Goodbye styled-components: The End of an Era
For years, styled-components helped redefine how developers think about styling in React applications. It popularized CSS-in-JS, offering dynamic styling, scoped components, and a sleek developer experience. But as of 2025, the library has officially entered maintenance mode—a major signal that the frontend ecosystem is evolving.
Why styled-components Mattered
- Scoped Styles → Encapsulated CSS logic directly with components.
- Dynamic Props → Style logic could respond to component state and props.
- Developer Experience → Template literals for styling felt intuitive and powerful.
Despite these benefits, the broader JavaScript ecosystem—and React itself—has moved on.
What Changed?
1. React's Architectural Shifts
React is moving toward Server Components, stricter rendering boundaries, and patterns that don't mesh well with runtime styling solutions. Libraries that rely on context or side effects struggle to fit the new model cleanly.
2. Performance Concerns
Runtime CSS-in-JS introduces additional overhead. Alternatives that generate CSS at build-time (like Vanilla Extract or Linaria) are more performance-friendly, especially for large-scale apps.
3. Ecosystem Trends
Developers are flocking to utility-first CSS frameworks like Tailwind CSS and using CSS Modules or PostCSS for component-level styling with minimal runtime cost.
4. Maintainer Focus
Key maintainers like Evan Jacobs have stepped away from active development. Without regular updates or new features, the library is now in a sunset phase—receiving only critical bug and security fixes.
You can read more about this shift in this article on styled-components' maintenance mode or Kaique Perez's blog.
Should You Still Use styled-components?
If you're maintaining an existing codebase, styled-components is still safe to use—it's not deprecated, just frozen in time. But for new projects, you should strongly consider alternatives.
Modern Alternatives to Consider
- Tailwind CSS → Utility-first, performance-friendly, and widely adopted.
- Vanilla Extract → Zero-runtime CSS-in-TypeScript solution.
- Linaria → Write real CSS in JS, compiled at build time.
- CSS Modules → Scoped CSS without the JS overhead.
- Stitches → Modern CSS-in-JS with better performance and TypeScript support.
Conclusion
The end of active development for styled-components marks a turning point. The tools we use to style our apps are evolving—faster builds, better performance, and tighter integration with modern React patterns are now the standard.
It's a good time to revisit your stack and consider what tools will future-proof your frontend.