Heroicons vs Bootstrap Icons (2026)
When building modern web applications, choosing the right icon library can significantly impact both your application's aesthetic and its performance. In this comprehensive comparison, we pit Heroicons against Bootstrap Icons to help you make an informed decision for your React, Next.js, Vue, or Svelte project.
Together, these libraries represent some of the most popular open-source UI assets available today. Heroicons boasts an impressive 324 icons (licensed under MIT), while Bootstrap Icons counters with 2,078 highly-polished icons (licensed under MIT).
Below, we dive into the technical details: bundle size impacts, tree-shaking capabilities, TypeScript support, explicit commercial licensing rules, and real-world implementation examples.
TECHNICAL FEATURE COMPARISON
When comparing Heroicons and Bootstrap Icons, developer experience features like TypeScript definitions and tree-shaking support are just as important as the icon count. Review the matrix below to see how they stack up.
DESIGN AESTHETICS & VISUAL STYLE
Beyond the code, the visual identity of your application is heavily influenced by your choice of iconography. Heroicons primarily features a outline aesthetic, whereas Bootstrap Icons leans toward a outline look.
Heroicons is designed with strict geometric rules and a consistent grid, ensuring that all 324 icons share the same visual weight. This makes it particularly well-suited for professional dashboards, enterprise SaaS products, and minimal user interfaces.
On the other hand, Bootstrap Icons offers a more distinct personality. With its 2,078 carefully crafted icons, it can bring warmth and character to consumer-facing mobile apps, marketing websites, and creative portfolios.
LICENSING & COMMERCIAL USE DEEP-DIVE
Legal compliance is critical when selecting assets for a commercial software project. Understanding the nuances between the MIT license used by Heroicons and the MIT license used by Bootstrap Icons will ensure your project remains risk-free.
Heroicons uses the MIT License — one of the most permissive open-source licenses. You can use it in any commercial project, modify the icons, and redistribute them freely. The only requirement is preserving the copyright notice in copies of the software.
Bootstrap Icons uses the MIT License — one of the most permissive open-source licenses. You can use it in any commercial project, modify the icons, and redistribute them freely. The only requirement is preserving the copyright notice in copies of the software.
PERFORMANCE & BUNDLE SIZE
Modern front-end frameworks like React and Next.js heavily penalize large JavaScript bundles. This makes tree-shaking—the ability of a bundler to remove unused code—a crucial factor when choosing between Heroicons and Bootstrap Icons.
- Heroicons Performance: Because Heroicons supports tree-shaking, importing a single icon will only add a tiny fraction of a kilobyte to your final bundle. You can safely install the entire package without performance concerns.
- Bootstrap Icons Performance: Conversely, Bootstrap Icons lacks complete tree-shaking support. To maintain high performance, consider importing individual SVG files directly rather than using the main package export.
REACT IMPORT SYNTAX & INTEGRATION
Here is how you actually write the code to import and use each library in a React or Next.js component. Both libraries offer distinct APIs and integration patterns.
import { HomeIcon } from '@heroicons/react/24/outline'
export default function App() {
return <HomeIcon className='h-6 w-6' />
}import 'bootstrap-icons/font/bootstrap-icons.css'
export default function App() {
return <i className='bi bi-house'></i>
}FINAL VERDICT: WHICH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Still undecided? Here is our definitive breakdown of when to use Heroicons versus when to opt for Bootstrap Icons.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Which is better: Heroicons or Bootstrap Icons?
Choosing between Heroicons and Bootstrap Icons depends entirely on your project's technical requirements and design aesthetic. Heroicons provides 324 icons and is notable for made by tailwind team, while Bootstrap Icons offers 2,078 icons and is best known for 1800+ icons.
Are Heroicons and Bootstrap Icons completely free to use?
Yes. Both libraries are highly permissive open-source projects. Heroicons is licensed under MIT, and Bootstrap Icons is licensed under MIT. Both licenses permit free commercial usage, modification, and redistribution in both personal and enterprise projects.
Do these libraries support TypeScript natively?
Yes, Heroicons includes excellent built-in TypeScript definitions. Meanwhile, Bootstrap Icons also lacks strict built-in TypeScript support.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
- Need a library with 324 icons and outline/solid/mini style options
- Want tree-shakable imports to keep bundles small
- Require first-class TypeScript support in your codebase
- Are building with react, vue, nextjs
- Need a Figma plugin for designer-developer handoff
- Need a library with 2,078 icons and outline/filled style options
- Prioritize icon variety over bundle optimization
- Are working with a JavaScript-only project
- Are building with react, vue, nextjs
- Need a Figma plugin for designer-developer handoff
Still unsure? Try our interactive quiz to get a personalized recommendation, or search 350,000+ icons from both libraries side by side. You can also check our live stats dashboard for real-time download and GitHub star trends.
NPM INSTALLATION COMMANDS
npm install @heroicons/react
npm install bootstrap-icons