How react-data-table-component compares

All five options on this page are solid, actively maintained choices. They differ in how much you assemble yourself, what ships free, and what ecosystem they assume. This page gives you the honest picture so you can pick the right tool, even if it is not this one.

The short version: react-data-table-component is a full component. You pass columns and data and get a styled, sortable, paginated table with selection, expandable rows, and theming. Nothing is gated behind a paid tier.

react-data-table-component vs TanStack Table

TanStack Table is headless: it manages table state (sorting, pagination, selection, expansion) and you write every piece of markup and CSS yourself. That is its superpower, total render control, and its cost, you build the UI.

Choose TanStack Table when:

  • You need pixel-level control over markup and styling
  • Your design system dictates exactly how tables must render
  • Bundle size is critical (~15 KB min+gzip)

Choose react-data-table-component when:

  • You want a working, styled table without building the UI layer
  • Sorting, pagination, and selection should come with their controls included
  • You want built-in themes and dark mode instead of writing CSS

react-data-table-component vs AG Grid

AG Grid Community is a full-featured data grid with sorting, pagination, selection, and built-in themes included free. It is the heavyweight option: ~338 KB min+gzip, with advanced features such as master/detail (expandable rows), pivoting, and the server-side row model reserved for the commercial AG Grid Enterprise license.

Choose AG Grid when:

  • You need enterprise grid features: pivoting, row grouping, Excel export, master/detail
  • You are rendering very large datasets and need built-in row virtualization
  • An Enterprise license is within budget for gated features

Choose react-data-table-component when:

  • You need a table, not a spreadsheet engine
  • Expandable rows should be free, not part of a paid tier
  • A ~35 KB footprint fits your app better than ~338 KB

react-data-table-component vs MUI X Data Grid

MUI X Data Grid is the natural choice inside a Material UI application. The Community version includes sorting, pagination, and selection, and it inherits your MUI theme. It requires the MUI ecosystem (@mui/material, @mui/system, Emotion) as peer dependencies, and features such as master/detail panels are part of the paid Pro tier.

Choose MUI X Data Grid when:

  • Your app is already built on Material UI
  • You want the grid to inherit your existing MUI theme automatically
  • Pro or Premium features fit your budget when you need them

Choose react-data-table-component when:

  • You want the Material look without adopting Material UI: the built-in material theme matches MUI’s table styling with zero @mui/material/Emotion dependency
  • You are already on Material UI but don’t want to add @mui/x-data-grid (and its Pro/Premium tier) for one component: the material theme gives you a matching table without the extra dependency
  • You want zero runtime dependencies
  • Expandable rows and theming should work out of the box, free

react-data-table-component vs Material UI Table

@mui/material’s plain Table (paired with TableHead, TableBody, TableRow, TableCell, TablePagination) is free and ships with core Material UI, no @mui/x-data-grid purchase or package required. It is the atomic option: the primitives are styled and theme-aware, but sorting, pagination, and selection are not implemented for you, you wire up the state and event handlers yourself, similar to TanStack Table but with Material markup instead of plain HTML.

Choose Material UI Table when:

  • You want Material-styled table primitives that you compose and control yourself
  • Your app is already on Material UI and the table is simple enough that hand-rolling sorting/pagination isn’t much work
  • You don’t need built-in sorting, pagination, or selection logic

Choose react-data-table-component when:

  • You want sorting, pagination, selection, and expandable rows working out of the box instead of hand-rolled
  • You want the Material look (via the built-in material theme) without requiring @mui/material + Emotion as dependencies
  • You want one component that can switch between multiple themes, not just Material

Feature comparison

TanStack Table AG Grid Community MUI X Data Grid Material UI Table react-data-table-component
Approach Headless Full data grid Full data grid Atomic primitives Full component
Styled table out of the box You build the UI ✓ ✓ ✓ (primitives only) ✓
Sorting, pagination & selection UI State only ✓ ✓ You build both ✓
Expandable row panels State only Enterprise tier Pro tier You build it ✓
Dark mode & themes Bring your own ✓ built-in Via MUI theme Via MUI theme 5 built-in, including a Material-matching theme
Requires a UI framework No No @mui/material + Emotion @mui/material + Emotion No
Row virtualization Via TanStack Virtual ✓ built-in ✓ built-in Manual ✗ (paginate instead)
Size (min+gzip) ~15 KB ~338 KB ~117 KB + MUI ~147 KB (MUI core) ~35 KB
Paid tiers None Enterprise Pro & Premium None None

Sizes measured via Bundlephobia, July 2026 (TanStack v8.21, AG Grid v36, MUI X v9.8, @mui/material v9.2).

Which should you choose?

  • Full render control, smallest bundle: TanStack Table
  • Spreadsheet-grade features and virtualized big data: AG Grid
  • Already on Material UI and need Pro/Premium features like master/detail: MUI X Data Grid
  • Already on Material UI, table is simple, and you don’t mind wiring up sorting/pagination yourself: Material UI Table
  • A fully-featured, production-ready table, including sorting, pagination, selection, expandable rows, and a Material-matching theme, with nothing gated behind a paid tier: react-data-table-component

See Getting Started to try it, or the live demo on the homepage.