Material Icons vs React 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.

React 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.

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 { FaHome } from 'react-icons/fa'
import { MdSettings } from 'react-icons/md'
import { HiUser } from 'react-icons/hi'

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <FaHome size={24} />
      <MdSettings size={24} />
      <HiUser size={24} />
    </div>
  )
}

Which is better: Material Icons or React Icons?

Choosing between Material Icons and React 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 React Icons offers 52,000 icons and is best known for one package replaces 25+ separate installs.

Are Material Icons and React Icons completely free to use?

Yes. Both libraries are highly permissive open-source projects. Material Icons is licensed under MIT, and React 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, Material Icons includes excellent built-in TypeScript definitions. Similarly, React Icons offers robust native TypeScript support for an improved developer experience.

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

npm install react-icons