Chakra UI vs. Fomantic-UI

By SW Habitation

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Table of contents

What is Chakra UI ?

Key Features of Chakra UI

Advantages of Chakra UI

Disadvantages of Chakra UI

What is Fomantic-UI?

Key Features of Fomantic-UI

Advantages of Fomantic-UI

Disadvantages of Fomantic-UI

Comparison Between Chakra UI vs Fomantic-UI

Use Cases of Chakra UI

Use Cases of Fomantic-UI

Other Resources

Conclusion

Frequently asked questions

Chakra UI

Fomantic-UI

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 Fomantic-UI?

Fomantic-UI is a modern version of the popular Semantic UI, made and improved by the community. It is a tool for building websites that are responsive, easy to style, and user-friendly, fast.

It focuses on semantic class names that read like natural language, making code more intuitive and easier to understand. Since it’s a fork, it has continued where Semantic UI left off, with new features, updates, and active maintenance by the community.

Key Features of Fomantic-UI

Human-Friendly Classes: Semantic class names like ui button, ui card, ui grid.
Rich Components: Buttons, forms, modals, dropdowns, cards, tabs, and more.
JavaScript Behaviors: Built-in behaviors for modals, accordions, dropdowns, sliders, etc.
Responsive Grid: Powerful 16-column responsive grid system.
Theming System: Fully themable with LESS variables and customization options.
Extensible: Modular build — include only what you need.
Community-Powered: Active development and updates compared to the abandoned Semantic UI.

Advantages of Fomantic-UI

Full-Featured: Includes both CSS components and JavaScript behaviors.
Rich UI Library: Over 50 components for quick UI building.
Readable Code: Natural-language style class names make HTML easier to read.
All-in-One Framework: No need to rely on external JS for basic UI behaviors.
Strong Theming Support: Easily customizable with LESS variables.
Community Driven: Regularly updated and maintained by the community.

Disadvantages of Fomantic-UI

Requires jQuery: JavaScript behaviors still depend on jQuery.
Learning Curve: Semantic-style class names may feel unusual for new developers.
LESS Dependency: Built on LESS, which is less popular today compared to Sass or CSS-in-JS.
Not as Popular: Smaller ecosystem compared to Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS.
Heavy File Size: Larger compared to lightweight frameworks like Bulma or Milligram.

Comparison Between Chakra UI vs Fomantic-UI

Features	Chakra UI	Fomantic-UI
Philosophy	Component-first, style via props	Feature-rich, themeable UI framework with pre-styled components
Ease of Use	Easy with props, minimal setup	Easy, semantic class names but heavier setup than Bulma
Customization	Highly customizable via theme overrides	High - theming, variables, overrides
Design System	Includes a theme system	Strong consistency with a wide range of UI patterns
Responsiveness	Responsive via style props	Built-in responsive grid system
File Size	Medium due to Emotion and runtime styles	Large compared to lightweight frameworks
Learning Curve	Low to medium	Moderate (more components & options to learn)
Pricing	Free and open-source	Free and open-source
Best For	SaaS apps, dashboards, accessible UIs	Complex apps, dashboards, enterprise UIs
Styling Method	Emotion (CSS-in-JS), style props	Sass, CSS classes, theming
Accessibility	Accessibility built-in	Decent but not fully WCAG-first
Dark Mode	Built-in toggle support	Manual implementation
Framework	React	Works with HTML/CSS/JS (integrations available)
Bundle Size	Medium to large	Large if full library is included

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 Fomantic-UI

Teams migrating from Semantic UI: Seamless replacement with updates and support.
Enterprise Web Apps: Strong theming and responsive layout capabilities.
Prototypes: Quickly build UI with semantic classes.
Admin Dashboards: Ready-to-use components and JS behaviors.
Apps Requiring Complex UI: Dropdowns, modals, tabs, accordions built in.

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.

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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.

What is the difference between Semantic UI and Fomantic-UI?

Fomantic-UI is a community-driven fork of Semantic UI. While Semantic UI is no longer actively maintained, Fomantic continues development with updates and improvements.

Does Fomantic-UI need JavaScript?

Yes, for interactive components like modals, accordions, dropdowns, and tabs. It relies on jQuery for JavaScript behaviors.

Is Fomantic-UI beginner-friendly?

Yes, especially for developers who like readable class names for example, ui button. But it may take some time to adjust if you’re coming from Bootstrap or Tailwind.

Can I use Fomantic-UI with React or Vue?

Yes, but since it depends on jQuery, you may need extra configuration or wrappers like Semantic UI React though it’s not fully tied to Fomantic updates.

Is Fomantic-UI still maintained?

Yes, the community is actively maintaining it with frequent updates and bug fixes, unlike the original Semantic UI.