# shadcn/ui, what it is and how websites use it.

A collection of copy-paste React components built on Radix UI and Tailwind CSS. It is not a traditional library: components are copied directly into your project, giving you full control over the code.

- **Status:** Modern. Rapidly growing popularity, de facto standard for Next.js projects.
- **Category:** [UI Libraries](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui)
- **First release:** 2023
- **License:** MIT
- **Official website:** https://ui.shadcn.com
- **Documentation:** https://ui.shadcn.com/docs
- **GitHub:** https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui
- **Page:** https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/shadcn-ui

## shadcn/ui on audited websites

1,303 of the 16,845 websites audited by be1st run shadcn/ui (7.7%). That ranks it #2 of the 25 technologies in UI Libraries we have seen in audits.

### Websites running shadcn/ui vs all websites

- **Web score:** 77 (all websites 72)
- **SEO:** 81 (all websites 79)
- **Security:** 67 (all websites 59)
- **Performance:** 78 (all websites 72)
- **AI Readiness:** 31 (all websites 31)

### Most used in UI Libraries

1. [Lucide](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/lucide): 12% (1,958)
2. [shadcn/ui](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/shadcn-ui): 7.7% (1,303)
3. [Radix UI](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/radix-ui): 6.6% (1,107)
4. [React Hook Form](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/react-hook-form): 5.6% (949)
5. [React Router](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/react-router): 5.0% (838)
6. [Redux](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/redux): 2.3% (386)
7. [TanStack Query](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/tanstack-query): 1.9% (324)
8. [Emotion](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/emotion): 1.9% (319)
9. [Three.js](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/three-js): 1.7% (285)
10. [Styled Components](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/styled-components): 1.5% (258)

We don't track the release history of shadcn/ui yet. Its releases are published on GitHub. https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/releases

## Google searches for “shadcn ui”

About 165,000 searches a month worldwide (Google Ads estimate). The bars show the 12 months from Oct 2025 to Sep 2026.

- 2025-10: 201,000
- 2025-11: 201,000
- 2025-12: 165,000
- 2026-01: 201,000
- 2026-02: 165,000
- 2026-03: 201,000
- 2026-04: 165,000
- 2026-05: 165,000
- 2026-06: 165,000
- 2026-07: 165,000
- 2026-08: 135,000
- 2026-09: 135,000

Open in search trends: https://be1st.ai/analytics/trends?kw=shadcn%20ui&direction=all

## Other technologies in UI Libraries

- [Chart.js](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/chart-js): 1.4% of websites
- [Zod](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/zod): 1.3% of websites
- [MUI (Material UI)](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/mui): 1.2% of websites
- [Zustand](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/zustand): <1% of websites
- [DaisyUI](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/daisyui): <1% of websites
- [Chakra UI](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/chakra-ui): <1% of websites
- [Headless UI](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/headless-ui): <1% of websites
- [Framer Motion](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/framer-motion): <1% of websites
- [Ant Design](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/ant-design): <1% of websites
- [Mantine](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/mantine): <1% of websites
- [Recharts](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/recharts): <1% of websites
- [D3.js](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui/d3-js): <1% of websites

[All 28 in UI Libraries](https://be1st.ai/technologies/ui)

## Questions about shadcn/ui

### What is shadcn/ui?

A collection of copy-paste React components built on Radix UI and Tailwind CSS. It is not a traditional library: components are copied directly into your project, giving you full control over the code. The be1st catalog lists shadcn/ui under UI Libraries. License of shadcn/ui: MIT.

### How many websites use shadcn/ui?

1,303 of the 16,845 websites audited by be1st run shadcn/ui (7.7%), as of 8 Nov 2026.

### When was shadcn/ui first released?

shadcn/ui was first released in 2023.

### Is shadcn/ui still a modern choice?

Yes. shadcn/ui counts as a modern technology. Rapidly growing popularity, de facto standard for Next.js projects.

### What are the alternatives to shadcn/ui?

Technologies that do the same job as shadcn/ui include MUI (Material UI), DaisyUI, Chakra UI, Mantine, and NextUI.

Numbers: latest audit of each of 16,845 websites audited by be1st, as of 8 Nov 2026.