Chakra UI vs. Bulma
By SW Habitation
Chakra UI
Bulma
You know how building a website can feel like a lot, especially when you’re trying to style every little thing yourself? Buttons, forms, layouts… it adds up fast. That’s where UI frameworks really save the day. They give you a bunch of premade design elements that you can just drop in and go. It’s like having a design starter pack that helps your site look clean and professional, without spending forever tweaking the details.
What is Chakra UI ?
Chakra UI is a popular React component library that lets you build accessible, responsive UIs with ease. It provides a collection of components with built-in ARIA attributes, theme support, and responsive design via style props.
It’s ideal for devs who want plug-and-play components with built-in styling and dark mode.
Key Features of Chakra UI
- Component-rich: Inputs, modals, alerts, menus, tooltips, accordions, etc.
- Style Props: Apply margin, padding, color, size directly via props.
- Accessibility: ARIA-compliant components out of the box.
- Themeable: Custom themes, variants, dark mode support.
- Emotion CSS-in-JS: Built with Emotion for dynamic styling.
- TypeScript Support: Fully typed and developer-friendly.
Advantages of Chakra UI
- Easy to use with minimal setup.
- Style props eliminate the need for external CSS.
- Great documentation and community support.
- Built-in dark mode and responsive utilities.
- Clean and maintainable code structure.
Disadvantages of Chakra UI
- Limited design flexibility if you want pixel-perfect UI.
- Larger bundle size due to style props and runtime styling.
- Less control over raw DOM/styling.
- Not Tailwind-friendly out of the box.
- Can be verbose for deeply nested component trees.
What is Bulma?
Bulma is a modern, open-source CSS framework based entirely on Flexbox. Unlike Bootstrap or Foundation, Bulma is a pure CSS framework, it doesn’t come with JavaScript components, which makes it lightweight, simple, and easy to use.
Bulma is especially loved by developers who want a minimalist yet responsive framework for quickly building prototypes, small projects, and clean modern websites.
Key Features of Bulma
- Lightweight: Small file size and fast performance.
- Clean Syntax: Readable, intuitive class naming convention.
- Customizable with Sass: Use Sass variables to easily adjust themes and styles.
- Flexbox-based Grid: Fully powered by Flexbox for responsive and modern layouts.
- Responsive Modifiers: Easy-to-use breakpoints for mobile, tablet, desktop, and widescreen.
- Pure CSS: No JavaScript dependencies — works with any JS framework or vanilla JS.
- Utility Classes: Includes helper classes for spacing, colors, display, typography, and more.
Advantages of Bulma
- Responsive by Default: Built-in responsive utilities.
- Fast Prototyping: Perfect for quick MVPs and small apps.
- Lightweight: No extra JavaScript, only CSS.
- Modern Layouts: Built entirely on Flexbox.
- Cross-Browser Consistency: Works well across modern browsers.
- Beginner-Friendly: Super easy to learn and use.
Disadvantages of Bulma
- Not Ideal for Enterprises: May not scale as well for very large applications.
- No JavaScript Plugins: Requires manual integration for modals, dropdowns, or carousels.
- Smaller Ecosystem: Fewer themes, templates, and community add-ons compared to Bootstrap.
- Limited Components: Doesn’t have as many prebuilt components as Bootstrap or Foundation.
Comparison Between Chakra UI vs Bulma
Use Cases of Chakra UI
- MVPs, SaaS apps, portfolios that need speed + simplicity
- Devs who prefer using props for styling
- Teams focused on accessibility and fast prototyping
- Apps where the design doesn’t need to be pixel-perfect
- Projects using Emotion or CSS-in-JS ecosystem
Use Cases of Bulma
- Prototyping: Developers can spin up layouts rapidly.
- Projects with JS Frameworks: Works seamlessly with React, Vue, Angular, or vanilla JS since it’s pure CSS.
- Portfolios & Blogs: Great for personal projects with minimal setup.
- Startups & MVPs: Perfect for small projects that need quick, clean UI.
Other Resources
Conclusion
UI frameworks make building a polished website way easier. Whether you're working on something simple or a big project, they help you get things looking just right without having to stress over every little design decision. With ready-to-use components, responsive layouts, and modern styles, you can build faster and smarter.
So, pick one that works for you, and start creating a site that looks amazing from the get-go.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chakra UI good for accessibility?
Yes! Chakra UI is designed with accessibility (a11y) in mind, following WAI-ARIA standards.
Does Chakra UI support dark mode?
Yes, it has built-in dark mode toggling using the ColorModeProvider.
What styling method does Chakra UI use?
Chakra uses Emotion (a CSS-in-JS library) and style props for inline styling.
Can I create custom themes in Chakra UI?
Definitely. Chakra has a powerful theming system that supports tokens, variants, and full overrides.
Is Chakra UI production-ready?
Yes. It’s widely used in SaaS apps and has a strong developer community.
Is Bulma better than Bootstrap?
Bulma is simpler and lighter, great for small projects. Bootstrap is more feature-rich, with JavaScript plugins and a larger ecosystem, making it better for complex apps.
Does Bulma use Flexbox?
Yes, Bulma is 100% built with Flexbox, which makes it modern and responsive out of the box.
Can I use Bulma with React or Vue?
Absolutely! Since Bulma is pure CSS, it integrates easily with any JavaScript framework.
Does Bulma support dark mode?
Not natively, but you can customize Bulma with Sass or community add-ons to implement dark mode.
Is Bulma good for beginners?
Yes, Bulma is one of the most beginner-friendly CSS frameworks due to its clean syntax and simple utility classes.