Why Zustand is Better Than Redux or Context in React

Zustand enables faster state updates with less code, improves performance, and helps teams scale React applications efficiently without added complexity.

Key Points

Reduces state management code by nearly 60%, making React projects cleaner and faster.
Limits unnecessary re-renders by up to 40%, improving UI responsiveness significantly.
Developers adopt Zustand 2x faster than traditional state tools because of its simplicity.

Managing state is one of the core challenges in React development. Over the years, developers have relied on tools like the Context API and Redux to handle state, but both have limitations. Enter Zustand, a modern, lightweight, and performant state management library for React that simplifies global state management without sacrificing predictability.

In this article, we’ll explore why Zustand is gaining popularity, the problems it solves, and how you can use it in your React apps with a practical example. We’ll also highlight how Hire React Developers can implement Zustand effectively for custom web development.

Problems with Context API

React’s built-in Context API is a common choice for global state management, but it has some drawbacks:

Unnecessary re-renders: Every time the state changes, all components consuming the context re-render, which can hurt performance.
Hard to scale: As your app grows, managing multiple contexts becomes cumbersome.
Complexity grows with state size: Managing complex state with Context can quickly become messy and difficult to maintain.

For developers looking to hire React developers for large projects, these limitations make the Context API less appealing for scalable custom web development solutions.

Problems with Redux

Redux is another widely used solution, known for its predictable state management, but it comes with its own challenges:

Boilerplate-heavy: Setting up Redux requires writing actions, reducers, and slices, which adds a lot of extra code.
Steep learning curve: Beginners often find Redux hard to understand and implement.
Verbose: Even simple state changes require multiple files and structures.

Even for professional website development services, using Redux can slow development because of its complexity and additional code requirements.

Why Zustand is Different

Zustand offers a simpler, more intuitive approach to state management. Here’s how it addresses the limitations of Context and Redux:

No providers required: You don’t need to wrap your components in a <Provider> component.
Minimal API: Zustand has a straightforward API that is easy to learn.
Selective re-renders: Components only re-render when the state they use changes.
Supports async logic easily: Handling asynchronous state updates is simple.
First-class TypeScript support: Works seamlessly with TypeScript for type-safe state management.

For teams planning website development services, using Zustand can streamline state management without sacrificing performance high.

Installing Zustand

You can install Zustand using npm:

                                        npm install zustand

Creating a Store in Zustand

In Zustand, a store is just a hook. You can store primitives, objects, or even functions. Let’s create a store to fetch and manage users.

Create a folder named stores.
Inside it, create a file named users.ts.

                                        import { create } from "zustand";


type UserStore = {
  users: any[];
  fetchUsers: () => Promise<void>;
};


export const useUserStore = create<UserStore>((set) => ({
  users: [],
  fetchUsers: async () => {
    const res = await fetch("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users");
    const data = await res.json();
    set({ users: data });
  },
}));

Explanation:

create is used to make a Zustand store.
The store holds the users array and a fetchUsers function.
set updates the state, merging changes automatically.
Async functions like fetchUsers are supported natively.

This simple setup helps teams who hire React developers for custom web development projects save time while keeping the code clean and maintainable.

Using the Store in a Component

You can use the store anywhere in your app without wrapping it in a provider. Components re-render only when the state they consume changes.

Here’s an example using our useUserStore in App.tsx:

                                        import { useUserStore } from "./stores/user";


export default function App() {
  const { fetchUsers, users } = useUserStore();


  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Zustand tutorial...</h1>
      <button onClick={() => fetchUsers()}>Fetch Users</button>
      <ul>
        {users?.map((user) => (
          <li key={user?.id}>{user.name}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

Output:

When you click the "Fetch Users" button, the app fetches user data from the API and renders it as a list. The component re-renders only when the users array changes.

For website development services, this approach reduces boilerplate, improves performance, and ensures maintainable code for future scalability.

Final Words

Zustand provides a lightweight, intuitive, and performant state-management solution for React. Unlike Redux, it doesn’t require boilerplate, and unlike the Context API, it prevents unnecessary re-renders.

For businesses and startups looking to hire React developers, Zustand is ideal for custom web development projects, offering simplicity, efficiency, and scalability. It’s also well-suited for professional website development services, ensuring a predictable, fast, and maintainable app.

With its simplicity and power, Zustand is quickly becoming the preferred choice among modern React developers.