerated mobile apps where milliseconds matter.
- Ecommerce or landing pages that need snappy user interaction.
Some big companies like Uber and Tencent have used Preact for these reasons.
🚧 When React Might Still Be Better
- If you rely on complex React-only tools like React Native, Concurrent Mode, or React Server Components.
- If your team already has deep experience with React and switching will require retraining.
- When your app is already optimized and bundle size isn't your bottleneck.
Sometimes, sticking to React and optimizing within it using tools like React Lazy and Suspense might be more effective.
🧠 Want a Hybrid Approach?
Use Preact only where needed — like in micro-frontends, or static components that load independently of your main React app. That way, you get the best of both worlds.
✨ Bonus Tips to Boost Your Frontend Performance
- Use Code splitting and lazy loading.
- Minify and compress assets (JS, CSS, images).
- Avoid unnecessary dependencies. Analyze your bundle with Webpack Bundle Analyzer.
- Cache aggressively with service workers and CDNs.
💬 Let’s Talk!
Have you tried Preact in a production app? Was the performance boost worth the switch?
Or are you sticking with React and squeezing out speed the old-fashioned way?
Drop your thoughts, experiences, or even your app links in the comments 👇
Let’s build a thread of real-world feedback for devs who are on the fence!
👉 Follow DCT Technology for more valuable content on web dev, design, SEO, and IT consulting.
Your next scroll might be your next breakthrough!
Top comments (0)