Open Props vs. Chakra UI
By SW Habitation
Open Props
Chakra 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 Open Props?
Open Props is a modern CSS framework built entirely around CSS custom properties (variables). Instead of sending prebuilt UI components or heavy utility classes, it provides a set of reusable design tokens that you can apply anywhere. Think of it as a toolbox of modern CSS features rather than a ready-made UI kit.
It’s not a traditional framework like Bootstrap or Tailwind. Instead, it’s closer to a design system foundation—a library of variables for colors, typography, shadows, gradients, animations, spacing, and sizes. Developers can use these variables in raw CSS, Sass, or even combine them with other frameworks.
Because it’s framework-agnostic, Open Props works well with plain HTML, React, Vue, Angular, or even with utility-first libraries like Tailwind.
Key Features of Open Props
- Design Tokens Out-of-the-Box: Colors, gradients, fonts, shadows, borders, animations, spacing.
- Framework-Agnostic: Works with vanilla CSS, SCSS, PostCSS, Tailwind, or any frontend setup.
- Utility Classes (Optional): Comes with optional helpers like margin: var(--size-3).
- Theming Made Simple: Supports dark/light mode with just a few variable overrides.
- Modern CSS-Only: No JavaScript, only pure CSS properties.
- Lightweight by Design: Extremely small bundle size compared to component-heavy frameworks.
- CDN Ready: Drop in via a <link> or import with NPM.
Advantages of Open Props
- Flexible: Can be used standalone or alongside other CSS frameworks.
- Theming Support: Switch to dark mode or brand colors by redefining tokens.
- Beginner-Friendly: Easy for anyone who already knows CSS variables.
- Ultra Lightweight: Just variables, no unnecessary bloat.
- Encourages Best Practices: Pushes developers towards scalable, token-based design systems.
- Easy to Customize: Override props once to apply across your project.
Disadvantages of Open Props
- Small Community: Limited templates, examples, and resources compared to Bootstrap/Tailwind.
- Not Plug-and-Play: Great for design systems, but not ideal if you want instant UI.
- No Prebuilt Components: You’ll need to design buttons, modals, navbars yourself.
- Challenging Learning Curve for Beginners: Requires understanding of CSS variables and design tokens.
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.
Comparison Between Open Props vs Chakra UI
Use Cases of Open Props
- Developers who want flexibility without being tied to Tailwind/Bootstrap.
- Building custom design systems from scratch.
- Lightweight personal projects or portfolios.
- Teams that want theming and scalability at the token level.
- Adding modern CSS tokens to legacy projects.
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
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 Open Props a CSS framework like Bootstrap or Tailwind?
No, Open Props is not a framework. It’s a collection of CSS custom properties (design tokens).
Can I customize the values in Open Props?
Yes, Open Props variables can be overridden to fit your own design system.
Does Open Props make my CSS heavy?
No, Open Props is lightweight and you can import only the modules you need.
Does Open Props work with React, Vue, Next.js, etc.?
Yes, Open Props is framework-agnostic and works anywhere CSS works.
Is Open Props safe to use in production?
Yes, Open Props is stable, actively maintained, and widely used in real projects.
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.