shadcn/ui vs Radix UI
shadcn/ui and Radix UI side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
shadcn/ui
Copy-paste React component collection built on Base UI (the default), Radix, or React Aria primitives and Tailwind. You own the source, customize freely, no library to upgrade.
Radix UI
Unstyled, accessible React primitives. Dialogs, popovers, dropdowns, and more, with full keyboard and screen-reader support out of the box.
At a glance
| Field | | R Radix UI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Infrastructure | Infrastructure |
| Website | ui.shadcn.com | radix-ui.com |
| Pricing | Free and open source (MIT) | Free and open source (MIT) |
| Install | npx shadcn@latest init or npx shadcn@latest add button or npx shadcn@latest init -t next | npm install radix-ui@latest |
| Models | Not an AI tool. The CLI copies components into your project built on Base UI (the default for new projects since July 2026), Radix, or React Aria, styled with Tailwind CSS, with templates for Next.js, Vite, TanStack Start, React Router, Astro, and Laravel. The AI Elements patterns render AI SDK message parts, and the registry exposes an MCP server for coding agents. | Not an AI tool. Radix ships unstyled, accessible React primitives in the unified radix-ui package, and each primitive also has its own subpath import (for example radix-ui/popover). You style them with any CSS approach. shadcn/ui supports Radix as one of its component bases. |
| Last verified | October 17, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
In Depth
shadcn/ui
shadcn/ui is not a component library you install. It is a CLI that copies accessible, well-styled React components into your codebase. Components are built on Base UI (the default for new projects since July 2026), Radix, or React Aria for behavior and Tailwind for styling. Because the source lives in your repo, you can change anything. shadcn became the default component layer for Next.js apps in 2024-2025 and now ships first-class registry support so teams can publish their own component sets. The trade-off versus a packaged library is that you maintain the components.
Radix UI
Radix UI is a set of unstyled accessible React primitives from the WorkOS team. It covers the components that are painful to build correctly: dialogs, popovers, dropdown menus, tooltips, sliders, accordions. You bring the styling, Radix handles focus management, keyboard interaction, ARIA attributes, and edge cases like portal rendering and scroll locking. shadcn/ui supports Radix as one of its component bases (Base UI became the default for new shadcn/ui projects in July 2026), which is why so many production Next.js apps depend on it transitively.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does shadcn/ui cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Free and open source (MIT). Source: shadcn/ui changelog, Changelog RSS (entry dates), Base UI as the Default (July 2026), Next.js installation, CLI docs, GitHub repository.
How do I install shadcn/ui?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: npx shadcn@latest init or npx shadcn@latest add button or npx shadcn@latest init -t next.
Which models does shadcn/ui use?
As of October 17, 2026: Not an AI tool. The CLI copies components into your project built on Base UI (the default for new projects since July 2026), Radix, or React Aria, styled with Tailwind CSS, with templates for Next.js, Vite, TanStack Start, React Router, Astro, and Laravel. The AI Elements patterns render AI SDK message parts, and the registry exposes an MCP server for coding agents.
How much does Radix UI cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Free and open source (MIT). Source: Getting started, Releases, GitHub repository.
How do I install Radix UI?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: npm install radix-ui@latest.
Which models does Radix UI use?
As of October 17, 2026: Not an AI tool. Radix ships unstyled, accessible React primitives in the unified radix-ui package, and each primitive also has its own subpath import (for example radix-ui/popover). You style them with any CSS approach. shadcn/ui supports Radix as one of its component bases.
