Mantine vs. Fomantic-UI
By SW Habitation
Mantine
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 Mantine?
Mantine is a React component library with over 100 UI components and 50+ custom hooks, designed to help developers build modern, accessible, and performant UIs. It supports RTL layouts, dark mode, and complete theme customization, all while staying lightweight.
Mantine doesn’t force you into a predefined design system. You build your own style while enjoying great developer experience, full TypeScript support, and zero CSS-in-JS lock-in.
Key Features of Mantine
- 100+ Modular Components: Buttons, modals, tabs, date pickers, accordions, and more.
- 50+ Built-in Hooks: Clipboard, notifications, form validation, hotkeys, modals, etc.
- Full Theming System: Custom colors, fonts, spacing, radii, shadows, etc. with MantineProvider.
- Dark Mode & RTL Support: Native dark mode toggle and right-to-left support out of the box.
- Flexible Styling Options: Use Emotion, CSS Modules, or inline styles — your choice.
- Responsive Design: Built-in Grid and responsive props.
Advantages of Mantine
- Fast Development: Prebuilt components + hooks mean fewer extra dependencies.
- Design Freedom: No locked-in theme or design system — perfect for building your own brand UI.
- Dark Mode + RTL: Native support with easy toggles — no extra setup.
- Hook-Powered: Includes handy hooks like useClipboard, useHotkeys, useForm, etc.
- Lightweight: Optimized and tree-shakable — loads faster with a smaller bundle size.
- Fully Typed: Built with and for TypeScript — no need for custom typings.
Disadvantages of Mantine
- Smaller Community: Limited plugins, templates, and community resources compared to MUI or Bootstrap.
- No Predefined Design System: Offers full freedom but requires extra design effort for polished UIs.
- Still Evolving: Newer framework; some components may lack long-term maturity.
- Lacks Pro-Level Components: No built-in advanced elements like data grids or calendars.
- Low Enterprise Adoption Not yet common in large-scale corporate environments.
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 Mantine vs Fomantic-UI
Use Cases of Mantine
- Custom UIs with full design freedom
- Modern dashboards, admin panels
- Lightweight SaaS apps
- RTL and dark-mode web apps
- Startups and solo developers
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.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mantine production-ready?
Yes. Mantine is stable, actively maintained, and used in real-world production apps across various industries.
Does Mantine support dark mode and RTL?
Absolutely. Dark mode and right-to-left (RTL) layout support are built-in and easy to toggle with the theme.
Can I use Mantine without Emotion?
Mantine uses Emotion by default, but you can also style components using inline styles, CSS Modules, or even external CSS.
Does Mantine work with TypeScript?
Yes, Mantine is built with full TypeScript support, including auto-complete, prop types, and IDE hints.
How does Mantine compare to MUI or Chakra UI?
Mantine is more flexible with fewer design constraints. It offers built-in hooks and modern developer experience, while MUI and Chakra follow stricter design systems.
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.