react-hot-toast vs react-toastify

frontend

react-hot-toast

react-toastify

React Hot Toast and React Toastify are the two leading toast notification libraries for React applications, each solving the same problem with different philosophies. React Hot Toast emerged as a modern, performance-focused alternative weighing just 5KB, while React Toastify has established itself as the feature-rich industry standard with over 1.6 million weekly downloads.

The choice between these libraries matters significantly for frontend developers because toast notifications are user-facing components that affect both bundle size and user experience. React Hot Toast targets developers building performance-critical applications who value simplicity and minimal dependencies, while React Toastify appeals to teams needing extensive customization options, mobile gesture support, and battle-tested stability in large-scale production environments.

Head-to-Head

Bundle Size→ react-hot-toast wins

react-hot-toast

5KB total including styles, making it one of the lightest toast libraries available. The minimal footprint comes from a focused feature set without sacrificing core functionality.

react-toastify

536KB unpacked, which is significantly heavier due to extensive built-in features, animations, and styling options. This can impact initial load times on bandwidth-constrained connections.

API Design→ react-hot-toast wins

react-hot-toast

Promise-based API with direct function calls (toast('message')) and headless hooks (useToaster) for complete rendering control. No container component required, reducing boilerplate.

react-toastify

Requires a ToastContainer component to be mounted, with variant-specific methods (toast.success(), toast.error()). Offers both hooks (useToasts) and HOC patterns (withToasts) for flexibility.

Customization Depth→ react-toastify wins

react-hot-toast

Headless architecture allows complete UI control through custom components while maintaining accessibility. Simpler options for quick styling but less built-in variety.

react-toastify

Extensive built-in options including multiple positions, progress bars, RTL support, dark mode themes, and rich animation system. More out-of-the-box solutions without custom code.

Mobile Experience→ react-toastify wins

react-hot-toast

Good responsive behavior through hooks-based approach, but lacks built-in gesture handling. Developers must implement swipe/tap interactions manually if needed.

react-toastify

Superior mobile support with native swipe-to-close and tap-to-open gestures built in. Optimized for touch interactions without additional configuration.

Async Operation Handling→ react-hot-toast wins

react-hot-toast

First-class promise support with toast.promise() that automatically updates toast state based on promise resolution/rejection. Designed specifically for modern async workflows.

react-toastify

Can handle async operations but requires manual state management through update methods. Not as streamlined for promise-based patterns.

Community & Ecosystem→ react-toastify wins

react-hot-toast

10,663 GitHub stars with active maintenance (updated ~1 month ago). Smaller but growing community with 352 commits. Less extensive documentation and third-party resources.

react-toastify

13,345 GitHub stars, 1.6M+ weekly downloads, and 727 commits indicating mature ecosystem. More Stack Overflow answers, tutorials, and established patterns in production codebases.

Verdict

Choose React Hot Toast when bundle size and performance are critical constraints, especially for modern applications with significant async operations. Its 5KB footprint and promise-first API make it the superior choice for greenfield projects, performance-sensitive SPAs, or any application where you need complete control over toast rendering through its headless architecture. The cleaner API with no container component requirement reduces boilerplate and simplifies testing.

Choose React Toastify for established production applications requiring extensive customization, mobile gesture support, or integration into existing codebases where its 2.5x higher download rate indicates better community resources. If you're building mobile-first experiences with swipe interactions, need RTL language support, or want extensive built-in theming without writing custom components, React Toastify's heavier bundle is justified by its feature completeness. Teams working on large applications with diverse notification requirements will benefit from its mature ecosystem and comprehensive documentation.

When to Use Each

If you are building a performance-critical dashboard or analytics application → use react-hot-toast because the 5KB bundle size won't compound with heavy data visualization libraries, and the promise API naturally fits async data fetching patterns.

If you are building a mobile-first e-commerce or social media application → use react-toastify because built-in swipe gestures and tap interactions provide native-feeling notifications without custom implementation effort.

If you are building a startup MVP or modern SaaS product with TypeScript → use react-hot-toast because the minimal API surface reduces onboarding time, the headless architecture allows quick custom branding, and the small bundle size improves Core Web Vitals scores.

If you are maintaining a large enterprise application with complex notification requirements → use react-toastify because its extensive built-in features (progress bars, RTL support, multiple positions) reduce custom code maintenance, and the larger community means better Stack Overflow support for edge cases.

Learn More

react-hot-toast →react-toastify →

Head-to-Head

Bundle Size→ react-hot-toast wins

react-hot-toast

5KB total including styles, making it one of the lightest toast libraries available. The minimal footprint comes from a focused feature set without sacrificing core functionality.

react-toastify

536KB unpacked, which is significantly heavier due to extensive built-in features, animations, and styling options. This can impact initial load times on bandwidth-constrained connections.

API Design→ react-hot-toast wins

react-hot-toast

Promise-based API with direct function calls (toast('message')) and headless hooks (useToaster) for complete rendering control. No container component required, reducing boilerplate.

react-toastify

Requires a ToastContainer component to be mounted, with variant-specific methods (toast.success(), toast.error()). Offers both hooks (useToasts) and HOC patterns (withToasts) for flexibility.

Customization Depth→ react-toastify wins

react-hot-toast

Headless architecture allows complete UI control through custom components while maintaining accessibility. Simpler options for quick styling but less built-in variety.

react-toastify

Extensive built-in options including multiple positions, progress bars, RTL support, dark mode themes, and rich animation system. More out-of-the-box solutions without custom code.

Mobile Experience→ react-toastify wins

react-hot-toast

Good responsive behavior through hooks-based approach, but lacks built-in gesture handling. Developers must implement swipe/tap interactions manually if needed.

react-toastify

Superior mobile support with native swipe-to-close and tap-to-open gestures built in. Optimized for touch interactions without additional configuration.

Async Operation Handling→ react-hot-toast wins

react-hot-toast

First-class promise support with toast.promise() that automatically updates toast state based on promise resolution/rejection. Designed specifically for modern async workflows.

react-toastify

Can handle async operations but requires manual state management through update methods. Not as streamlined for promise-based patterns.

Community & Ecosystem→ react-toastify wins

react-hot-toast

10,663 GitHub stars with active maintenance (updated ~1 month ago). Smaller but growing community with 352 commits. Less extensive documentation and third-party resources.

react-toastify

13,345 GitHub stars, 1.6M+ weekly downloads, and 727 commits indicating mature ecosystem. More Stack Overflow answers, tutorials, and established patterns in production codebases.

Verdict

When to Use Each