shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Headless UI?

Completely unstyled, fully accessible UI components, designed to integrate beautifully with Tailwind CSS. - headlessui.com

Worth it. Tailwind CSS developers should adopt it — free, accessible, and built by the Tailwind Labs team. Skip it if you want pre-styled components or don't write Tailwind.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 40+ public sources; many were low-quality directory listings or unrelated pages, so confidence is moderate.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityOpen source; no support SLA evidence
  • Security postureNo findings found; no security page listed

Pricing

$0

Open source

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Tailwind CSS projects
  • Teams needing accessibility baked in
  • Designers with custom design systems
  • React or Vue developers

Not for

  • Anyone wanting pre-styled, ready-made components
  • Teams not invested in Tailwind workflows
  • No-code or non-developer buyers
  • Projects needing many components out of the box

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Unstyled means hours of design and CSS work per component before it looks finished.

medium

Only core primitives; you'll need a second library for tables or complex forms.

low

No official security page found — vet it yourself before production use.

low

Framework coverage uneven: official React and Vue only; Svelte relies on a community port.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Fully accessible components with keyboard and ARIA support baked in
  • Completely free and open source
  • Built by Tailwind Labs, the Tailwind CSS creators
  • Works for both React and Vue
  • Unstyled, so it fits any custom design system

Cons

  • Zero styling included — every component needs custom design work
  • Small component set; Ark UI alone ships 45+
  • Optimized for Tailwind; less turnkey in other CSS setups
  • Svelte support is community-made, not official

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 11 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x3review x6security x1news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free and open source, no paid tiers
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Unstyled: you write every style yourself
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Core primitives only; rivals offer 45+ components
  • Support quality. Open source; no support SLA evidence
  • Security posture. No findings found; no security page listed
  • $0 Price Open source, no paid tiers
  • Yes Free tier Entire library is free
  • Oct 2020 First released By Tailwind Labs
  • React + Vue Frameworks Community Svelte port exists

Pricing

Open source

$0

  • Free for all use
  • React and Vue support
  • No paid tiers or usage limits

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Developer chatter praises Headless UI's accessibility and Tailwind fit, with some teams debating whether unstyled components slow delivery.

“I feel like we could speed up development”
Reddit, r/vuejs
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources; many were low-quality directory listings or unrelated pages, so confidence is moderate.

Free, accessible unstyled components from the Tailwind team. Great if you design in Tailwind; a time sink if you want ready-made UI.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources; many were low-quality directory listings or unrelated pages, so confidence is moderate.

Sources

  1. Headless UI - official siteheadlessui.com
    official
  2. Headless UI GitHub repositorygithub.com
    official
  3. Headless UI announcement - Tailwind CSS blogtailwindcss.com
    official
  4. Headless UI security pageheadlessui.com
    security
  5. Ark UI - competitor comparisonark-ui.com
    review
  6. How to use Headless UI and daisyUI togetherdaisyui.com
    review
  7. Headless UI: a great components library for Vue & Reactdev.to
    review
  8. 7 Best Headless UI Libraries for Onboardingusertourkit.com
    review
  9. Reddit r/vuejs discussion on unstyled UI librariesreddit.com
    review
  10. Reddit r/sveltejs community Svelte port announcementreddit.com
    news
  11. Headless UI - Best of JSbestofjs.org
    review

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