SolidJSvs
React
React: The mainstream choice with the far larger ecosystem, and the framework Solid is reacting against
SolidJS
Reactive JavaScript framework with no virtual DOM
As of 29 August 2026, SolidJS is free to use. A React-like framework built on fine-grained reactivity instead of a virtual DOM, with very fast updates. Softwr lists it under Web Development. SolidJS is available on Web.
Overview
What SolidJS does
SolidJS is a declarative JavaScript framework whose syntax closely resembles React — JSX, components, hooks-like primitives — but whose runtime works differently. There is no virtual DOM and no re-rendering of components. Instead, fine-grained reactive primitives update exactly the DOM nodes that depend on changed state. The practical result is consistently strong performance benchmarks and small bundles. The cost is a smaller ecosystem, and a mental model that looks like React but is not: components run once, which catches React developers out repeatedly.
What people use it for
- Interfaces where update performance is the binding constraint
- Teams comfortable with React syntax who want finer-grained reactivity
- Applications where bundle size directly affects the business
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about SolidJS.
- Much smaller ecosystem than React, so many problems have no off-the-shelf library
- The React-like syntax is misleading: components run once, and React habits produce subtle bugs
- Smaller hiring pool and fewer learning resources than the mainstream frameworks
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of SolidJS
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- SolidJSvsVue.js
Vue.js: Another reactive alternative to React, with a larger ecosystem than Solid
Pricing
What SolidJS costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
SolidJS
Free
- Full library
- Commercial use permitted
- No usage limits
Capabilities
Features
No virtual DOM
Reactive primitives update only the DOM nodes that depend on changed state
Components run once
No re-render cycle, which removes a whole class of React performance work
JSX syntax
Familiar to anyone coming from React
Small bundles
Compiles away much of the framework at build time
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is SolidJS free?
Yes, open source under the MIT licence.
Is SolidJS just React without the virtual DOM?
The syntax is similar but the model is not. Solid components run once and reactivity is fine-grained, so patterns that are correct in React can be wrong in Solid.
Why is SolidJS fast?
It compiles away much of the framework and updates individual DOM nodes directly, rather than re-rendering components and diffing a virtual DOM.
Keep looking
Where to go from SolidJS
- SolidJS alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- SolidJS pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- SolidJS badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Web Development softwareThe full category
- Best Web Development softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Web Development software for
Compare SolidJS with
- React
- Vue.js
- Preact
- Lit
- esbuild
- MUI
- Bootstrap
- shadcn/ui
- MySQL
- Docusaurus
- Angular
- Radix UI
- Node.js
- v0 by Vercel
- Wix
- Apache HTTP Server
- Bolt.new
- Wix Studio
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for SolidJS, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on SolidJS
SolidJS alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
SolidJS pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
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