Got a React app that’s growing fast and your props chain is getting out of hand? Time to pick a proper state manager.

Below we compare Redux, Zustand, Recoil, and Jotai across 12 key points so you can see which one clicks with your style.

1. Learning Curve

• Redux has more concepts (actions, reducers, middleware) so it feels steeper.
• Zustand is almost zero‑config: just create a store function and go.
• Recoil sits in the middle: atoms & selectors are new but intuitive.
• Jotai is super minimal, just atoms, so you onboard fast.

2. Boilerplate

• Redux: slices, thunks, action creators.
• Zustand: a few lines, no ceremony.
• Recoil: you declare atoms & selectors, leaner than Redux but some setup.
• Jotai: literally define atoms, that’s it.

3. DevTools

• Redux: industry standard, time travel & action logging.
• Zustand: simple plugin with state snapshots.
• Recoil: official DevTools to inspect atoms & dependencies.
• Jotai: community tools available, maturing fast.

4. Rendering Performance

• Redux global store can trigger extra rerenders without memoization.
• Zustand only rerenders components that use the changed slice.
• Recoil subscribes only to read atoms, minimizing updates.
• Jotai independent atoms avoid bulk re renders too.

5. Async Data

• Redux uses thunks/sagas, powerful but verbose.
• Zustand handles async inside store functions with ease.
• Recoil async selectors let you fetch declaratively.
• Jotai offers atomWithQuery/atomWithAsync for data fetching.

6. Server‑Side Rendering

• Redux: hydrate initial state on the server.
• Zustand: create a fresh store per request.
• Recoil: snapshot & restore atoms during SSR.
• Jotai: supports hydration via getInitialProps style APIs.

7. TypeScript

• Redux Toolkit: first class TS support for actions & slices.
• Zustand: good inference but complex nested types can be tricky.
• Recoil: types for atoms/selectors can get verbose.
• Jotai: minimal API keeps TS types simple.

8. Ecosystem & Plugins

• Redux: mature ecosystem with endless middleware.
• Zustand: growing community plugins for persistence, devtools, etc.
• Recoil: backed by Meta with official persistence & utilities.
• Jotai: modular atoms let you pick only what you need.

9. Debuggability

• Redux: unmatched logging & time travel.
• Zustand: basic logging via middleware.
• Recoil: visualize atom graphs in DevTools.
• Jotai: DIY logging or use community extensions.

10. Bundle Size

• Redux + Toolkit: ~70 KB gzipped.
• Zustand: ~2 KB gzipped.
• Recoil: ~10 KB gzipped.
• Jotai: ~1 KB gzipped.

11. Use‑Case Fit

• Redux: massive apps with complex flows.
• Zustand/Jotai: small to medium apps craving simplicity.
• Recoil: declarative derived state & concurrent React.
• Jotai: atomic graph style state, super modular.

12. Maturity & Adoption

• Redux: battle tested in countless production apps.
• Zustand & Jotai: rising stars used by modern startups.
• Recoil: backed by Meta, still evolving but reliable.

// Zustand quickstart example
import { create } from 'zustand'

const useStore = create(set => ({
  todos: [],
  addTodo: text  => set(s => ({ todos: [...s.todos, { id: Date.now(), text }] })),
  removeTodo: id => set(s => ({ todos: s.todos.filter(t => t.id !== id) })),
  fetchTodos: async () => {
    const res  = await fetch('/api/todos')
    const data = await res.json()
    set({ todos: data })
  }
}))

function TodoApp(){
  const { todos, addTodo, removeTodo, fetchTodos } = useStore()
  React.useEffect(() => { fetchTodos() }, [fetchTodos])
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>My Todos</h1>
      <ul>
        {todos.map(t => (
          <li key={t.id}>
            {t.text} <button onClick={() => removeTodo(t.id)}>x</button>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
      <button onClick={() => addTodo(prompt('New todo?'))}>
        Add Todo
      </button>
    </div>
  )
}

Hope that helps you pick the perfect state solution for your next React gig!