React survey shows TanStack gains, doubts over server components

Devographics has published its State of React survey, sponsored by companies including Google, JetBrains and Algolia, with over 3,700 developers speaking out about what they love and hate in the fractured React ecosystem.

React, originally sponsored by Meta, is a JavaScript library but not a complete framework, the result being that developers using React have a lot of choices when it comes to React-based frameworks and tools. The complexity of the ecosystem is a problem. "Getting a build and testing harness and CI system and IDE tools to all play nicely together is reliably a nightmare," complained one respondent.

Despite such concerns, React usage remains high and may grow further thanks to AI. "With generative AI's reliance on existing codebases in order to spew out new code, could React become even more entrenched?" asks Devographics writer Sacha Greif, introducing the survey.

Next.js, which once looked set to become the standard choice for full-stack React, is widely used but not the best-liked. 80 percent have used it, but 17 percent have a negative sentiment, with most complaints focused on excessive complexity and too-tight integration with its main sponsor, hosting company Vercel. "Vendor lock in, complex APIs, and too much noise in the Next.js ecosystem make it a no-go for me," said one comment – though 27 percent ticked the box for positive sentiment, so it divides opinion.

If Next.js declines, the winner may be TanStack. TanStack Query, used for data fetching, has 68 percent usage, 42 percent positive sentiment, and just 1 percent negative. TanStack Start, a full-stack framework using React, Solid.js and the Vite build tool currently in release candidate phase, is used by only 15 percent, probably because it is in preview, but liked by nearly half of those who use it or have heard of it.

TanStack is an open-source project created by Tanner Lindsey, co-founder of SEO (search engine optimization) rank tracking company Nozzle. In March 20025 it was sponsored by hosting company Netlify as an alternative to "bloated, over-abstracted frameworks," perhaps with Next.js in mind. TanStack is focused on type-safety using TypeScript and file-based routing.

There are several TanStack sub-projects, in varying states of readiness. Alongside Query and Start, others include the TanStack DB data store (beta), TanStack AI (alpha) and TanStack CLI (command line interface), including an MCP (model context protocol) server for use by AI agents.

Both Next.js and TanStack Start implement React Server Components, but respondents are not all convinced that React belongs on the server as well as in the browser. "Completely not interested in this feature," said one respondent. The cool response to both server component and server functions is described by the survey authors as "troubling for a set of new APIs that was supposed to pave the way towards React’s next big evolution."

Another newish feature, the React Compiler, fares better, with 62 percent of respondents stating their enthusiasm for it. "We can stop littering our code with useMemo and useCallback," said Aurora Scharff, certification lead and React educator, in her conclusion to the survey.

Respondents are also positive about the planned React Foundation, introduced in October 2025 to maintain React’s infrastructure and organize its main event, ReactConf.

Like Greif, Scharff notes that for AI-assisted coding, "React has … become the default output when you prompt for UI."

Despite its pain points, the future popularity of React seems assured.