Material UI review
A free Material Design component library for React, with paid MUI X tiers.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Material UI gives React developers a set of ready-to-use components for building web application interfaces in Google’s Material Design. Its core library is open source and MIT-licensed, with 40+ components including buttons, text fields, tables, alerts, and tooltips. The library is aimed at teams that want a component foundation they can adapt to their product’s visual identity, rather than a framework-agnostic UI kit. TypeScript support, server-side rendering, and web-responsive styling are part of its toolkit. It is a fit for React projects across solo, small, mid-market, and enterprise teams that are comfortable working within the React ecosystem.
The core library is free; the listed annual per-developer prices apply to MUI X commercial plans, not Material UI itself. Pro costs $299 per developer per year and includes MUI X Pro access, Pro support, and 10+ Pro features. Premium costs $599 per developer per year and includes MUI X Premium access, Premium support, and 5+ Premium features. Enterprise costs $1,399 per developer per year, with priority support, a multi-app license, and technical support for all libraries. This makes the commercial tiers relevant to buyers seeking MUI X capabilities or paid support, while teams using only the core component library can stay on the free plan.
The component-and-theming approach is the main reason to choose Material UI: design tokens and brand styles can customize components, while standalone components inject the styles they need. CSS utilities and responsive breakpoint styling support web layouts, and a React media-query hook is available for responsive behavior. The scope is deliberately React and web-focused, so teams seeking components for a different framework or a non-web platform should look elsewhere. Choose it when Material Design components and React fit the project; consider alternatives if framework flexibility is a priority.
Material UI pros and cons
- Where it wins
- 40+ free, MIT-licensed Material Design components
- Theming, responsive CSS utilities, and a React media-query hook
- TypeScript support and server-side rendering support
- Where it doesn't
- Material UI core is limited to web applications
- MUI X Pro starts at $299 per developer per year
- Advanced MUI X features and support require paid plans
Material UI fact sheet, pricing and score →
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