Comparing React Router and TanStack Router: A Comprehensive Guide to Routing Solutions in React

8 min readAug 26, 2024

Selecting the appropriate routing library is crucial for preserving scalability, flexibility, and performance while developing contemporary web applications. React Router has been the preferred choice for developers for a long time.

TanStack Router’s ascent, however, makes it worthwhile to reevaluate what each offers and the reasons TanStack Router might be a strong substitute. This post will contrast TanStack Router with React Router, look at their advantages, and discuss why TanStack Router can be a superior option for your upcoming project.

Overview of React Router

React Router is one of the most popular libraries for handling routing in React applications. It follows a declarative approach and integrates smoothly with React’s component-based architecture. React Router allows for dynamic routing, nested routes, and sophisticated route management, making it a versatile tool for most React applications.

Key Features of React Router:

Declarative Routing: Routes are described via JSX, enabling an easy-to-understand structure.
Nested Routes: Allows routes within routes, perfect for building complex UIs.
Dynamic Segments: Supports URL parameters, queries, and programmatic navigation.

React Router is tried and tested, making it a trusted option for developers. However, as applications grow in complexity, certain limitations in React Router’s design and flexibility become more evident.For more information on React Router, including its features, use cases, and detailed documentation, visit the React Router website.

Introduction to TanStack Router

TanStack Router, from the creators of TanStack Query (previously React Query), is a newer player in the routing space that introduces a different approach to handling routes. While it may not be as widely adopted as React Router yet, its advanced capabilities and flexibility are winning developers over.

Key features of TanStack Router:

Code-based and File-based Routing: TanStack Router offers the freedom of choosing between code-based routing (like React Router) and file-based routing, which is becoming more popular in modern frameworks like Next.js. This flexibility allows you to choose the best routing strategy based on your project’s requirements.
State Management Integration: TanStack Router’s strong integration with state management tools makes it a powerful option for applications requiring complex state transitions alongside routing. It works seamlessly with TanStack Query and other state libraries.
TypeScript-first Approach: With TypeScript becoming more dominant in React ecosystems, TanStack Router’s TypeScript-first design offers a more streamlined development experience. Type safety, auto-completion, and error checking are baked in, reducing bugs and enhancing development speed.
Fine-grained Control: TanStack Router gives you fine-grained control over route loading, transitions, and error handling. This allows for more predictable and optimized application behavior, especially for advanced use cases.

TanStack Router offers a modern and flexible approach to routing in React applications, addressing some of the limitations found in traditional routing libraries. Its design emphasizes code-based and file-based routing, providing developers with powerful and customizable routing solutions. For more information on TanStack Router, including its features, use cases, and detailed documentation, visit the TanStack Router website.

React Router vs TanStack Router: Key Differences:

Setting up React Router with JavaScript:

Step 1: Install React Router

First, you need to install the React Router package. In your terminal, navigate to your React project and run:

npm install react-router-dom

This command installs React Router DOM, the core library for routing in web-based React applications.

Step 2: Set Up Basic Components

Create two simple components, Home and About, to demonstrate navigation between different pages.

// src/components/Home.js
import React from 'react';
function Home() {
  return <h2>Home Page</h2>;
}
export default Home;

// src/components/About.js
import React from 'react';
function About() {
  return <h2>About Page</h2>;
}
export default About;

Step 3: Create the Main App Component

Now, in your main App.js file, import the components you just created along with the necessary functions from react-router-dom to enable routing.

// src/App.js
import React from 'react';
import { BrowserRouter as Router, Routes, Route, Link } from 'react-router-dom';
import Home from './components/Home';
import About from './components/About';
function App() {
  return (
    <Router>
      <div>
        <nav>
          <ul>
            <li>
              <Link to="/">Home</Link>
            </li>
            <li>
              <Link to="/about">About</Link>
            </li>
          </ul>
        </nav>
        {/* Route definitions */}
        <Routes>
          <Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
          <Route path="/about" element={<About />} />
        </Routes>
      </div>
    </Router>
  );
}
export default App;

Explanation

Router: Wraps your entire application, providing routing capabilities.
Link: Provides navigation to different routes without reloading the page. It renders as an <a> tag in HTML but handles client-side navigation.
Routes: A wrapper for all the route definitions. It ensures only the matching route is rendered.
Route: Each route defines a path and the component that should be rendered when the path matches the current URL.

