Top 9 Redux Alternatives for State Management in 2024-2025

Ever since websites turned to dynamic content, various Redux libraries and Redux alternatives have been employed to manage the state of websites. Alternatives to Redux are also gaining significant momentum in adoption for the new advancements they are bringing to the table. 

Dynamic websites require constant synchronization in the ‘state’ of the application, aka State management. Libraries like Redux help manage the ever-changing nature of the states in the front-end development of websites.

While Redux has been highly convenient for state management, it is rather complex. We have curated a list of popular Redux alternatives that can be used for the best results. But before we venture into these options, let’s examine what Redux is and its advantages. 

What Is Redux?

Redux is a trendy state management library amongst developers. It is a Predictable State Container for JS apps developed in 2015. It was introduced for easy debugging, faster reloading, and the support of many better developer tools. The library has another notable feature adopted from Facebook’s Flux: the predictability of mutations. The unidirectional data flow of its three components- Store, Action, and Reducers predicts mutations. 

In layman’s terms, when integrated into an application, the Redux library makes it debuggable, predictable, centralized, and flexible.

Features of Redux are as follows: 

• A single store that holds the state of an application
• Immutable state, thus ensuring the integrity of the state data
• Allows Developers to update according to requirements 
• Developers can track the update manually
• Convenient server-side rendering and advanced debugging options

Redux libraries have been used by big companies such as:

• Amazon, 
• Instagram, 
• Robinhood, 
• Hepsiburada
• Serwiz
• DoorDash
• Revolut
• Payhere
• Mollie

Why Consider Redux Alternatives?

Certain demerits to the Redux library keep developers on the lookout for better redux alternatives. These demerits include:

• Does not do well with static data.
• Follows a simple data flow from a single data source. This inhibits the smooth development of complex applications
• It provides only component-side rendering and no server-side rendering
• Redux requires a lot of boilerplate code, which is often time-consuming and difficult.

Top 9 Redux Alternatives For State Management

1. Jotai
2. Recoil
3. MobX
4. GraphQL
5. Flux
6. Zustand
7. React Context
8. Rematch
9. Valtio

Jotai

Jotai (‘State’ in Japanese) was conceived to solve extra re-render issues in React. As mentioned earlier, Redux has a re-render issue, which Jotai takes care of. It takes an atomic approach to global React state management and automatically optimizes the process based on atom dependency. It also removes the need for memoization and facilitates the use of declarative programming models.

Jotai comes with various utilities and extensions and can be scaled from a simple useState replacement to an enterprise TypeScript application with much higher development needs.

Notable features of Jotai: 

• It is a lightweight alternative that can manage both global and local states.
• Reduces boilerplate codes, which Redux extensively runs on, thus reducing the need to code.
• Automatic, Reactive re-renders to help synchronize with UI 
• Intuitive and supports asynchronous operations
• Seamless integration with React

However, there are a few limitations one incurs when working with Jotai 

Limitations of Jotai:

• It is relatively new, which means the ecosystem needs to mature
• It lacks many of the latest features that its competitors are offering
• Migration from other libraries like Redux and Recoil is unclear 

Bouns Read: React Best Practices 

Recoil

Recoil is a famous state management tool of React applications developed by Meta. Known for less code and appealing UI, Recoil promises reliability and efficiency. It is ideal for several interdependent components. Some of its notable features include: 

Features of Recoil:

• It runs on atom code, which automatically demands way less boilerplate code compared to its competitors
• It can be used for both global and local state management.
• In-built DevTools to examine and debug the application
• It is completely in sync with React and supports and integrates well with React’s Suspense.
• Recoil has built-in features such as Asynchronous selectors, Recoil Callback, and Atom Family.

Limitations of Recoil:

While Recoil has many advantages, one must not overlook its limitations: 

• It is almost 2 GB, making it a heavy tool compared to Redux.
• They are new to the state management ecosystem and need to be more mature regarding the evolution of management techniques.

MobX

MobX is another worthy alternative to Redux in state management. MobX uses transparent Reactive Functional Reactive programming, aka TRFP programming. In this type of programming, when any component changes, it automatically re-renders. Another advantage of MobX that developers commonly leverage is its event-trigger actions. Below are a few pointers that make MobX stand out amongst the alternatives for Redux.

Features of MobX:

• MobX has an observable state approach, i.e., it is opinionated and allows users to manage the app outside of its user interface. 
• The library uses more than one data storage for multiple activities.
• Compatible with several Server Side Rendering libraries(SSR)
• Do not need advanced technical skills to integrate and is simple enough to understand
• Allows domain reusability

Limitations of MobX:

Some demerits that need to be kept in mind include

• In MobX, debugging is a lot more complex.
• The state isn’t immutable in MobX
• The state in MobX is mutable, constantly updated with new values, and, therefore, “impure.”

GraphQL

While GraphQL is query language for Application Programming Interface(APIs), It sometimes acts as an alternative to Redux. It simplifies the volume of data fetched from servers for every query by centralization to manage data and allows the client to bring only the required data. 

