Material Icons vs Lucide Icons (2026)

Material 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.

Lucide Icons uses the ISC License, which is functionally equivalent to the MIT License but written in simpler language. You are free to use it in commercial projects, modify icons, and redistribute without restriction. The only condition is preserving the copyright notice.

import HomeIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Home'
import HomeOutlinedIcon from '@mui/icons-material/HomeOutlined'
import SearchIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Search'
import DeleteIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Delete'

// ✅ Path imports — up to 6x faster in dev than barrel imports
// ❌ Avoid: import { HomeIcon } from '@mui/icons-material'

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* Filled — bold, solid, for primary actions */}
      <HomeIcon />

      {/* Outlined — minimal stroke-style, for supporting UI */}
      <HomeOutlinedIcon />

      {/* Sizing via fontSize prop */}
      <SearchIcon fontSize="small" />   {/* 20px */}
      <SearchIcon fontSize="medium" />  {/* 24px default */}
      <SearchIcon fontSize="large" />   {/* 35px */}
      <SearchIcon sx={{ fontSize: 48 }} />

      {/* Color via MUI theme tokens or custom hex */}
      <DeleteIcon color="error" />
      <DeleteIcon sx={{ color: '#6366f1' }} />
    </div>
  )
}

import { Home } from 'lucide-react'

export default function App() {
  return <Home size={24} />
}

Which is better: Material Icons or Lucide Icons?

Choosing between Material Icons and Lucide Icons depends entirely on your project's technical requirements and design aesthetic. Material Icons provides 2,100 icons and is notable for 5 style variants per icon — filled, outlined, rounded, sharp, twotone from one package, while Lucide Icons offers 1,960 icons and is best known for actively maintained.

Are Material Icons and Lucide Icons completely free to use?

Yes. Both libraries are highly permissive open-source projects. Material Icons is licensed under MIT, and Lucide Icons is licensed under ISC. Both licenses permit free commercial usage, modification, and redistribution in both personal and enterprise projects.

Do these libraries support TypeScript natively?

Yes, Material Icons includes excellent built-in TypeScript definitions. Similarly, Lucide Icons offers robust native TypeScript support for an improved developer experience.

npm install @mui/icons-material @mui/material @emotion/styled @emotion/react

npm install lucide-react