qodesign vs shadcn/ui
shadcn/ui is the free, MIT licensed set of accessible React components that you copy into your project with its CLI, built with TypeScript, Tailwind CSS and Radix UI. qodesign sells a small set of finished, animated screens for Next.js + Tailwind, each with a PROMPT.md for your AI editor, and the free pieces install with the same shadcn CLI.
| qodesign | shadcn/ui | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3 each (one dashboard $9), or $29 once for all 16 paid | Free. Its blocks page says "Open Source. Free forever." |
| Free | 6 free components, 5 MIT with no email needed | Everything: all components, blocks and charts |
| Size | 16 paid + 6 free components, more added as they ship | A full set of everyday components (buttons, dialogs, forms, tables, sidebar and more), plus blocks such as dashboards and login pages, charts, and AI chat elements |
| 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 (GitHub) |
| Stack | React + TypeScript, Tailwind (most also use Framer Motion), HTML version included | Accessible components built with TypeScript, Tailwind CSS and Radix UI primitives. You add them with its CLI and the code lands in your project, so you own and edit it. It works with Next.js, Vite, Remix, Astro and more, and has a registry system so others can publish code for the same CLI. It ships an llms.txt and skills for AI assistants |
| Best for | One memorable animated moment in your app (login, checkout, nav, dashboard) | The base layer of a Next.js or React app: the plain, accessible building blocks you style yourself |
Which one to pick
- Pick shadcn/ui if
- Pick shadcn/ui for the base of your app: buttons, forms, dialogs, tables and a sidebar that are accessible, free and yours to edit. Most Next.js projects built with Cursor, v0 or Lovable start here, and you should too.
- Pick qodesign if
- Pick qodesign when a screen needs to feel finished, like an animated login, tab bar or checkout, and you don't want to design the motion yourself. The pieces sit on top of a shadcn/ui project, and each comes as TSX + HTML with a PROMPT.md for Cursor, v0 or Lovable.
qodesign pieces to look at first
Related reading: How to choose a React + Tailwind component library in 2026