qodesign vs Base UI
Base UI is a free, unstyled React library from the people behind Radix, Floating UI and Material UI. It gives you accessible behaviour and leaves the look to you. qodesign sells finished, animated pieces you paste into a Next.js + Tailwind app.
| qodesign | Base UI | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3 each (one dashboard $9), or $29 once for all 16 paid | Free and open source (MIT). No paid plan is listed on base-ui.com |
| Free | 6 free components, 5 MIT with no email needed | Everything: the docs list 37 unstyled components, from Accordion and Combobox to Toast and Tooltip, all in one package |
| Size | 16 paid + 6 free components, more added as they ship | 37 components plus utilities such as mergeProps and useRender, with no styles shipped |
| What's in a download | React + Tailwind (TSX), PROMPT.md, HTML file | See their site |
| Licence | Personal, commercial and client projects; no reselling the source | MIT for the library (GitHub) |
| Stack | React + TypeScript, Tailwind (most also use Framer Motion), HTML version included | React, installed as one tree-shakable package (@base-ui/react, version 1.9.0 on the docs). You bring the styles, with Tailwind CSS or plain CSS. The docs have an llms.txt and a Working with LLMs section |
| Best for | One memorable animated moment in your app (login, checkout, nav, dashboard) | Teams building their own design system who want accessible behaviour (focus, keyboard, ARIA) and full control of the look |
Which one to pick
- Pick Base UI if
- Pick Base UI when you are building your own components and want solid accessible primitives (dialogs, menus, comboboxes) without anyone's styling on top. It's free and it does that job well.
- Pick qodesign if
- Pick qodesign when you want the motion already done: a login, tab bar or checkout that looks finished, with a PROMPT.md so Cursor or v0 can wire it into your app. You can still use Base UI underneath for plain form controls.
qodesign pieces to look at first
Related reading: How to choose a React + Tailwind component library in 2026