Zustand, Recoil & Modern React State Management Libraries (2025 Guide)

Managing state in React apps can be challenging as your app grows.

While Redux and Context API are popular, there are modern lightweight alternatives that simplify state management:

Zustand – minimalistic and fast
Recoil – reactive state management for React
Other libraries – Jotai, Valtio, MobX

In this tutorial, we’ll explore these libraries, their benefits, and when to use each.

Zustand

Zustand is a small, fast, and scalable state management library.

Key Features:

Minimal boilerplate
Simple API (create a store)
Works with React Hooks
Optimized for performance with selective re-renders

Example: Counter Store

import create from "zustand";

const useStore = create((set) => ({
  count: 0,
  increment: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
  decrement: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count - 1 })),
}));

export default useStore;

Using the Store in Components

import React from "react";
import useStore from "./store";

function Counter() {
  const { count, increment, decrement } = useStore();
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Count: {count}</h2>
      <button onClick={increment}>+</button>
      <button onClick={decrement}>-</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Zustand allows direct access to state and actions without boilerplate.

Recoil

Recoil is a state management library by Facebook, designed specifically for React.

Key Features:

Atom-based state: each piece of state is independent
Selectors for derived/computed state
Fine-grained reactivity: only components using an atom re-render
Works well for large and complex React apps

Example: Atom and Selector

import { atom, selector, useRecoilState, RecoilRoot } from "recoil";

// Atom
const countState = atom({
  key: "countState",
  default: 0,
});

// Selector
const doubledCountState = selector({
  key: "doubledCountState",
  get: ({ get }) => get(countState) * 2,
});

Using Recoil in Component

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useRecoilState(countState);
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Count: {count}</h2>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>+</button>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count - 1)}>-</button>
    </div>
  );
}

// Wrap your app in RecoilRoot
function App() {
  return (
    <RecoilRoot>
      <Counter />
    </RecoilRoot>
  );
}

Recoil provides reactive state management, ideal for complex apps with shared state.

Other State Management Libraries

Library	Key Feature	When to Use
Jotai	Minimalistic atoms, simple API	Small to medium apps
Valtio	Proxy-based reactive state	Apps requiring fine-grained reactivity
MobX	Observable state, actions, computed values	Complex apps with real-time updates
Redux Toolkit	Structured Redux with less boilerplate	Medium to large apps needing predictable state

When to Use Each Library

Zustand: Small to medium apps, simple API, minimal boilerplate
Recoil: Medium to large apps, needs fine-grained reactive state
Redux/Redux Toolkit: Large apps, predictable state, DevTools support
Jotai/Valtio/MobX: Specialized needs or personal preference

Advantages of Modern State Libraries

Less boilerplate than traditional Redux
Better performance with selective re-renders
Simpler API with hooks
Easy scaling for complex React apps