react-hook-form vs formik

forms

react-hook-form

formik

React Hook Form and Formik are the two most popular form management libraries for React applications. React Hook Form leverages uncontrolled components and refs to minimize re-renders, offering a lightweight hooks-first API with zero dependencies and a bundle size of ~9-12KB gzipped. Formik takes a more traditional approach with controlled components and a structured render-prop or component-based API, weighing in at ~13-44KB gzipped with 7 dependencies.

This comparison matters because form management is fundamental to most React applications, and the choice between these libraries significantly impacts performance, developer experience, and bundle size. React Hook Form appeals to developers prioritizing performance and minimal boilerplate in modern hooks-based codebases, while Formik targets teams needing predictable controlled state management with extensive UI library integrations. Understanding their trade-offs helps you choose the right tool for your specific form requirements and team preferences.

Head-to-Head

Performance & Re-renders→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

Uses uncontrolled components with refs to isolate re-renders to individual fields. Large forms with many inputs remain fast because validation and updates don't trigger full form re-renders. Benchmarks consistently show superior performance, especially with 20+ fields.

formik

Controlled component approach causes re-renders on every keystroke for the entire form by default. Performance degrades noticeably in forms with many fields or complex validation. Workarounds like memoization help but add complexity and don't fully eliminate the re-render overhead.

Bundle Size & Dependencies→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

9.1-12.12KB gzipped with zero dependencies. Minimal footprint makes it ideal for performance-sensitive applications. The entire library unminified is 26.4-87.7KB depending on features used, but tree-shaking removes unused code effectively.

formik

13.1-44.34KB gzipped with 7 dependencies that add to the total bundle weight. The 44.4KB minified size is substantial for simple form needs. Additional dependencies increase maintenance surface area and potential for supply chain issues.

API Design & Boilerplate→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

Minimal hooks-first API with useForm() returning register, handleSubmit, and formState. Very little boilerplate—often just spreading {...register('fieldName')} on inputs. Flexible for custom validation logic but requires understanding refs and uncontrolled patterns.

formik

More opinionated with <Formik> component wrapping forms, using render props or children functions. Requires more boilerplate with Field, ErrorMessage, and Form components. The structure is verbose but provides clear, centralized state management that's easier to debug for complex forms.

TypeScript Integration→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

Excellent type inference through generic hooks—useForm<FormData>() automatically types all methods. Hooks naturally align with TypeScript's type system. Path-based field names get full autocomplete and type checking, reducing runtime errors significantly.

formik

Good TypeScript support with typed props and FormikValues generics. However, nested forms require more manual typing and the component/render-prop patterns are less ergonomic with TypeScript than hooks. Type safety exists but feels like an afterthought compared to hooks-native design.

Ecosystem & UI Library Integration→ formik wins

react-hook-form

Strong ecosystem with adapters for major validation libraries (Yup, Zod, Joi). Documentation is comprehensive with many examples. However, fewer pre-built integrations with UI component libraries—you often write custom wrappers for Material-UI, Ant Design, etc.

formik

Extensive bindings and examples for popular UI libraries like Material-UI, Ant Design, and Chakra UI. The community has built many ready-to-use integrations. Documentation is excellent with detailed guides. This maturity makes onboarding faster when using common UI frameworks.

Maintenance & Active Development→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

Actively maintained with regular commits and releases through 2025. Strong community momentum with ~32.2K GitHub stars and 3M weekly downloads. Issues are addressed promptly, and the library evolves with React ecosystem changes. Long-term viability looks solid.

formik

No meaningful updates in the past year according to GitHub history. While stable and battle-tested, the lack of recent commits raises concerns for long-term support, security patches, and compatibility with future React versions. The 31.6K stars show past popularity but current stagnation.

Verdict

React Hook Form is the clear choice for most modern React applications in 2025. Its superior performance, smaller bundle size, hooks-first API, and active maintenance make it the default recommendation unless you have specific reasons to choose otherwise. The uncontrolled component approach delivers measurable benefits in large forms, and the minimal boilerplate accelerates development. The only significant advantage Formik retains is deeper UI library integrations, but this rarely outweighs React Hook Form's technical superiority and active development.

Choose Formik only if you're maintaining an existing codebase already using it, need specific UI library bindings that aren't available for React Hook Form, or have a team strongly preferring controlled components and render props. For new projects, greenfield applications, or forms with more than 10-15 fields where performance matters, React Hook Form is objectively better. The maintenance situation alone—Formik's dormancy versus React Hook Form's active development—should concern teams planning long-term projects.

When to Use Each

If you are building a multi-step checkout form with 30+ fields → use react-hook-form because its ref-based approach prevents performance bottlenecks that would cause noticeable lag with Formik's controlled components.

If you are maintaining a large enterprise application already using Formik with extensive custom Field components → stick with formik because migration costs outweigh benefits unless performance issues emerge, then incrementally migrate problem areas.

If you are creating a dashboard with dynamic forms where fields change based on API responses → use react-hook-form because its flexible API and superior TypeScript support make conditionally rendering fields and handling dynamic validation schemas significantly easier.

If you are prototyping with Material-UI and need forms quickly with pre-built examples → use formik initially because its MUI integration examples accelerate development, but plan to evaluate react-hook-form if performance becomes an issue or the project scales.

Learn More

react-hook-form →formik →

Head-to-Head

Performance & Re-renders→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

formik

Bundle Size & Dependencies→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

formik

API Design & Boilerplate→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

formik

TypeScript Integration→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

formik

Ecosystem & UI Library Integration→ formik wins

react-hook-form

formik

Maintenance & Active Development→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

formik

Verdict

When to Use Each