Zustand vs Redux vs Jotai: React State Management Compared in 2026

State management in React has evolved dramatically. Redux dominated for years, but simpler alternatives like Zustand and Jotai have changed the conversation. Which should you choose in 2026?

Quick Comparison

Feature	Redux Toolkit	Zustand	Jotai
Bundle Size	~11KB	~3KB	~3KB
Boilerplate	Medium	Low	Very Low
DevTools	Excellent	Good	Good
Learning Curve	Steep	Gentle	Gentle
Architecture	Flux/Single Store	Single Store	Atomic

Zustand: The Minimalist Choice

Zustand (German for "state") has become the most popular Redux alternative. It's tiny, unopinionated, and requires almost no boilerplate.

Why Developers Love Zustand

Zero Boilerplate: Create a store in 10 lines of code.

No Providers: Unlike Context or Redux, no need to wrap your app in providers.

TypeScript-First: Excellent type inference without manual typing.

Hook-Based: Feels native to React's hook patterns.

Zustand Example

import { create } from 'zustand';

interface BearStore {
  bears: number;
  increasePopulation: () => void;
  removeAllBears: () => void;
}

const useBearStore = create<BearStore>((set) => ({
  bears: 0,
  increasePopulation: () => set((state) => ({ bears: state.bears + 1 })),
  removeAllBears: () => set({ bears: 0 }),
}));

// Usage in component
function BearCounter() {
  const bears = useBearStore((state) => state.bears);
  return <h1>{bears} bears around here...</h1>;
}

function Controls() {
  const increasePopulation = useBearStore((state) => state.increasePopulation);
  return <button onClick={increasePopulation}>Add bear</button>;
}

Zustand with Async Actions

const useStore = create<Store>((set, get) => ({
  users: [],
  loading: false,
  
  fetchUsers: async () => {
    set({ loading: true });
    const users = await api.getUsers();
    set({ users, loading: false });
  },
}));

Zustand Middleware

import { devtools, persist } from 'zustand/middleware';

const useStore = create<Store>()(
  devtools(
    persist(
      (set) => ({
        // your store
      }),
      { name: 'bear-storage' }
    )
  )
);

Redux Toolkit: The Enterprise Standard

Redux Toolkit (RTK) modernized Redux, eliminating much of the boilerplate that made Redux infamous. It remains the choice for large, complex applications.

Redux Toolkit Strengths

Structured Architecture: Clear patterns for organizing large applications.

RTK Query: Built-in data fetching and caching—no separate library needed.

DevTools: Best-in-class debugging with time travel.

Enterprise Adoption: More teams know Redux, easier hiring.

Redux Toolkit Example

import { createSlice, configureStore } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';

const bearSlice = createSlice({
  name: 'bears',
  initialState: { value: 0 },
  reducers: {
    increasePopulation: (state) => { state.value += 1; },
    removeAllBears: (state) => { state.value = 0; },
  },
});

export const { increasePopulation, removeAllBears } = bearSlice.actions;

const store = configureStore({
  reducer: { bears: bearSlice.reducer },
});

// Usage requires Provider setup and useSelector/useDispatch
function BearCounter() {
  const bears = useSelector((state) => state.bears.value);
  const dispatch = useDispatch();
  return (
    <>
      <h1>{bears} bears</h1>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch(increasePopulation())}>Add</button>
    </>
  );
}

RTK Query for Data Fetching

import { createApi, fetchBaseQuery } from '@reduxjs/toolkit/query/react';

const api = createApi({
  baseQuery: fetchBaseQuery({ baseUrl: '/api' }),
  endpoints: (builder) => ({
    getUsers: builder.query({ query: () => 'users' }),
    addUser: builder.mutation({ 
      query: (user) => ({ url: 'users', method: 'POST', body: user }) 
    }),
  }),
});

export const { useGetUsersQuery, useAddUserMutation } = api;

Jotai: The Atomic Approach

Jotai takes a fundamentally different approach—instead of one store, you create individual atoms of state that compose together.

Jotai Philosophy

Atoms Are Primitive: Each piece of state is an independent atom.

Derived State: Create atoms that depend on other atoms.

No Providers (Usually): Works without wrapping your app.

React-Centric: Feels like useState that works across components.

Jotai Example

import { atom, useAtom, useAtomValue, useSetAtom } from 'jotai';

// Primitive atoms
const bearsAtom = atom(0);
const hungerAtom = atom(5);

// Derived atom
const hungryBearsAtom = atom((get) => 
  get(bearsAtom) > 0 && get(hungerAtom) > 7
);

// Usage
function BearCounter() {
  const [bears, setBears] = useAtom(bearsAtom);
  return (
    <>
      <h1>{bears} bears</h1>
      <button onClick={() => setBears(b => b + 1)}>Add bear</button>
    </>
  );
}

function HungerStatus() {
  const areBearsHungry = useAtomValue(hungryBearsAtom);
  return <div>{areBearsHungry ? 'Feed the bears!' : 'Bears are content'}</div>;
}

Jotai with Async

const usersAtom = atom(async () => {
  const response = await fetch('/api/users');
  return response.json();
});

function UserList() {
  const users = useAtomValue(usersAtom);
  return users.map(user => <div key={user.id}>{user.name}</div>);
}

When to Use Each

Choose Zustand If:

• You want minimal boilerplate
• Your app has straightforward state needs
• You prefer a single-store mental model
• You value simplicity over structure

Choose Redux Toolkit If:

• You're building a large enterprise application
• Your team already knows Redux
• You need advanced debugging capabilities
• You want built-in data fetching (RTK Query)

Choose Jotai If:

• You have lots of independent, composable state
• You prefer useState-like ergonomics
• You're building a component library
• You want fine-grained reactivity

Performance Comparison

All three are performant for typical applications. Differences emerge at scale:

Zustand: Selector-based—components only re-render when their selected state changes.

Redux: Same selector-based approach with optimized equality checks.

Jotai: Atom-based—components subscribe to specific atoms, enabling very fine-grained updates.

Migration Paths

Redux → Zustand

// Redux slice
const counterSlice = createSlice({
  name: 'counter',
  initialState: { value: 0 },
  reducers: { increment: (state) => { state.value += 1; } },
});

// Equivalent Zustand
const useCounterStore = create((set) => ({
  value: 0,
  increment: () => set((state) => ({ value: state.value + 1 })),
}));

Zustand → Jotai

// Zustand store
const useStore = create((set) => ({
  count: 0,
  name: '',
  increment: () => set((s) => ({ count: s.count + 1 })),
}));

// Equivalent Jotai
const countAtom = atom(0);
const nameAtom = atom('');
const incrementAtom = atom(null, (get, set) => {
  set(countAtom, get(countAtom) + 1);
});

Conclusion

For most new projects in 2026, Zustand is the pragmatic default. It's simple enough for small projects and scales well to medium-sized applications.

Redux Toolkit remains the best choice for large teams and complex enterprise applications where structure and tooling matter more than simplicity.

Jotai shines when you need atomic, composable state—think complex forms, real-time editors, or applications with many independent state pieces.

Start with Zustand, move to Redux Toolkit when you need more structure, and consider Jotai for specific use cases where atomic state is a natural fit.