Step 4: Run Your Application

After setting up your routes, you can start the development server.

npm start

Your application should open in the browser. Clicking the Home and About links will navigate between the pages without refreshing the page.

Setting Up TanStack Router with TypeScript:

Code-based Routing

Step 1: Install TanStack Router and TypeScript Types

In your terminal, navigate to your React project and run:

npm install @tanstack/react-router
npm install --save-dev @types/react

This installs TanStack Router and the necessary TypeScript types.

Step 2: Set Up Basic Components in TypeScript

Create two simple components, Home and About, using TypeScript.

// src/components/Home.tsx
import React from 'react';

const Home: React.FC = () => {
  return <h2>Home Page</h2>;
};

export default Home;

// src/components/About.tsx
import React from 'react';

const About: React.FC = () => {
  return <h2>About Page</h2>;
};

export default About;

Step 3: Create Route Configuration in TypeScript

Now, define the route configuration using TypeScript for type safety. You’ll define the routes and their respective components in the routes.ts file.

// src/routes.ts
import { createRouteConfig } from '@tanstack/react-router';
import Home from './components/Home';
import About from './components/About';

// Define the route configuration
export const routeConfig = createRouteConfig().createChildren((createRoute) => [
  createRoute({
    path: '/',
    element: <Home />,
  }),
  createRoute({
    path: '/about',
    element: <About />,
  }),
]);

Step 4: Create the Main App Component in TypeScript

In your App.tsx file, create the router using the route configuration and TypeScript's typing capabilities. Wrap your app with RouterProvider to enable routing.

// src/App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { RouterProvider, createReactRouter } from '@tanstack/react-router';
import { routeConfig } from './routes';

// Create the router using the route configuration
const router = createReactRouter({
  routeConfig,
});

const App: React.FC = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <nav>
        <ul>
          <li>
            <a href="/">Home</a>
          </li>
          <li>
            <a href="/about">About</a>
          </li>
        </ul>
      </nav>

      {/* Provide the router to the app */}
      <RouterProvider router={router} />
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

Explanation:

createRouteConfig: This function is used to define your application's routes, and it works well with TypeScript.
createReactRouter: This function takes the typed route configuration and creates the router instance, ensuring you have TypeScript safety across your routing setup.
RouterProvider: This component wraps the app to provide routing capabilities, and TypeScript will help ensure you're passing the correct types.

Step 6: Running the Application

After setting up your routes with TypeScript, start your development server:

npm start

Your app will now navigate between the Home and About pages using TypeScript type-checking for added safety.

Setting Up TanStack Router with TypeScript:

File-based Routing

Step 1: Install TanStack Router and TypeScript Types

In your terminal, install the required packages:

npm install @tanstack/react-router
npm install --save-dev @types/react

This installs the necessary libraries for routing and TypeScript type definitions.

Step 2: Create the File Structure for Routes

For file-based routing, we structure the routes based on the folder hierarchy. Let’s assume the following structure:

src/
│
├── routes/
│   ├── index.tsx
│   └── profile.tsx
│   └── __root.tsx
│
└── App.tsx

Step 3: Configure Routes Using TypeScript

Each file represents a route configuration, and you define the configuration by exporting the createFileRoute function. Here’s how you can define the routes:

// src/routes/index.ts
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router';


export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
  component: () => <div>Hello! this is home page!</div>
})

// src/routes/profile.ts
import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'

export const Route = createFileRoute('/profile')({
  component: () => <div>Hello!  This is profile page!</div>
})

Step 4: Combine Routes in a Route Configuration

In the main __root.tsx file, import the routes and create the route configuration.

