react-hook-form vs @tanstack/react-form

forms

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

React Hook Form and TanStack Form (@tanstack/react-form) are both modern, performance-focused form libraries for React that prioritize minimal re-renders and developer experience. React Hook Form has established itself as the most popular React form solution since 2019, offering excellent performance through uncontrolled inputs and a straightforward API with widespread community adoption. TanStack Form is the newer entrant from the TanStack ecosystem (known for React Query and React Table), bringing a headless, framework-agnostic architecture with superior TypeScript inference and a more modular design philosophy.

This comparison is particularly relevant in 2025 as TanStack Form has matured enough to challenge React Hook Form's dominance, especially for teams already invested in the TanStack ecosystem or building complex applications with demanding TypeScript requirements. React Hook Form remains the default choice for most React projects due to its proven track record, extensive documentation, and massive community support. TanStack Form appeals to developers seeking cutting-edge TypeScript ergonomics, framework flexibility, or those building design system integrations where a headless approach provides maximum control.

Head-to-Head

Bundle Size→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

~9.7kb minified + gzipped with zero dependencies. Larger than TanStack Form but still lightweight compared to traditional form libraries. The size increase comes from built-in features like Controller component and more out-of-the-box functionality.

@tanstack/react-form

~4.4kb for the core React package, making it roughly 55% smaller than React Hook Form. The modular architecture with @tanstack/form-core as a separate dependency allows tree-shaking unused features. Validation adapters (Zod, Yup) are optional plugins.

TypeScript Inference→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

Strong first-class TypeScript support with proper typing throughout. However, requires manual type casting for nested field arrays (e.g., `fieldName as 'users.0.name'`), which can be cumbersome in deeply nested forms. Generic types sometimes need explicit annotations.

@tanstack/react-form

Superior type inference that automatically handles deeply nested field paths without casting. Field names are fully type-safe and auto-completed at any nesting level. The API is designed to 'stay out of the way' with types that just work, eliminating boilerplate type annotations.

API Complexity & Learning Curvetie

react-hook-form

Simple API for basic forms with `useForm()`, `register()`, and `handleSubmit()`. Requires learning the `Controller` component for custom inputs and understanding the distinction between controlled/uncontrolled patterns. Global schema validation (Zod/Yup) is straightforward but applied at the form level.

@tanstack/react-form

Smaller API surface area with a consistent hook-based pattern (`useForm`, `form.Field`). No Controller component needed—validation and state are handled per-field with composable hooks. The headless approach requires more initial setup but scales better for complex forms. Per-field validation adapters provide finer granularity.

Validation Strategy→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

Supports global schema validation with Zod, Yup, or custom resolvers. Validation occurs at the form level, which is simpler for standard forms but less flexible for field-specific async validation. Built-in validation modes (onChange, onBlur, onSubmit) cover most use cases.

@tanstack/react-form

Per-field validation with built-in debouncing for async validators. Supports multiple validators per field (sync, async, onChange, onBlur) with Zod/Yup adapters as plugins. More granular control allows optimizing validation performance for individual fields in large forms.

Ecosystem & Community Support→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

The largest React form library with millions of weekly npm downloads. Extensive documentation, thousands of Stack Overflow answers, and wide integration with UI libraries (MUI, Ant Design, Chakra). Considered the industry standard with proven stability in production at scale.

@tanstack/react-form

Growing community backed by the TanStack brand but significantly smaller adoption than React Hook Form. Fewer third-party integrations and community resources. Benefits from alignment with TanStack's design philosophy (Query, Table) but lacks the battle-tested maturity of React Hook Form.

Framework Flexibility→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

React-only with excellent support for React Native. Deeply integrated with React's ecosystem and patterns. No plans for supporting other frameworks—fully committed to the React paradigm including controlled/uncontrolled inputs.

@tanstack/react-form

Framework-agnostic core (@tanstack/form-core) with official adapters for React, Solid, Vue, and Angular. Headless design makes it ideal for cross-platform teams or design systems that need consistent form logic across frameworks. React-specific features like React Compiler support are maintained.

Verdict

React Hook Form remains the safer, more practical choice for most React projects in 2025. Its massive community, extensive documentation, and proven track record make it the best default for teams building standard React applications, startups needing to move fast, or projects where developer onboarding speed matters. The API is mature, the ecosystem integration is unmatched, and you'll find solutions to virtually any problem within minutes of searching. Unless you have specific requirements that favor TanStack Form's strengths, React Hook Form delivers excellent results with minimal friction.

Choose TanStack Form when you're building complex forms with demanding TypeScript requirements, need cross-framework form logic for a design system, or want maximum control over validation granularity in large-scale applications. It's particularly compelling for teams already using TanStack Query or Table who appreciate that ecosystem's design philosophy. TanStack Form is also the better choice when bundle size is critical (micro-frontends, edge deployments) or when building headless component libraries that need framework flexibility. However, accept that you'll be working with smaller community resources and fewer pre-built integrations.

When to Use Each

If you are building a standard CRUD application with React and need form validation → use react-hook-form because it offers the fastest development velocity with extensive documentation, UI library integrations, and community solutions for every common pattern.

If you are building a design system that needs to support React, Vue, and Solid with shared form logic → use @tanstack/react-form because its framework-agnostic core allows you to write validation and state management once and reuse it across all three frameworks with minimal adapter code.

If you are building a large-scale enterprise application with deeply nested forms (20+ fields, 3+ nesting levels) and strict TypeScript requirements → use @tanstack/react-form because its superior type inference eliminates type casting boilerplate and per-field validation with built-in debouncing optimizes performance for complex async validation scenarios.

If you are building a React Native mobile app with forms → use react-hook-form because it has proven React Native support, extensive mobile-specific examples in the community, and its uncontrolled input approach works naturally with native input components without performance issues.

Learn More

react-hook-form →@tanstack/react-form →

Head-to-Head

Bundle Size→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

TypeScript Inference→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

API Complexity & Learning Curvetie

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

Validation Strategy→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

Ecosystem & Community Support→ react-hook-form wins

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

Framework Flexibility→ @tanstack/react-form wins

react-hook-form

@tanstack/react-form

Verdict

When to Use Each