Features of GraphQL:

Given below are notable features of GraphQL: 

• Graph QL has a hierarchical structure with a single endpoint.
• The language, when integrated, reduces over-fetching and boosts performance.
• Enables Real-time updates and dynamic client-specific querying 
• It has a rich ecosystem of libraries and tools 

Limitations of GraphQL:

While GraphQL has many advantages, it also has many disadvantages:

• It lacks security 
• Building a Graph SQL server is complex.
• Inefficient database queries of N+1 query problems can occur.
• Poor optimization of Graph QL queries can strain the server.

More than 2000+ companies, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, use GraphQL for development.

Flux

Next on the list is Flux, also referred to as the “mother” of Redux, which was developed by Meta to overcome the limitations of the MVC architecture pattern. It employs a unidirectional data flow, centralized control, and data security to keep your application organized and manageable. Given below are its popular features and limitations:

Features of Flux:

• The tool has a central dispatcher that receives user actions, which initiates a data flow.
• Views and React components are dynamically updated when changes occur.
• It is known for unidirectional, predictable data flow.
• A centralized dispatcher ensures uniformity and control.
• Easy debugging options.

Limitations of Flux:

• Demands tedious and elaborate code-writing
• The tools have a steep learning curve 
• It is not economical to develop small applications because of the high cost.

Zustand

Another excellent redux alternative is Zustand. It is a fast, convenient, and minimalist API, preferred for Redux-like functionality minus the Redux code bulk. Zustand can create an entire global state with four lines of code on its website.

Features of Zustand:

• Zustand uses hooks to integrate with React components.
• Delivering immutability makes it more efficient.
• Zustand has a digital store where the state is updated when there are component changes.
• Comes with Developer Tools for inspection and debugging.
• The library uses ReduxDevTools, which can be used even without React.

Limitations of Zustand:

Two demerits need to be kept in mind when working with Zustand.

• It is a smaller ecosystem than Redux, so there are fewer tools and smaller libraries.
• It may not work well for more extensive applications.

Hotjar, RippleAI, Boligmappa, MVST, Engineering Team, and Tacto are a few companies that employ Zustand as a part of their tech stack.

React Context

React Context is a state management tool that is integrated into React straightaway. It conveniently accesses and passes down data across multiple components. It caters to prop drilling issues conveniently and even eliminates the need for prop drilling in certain places. React Context is based on the provider-consumer model, enhancing reusability and data accessibility. 

Features of React Context:

Given below are various features of React Context which are leveraged by React Context : 

• Simplifies state management by allowing access to data amongst various components, bypassing intermediaries, and simplifying code.
• Developers can define global state variables available to all components in the context. This avoids raising the state to a common ancestor component or relying on external libraries for state management.
• The toolset also ensures that components can be reused. It does so by decoupling components from specific data sources and making them available per the developers’ requirements.

Limitations of React Context:

Its demerits include:

• Can trigger multiple renders
• Fails to pass data between sibling components outside of the React Tree

Rematch

Rematch is a new version of Redux itself and thus makes it to our list of top redux alternatives automatically. Rematch is fundamentally Redux 2.0 with fewer code requirements and more features. It is equipped with the intuitive “Automatic IntelliSense,” a model-based approach to state management. 

Features of Rematch:

Some notable features of Rematch include:

• Lightweight, simple setup of only 2KB
• It is not framework-dependent, as it works on React, Vue, Angular, or any browser
• Supports plugins such as Persist and Loading
• Simple integrations and require almost no configuration

Limitations of Rematch:

However, there are a few cons to rematching that one must remember when choosing the state management tool; these are: 

• Built on the Redux concepts, this may prove complex for a beginner
• Not ideal for large applications

Valtio

Another popular state management tool, Valtio, is creating quite a stir in the developed tech stock markets. Valtio is simpler than Redux, Jotai, and Zustand combined. Its proxy pattern for JS script is unique and brings a lot of advantages for the developers. Valtio is also preferred for its lightweight interface, agility, and flexibility.

Features of Valtio:

Given are the features of the tool: 

• Has localized per component basis for rendering
• Compatibility with Node.js, React with hooks, and stand-alone without React
• Supports and communicates with other ReactDev Tools

Limitations of Valtio:

Its demerits include: 

• It does not support a global state and is relatively localized
• Have limitations in terms of features
• Have fewer community-built tools and small community

Choosing the Right Redux Alternative in 2024

To sum up, the state management scene in web development is evolving, and in 2024, there will be a lot of interesting Redux alternatives available. Even while Redux has been the flagbearer of state management, developers are always looking for more effective and user-friendly redux alternatives.

The 9 redux alternatives that we have discussed in this debate provide a bright future for state administration. They all provide diverse use cases and developer preferences, each with its special features and benefits.

Web developers need to learn these new Redux alternatives as 2024 approaches, give them a try, and assess how well they meet the needs of their projects. In the end, the best option will rely on the particular requirements of the project and client. To understand Redux alternatives that can be used in a project, Book a consultation with OpenXcell.