//src/routes/__root.tsx
import { createRootRoute, Link, Outlet } from "@tanstack/react-router";

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  component: () => (
    <>
      <div className="bg-blue-500 text-white py-4 px-6 font-bold text-xl">
        My Application
      </div>

      <nav className="bg-gray-100 shadow-md">
        <ul className="flex justify-center gap-6 p-4">
          <li>
            <Link
              to="/"
              className="text-gray-800 hover:text-blue-500 transition-colors duration-300 font-semibold"
            >
              Home
            </Link>
          </li>
          <li>
            <Link
              to="/profile"
              className="text-gray-800 hover:text-blue-500 transition-colors duration-300 font-semibold"
            >
              Profile
            </Link>
          </li>
        </ul>
      </nav>

      <div className="mt-8 p-6">
        <Outlet />
      </div>
    </>
  ),
})

Step 5: Set Up the Main App Component

Now, configure the router in your App.tsx file.

// src/App.tsx
import { createRouter, RouterProvider } from "@tanstack/react-router"
import {routeTree} from "./routeTree.gen"
const router = createRouter({routeTree});


declare module "@tanstack/react-router"{
interface Register{
  router: typeof router;
}
}
function App() {


  return (
    <div>
      <RouterProvider router={router}/>
    </div>
  )
}

export default App

Step 6: Run Your Application

Run the following command to start your application:

npm start

Your app is now file-based, with each route being represented by its corresponding file. You can navigate between the Home and Profile pages

Final Thoughts

This approach demonstrates file-based routing using TanStack Router with TypeScript. It’s a scalable solution for larger applications, where routes are organized based on file structure, improving maintainability.

Why choose TanStack Router?

While React Router is still an excellent choice for many applications, TanStack Router excels in use cases requiring deep state management integration, TypeScript support, and a choice between code-based and file-based routing. As applications grow more complex, TanStack Router’s fine-grained control over transitions, error handling, and route loading gives developers the power to craft smoother and more optimized experiences.

For developers already using TanStack Query, the tight integration with TanStack Router is an added bonus, as it enables more cohesive handling of queries, mutations, and routing under one roof.

Conclusion

React Router is a tried-and-true solution for handling routes in React applications and remains a popular choice for its simplicity and robust community support. However, TanStack Router offers more flexibility, better TypeScript support, and advanced features, making it a strong contender for modern web applications.

Ultimately, the choice between the two depends on your specific needs. For simple applications, React Router may still be the best fit, but for projects requiring more control, state management integration, and type safety, TanStack Router shines as the more powerful alternative.

Explore the Code

I’ve created GitHub repositories to provide practical examples of both React Router and TanStack Router implementations. Feel free to explore, clone, or contribute!

React Router Implementation: Contains example setups and configurations for React Router as discussed in this article.
TanStack Router Implementation: Features example code and configurations for TanStack Router, showcasing its capabilities and usage.

Comparing React Router and TanStack Router: A Comprehensive Guide to Routing Solutions in React

Overview of React Router

Key Features of React Router:

Introduction to TanStack Router

Key features of TanStack Router:

React Router vs TanStack Router: Key Differences:

Setting up React Router with JavaScript:

Step 1: Install React Router

Step 2: Set Up Basic Components

Step 3: Create the Main App Component

Explanation

Step 4: Run Your Application

Setting Up TanStack Router with TypeScript:

Code-based Routing

Step 1: Install TanStack Router and TypeScript Types

Step 2: Set Up Basic Components in TypeScript

Step 3: Create Route Configuration in TypeScript

Step 4: Create the Main App Component in TypeScript

Explanation:

Step 6: Running the Application

Setting Up TanStack Router with TypeScript:

File-based Routing

Step 1: Install TanStack Router and TypeScript Types

Step 2: Create the File Structure for Routes

Step 3: Configure Routes Using TypeScript

Step 4: Combine Routes in a Route Configuration

Step 5: Set Up the Main App Component

Step 6: Run Your Application

Final Thoughts

Why choose TanStack Router?

Conclusion

Explore the Code

Written by Siddhesh Shirdhankar