Library Comparison

This page provides an objective comparison of SynState with popular state management libraries. The goal is to help you understand the trade-offs and choose the right tool for your project.

Library	Core Paradigm	Derived Values	Async Operators Built-in	Glitch-free	React Compiler	Vanilla (No React)	Maintenance
SynState	Observable (custom)	Yes (operators)	Yes	Yes (push-based)	Fully compatible	Yes	Active
RxJS	Observable (ReactiveX)	Yes (operators)	Yes	No	N/A	Yes	Low activity (last commit: 2025-02)
MobX	Proxy-based reactive	Yes (computed)	No	N/A (pull-based / lazy)	Incompatible (opt-out)	Yes	Active
Jotai	Atomic state	Yes (derived atoms)	Partial	N/A (pull-based / lazy)	Compatible	Yes (vanilla store)	Active
Redux	Flux / single store	Yes (selectors)	No (middleware)	N/A (pull-based)	Compatible	Yes	Active
Zustand	Flux-inspired store	No (inline selectors)	No	N/A (pull-based)	Compatible	Yes	Active
Valtio	Proxy-based mutable	No (separate derive)	No	N/A (pull-based)	Compatible	Yes	Active
Recoil	Atomic state (React)	Yes (selectors)	Partial	N/A (pull-based / lazy)	Compatible	No	Abandoned (last commit: 2023-09)
XState	Finite state machines	Via context	No	N/A	Compatible	Yes	Active
TanStack Query	Server-state cache	N/A	Yes (fetch)	N/A	Compatible	Yes	Active

Push-based vs Pull-based Glitch-Free

SynState is the only library in this list that achieves glitch-free propagation through push-based topological sorting — derived values are eagerly updated in dependency order, so subscribers always receive consistent values without needing to pull.

MobX, Jotai, and Recoil avoid glitches through pull-based (lazy) evaluation — derived values are not eagerly pushed; instead, they are recomputed on-demand when read by a subscriber or component, which naturally avoids seeing inconsistent intermediate states. See How SynState Solved the Glitch for a detailed explanation.

Benchmarked Libraries

The following libraries are included in SynState’s performance benchmark. Each section highlights the library’s characteristics and ideal use cases.

SynState

SynState is built on a custom glitch-free Observable implementation. It provides a unified API that scales from simple shared state (createState) to complex asynchronous workflows with operators like debounce, throttle, and switchMap.

Strengths:

• Glitch-free derived value propagation — no inconsistent intermediate states.
• Rich operator set built in (no need for a separate stream library).
• Framework-agnostic core with dedicated React/Preact hooks packages.
• Type-safe throughout.

Best for: Projects that need both simple shared state and sophisticated async pipelines in a single, consistent API.

RxJS

RxJS is the reference implementation of the ReactiveX Observable specification. It offers an extensive library of operators for composing asynchronous and event-based programs.

Strengths:

• Massive operator library (200+ operators).
• Well-established ecosystem and community.
• Excellent for complex event processing (WebSocket streams, retry logic, etc.).

Trade-offs:

• Suffers from the glitch problem when combining synchronous derived values.
• Reactive stream programming requires a paradigm shift from imperative thinking — developers must reason about asynchronous data flows over time, understand the distinction between Cold and Hot Observables, and choose carefully among similar operators (e.g. switchMap vs mergeMap vs concatMap).
• Not designed specifically for state management.

Best for: Applications heavily centered on asynchronous event processing where the glitch issue is acceptable.

MobX

MobX uses transparent reactive programming via JavaScript proxies. Mutations to observable objects automatically trigger re-computation of computed values and re-rendering of observer components.

Strengths:

• Intuitive mutable-style API — mutate state directly and everything updates.
• Fine-grained reactivity with automatic dependency tracking.
• Avoids glitches via pull-based lazy evaluation (computed values are recomputed on-demand when read by a reaction).

Trade-offs:

• Implicit dependency tracking can make data flow harder to trace in large codebases.
• No built-in asynchronous operators (use flow or external solutions).
• Higher overhead per update compared to simpler store libraries.
• observer() HOC tracks observable access during rendering, making it incompatible with React Compiler (requires "use no memo" directive to opt out).

Best for: Teams that prefer mutable programming style with automatic reactivity and don’t need complex async operators.

Jotai

Jotai provides primitive atoms as the building block for state. Derived atoms compose naturally, and the createStore API enables framework-agnostic usage.

Strengths:

• Atomic model avoids unnecessary re-renders.
• Composable derived atoms with automatic dependency tracking.
• Small bundle size.

Trade-offs:

• No built-in asynchronous operator chain (async atoms exist but are limited).
• Higher per-update overhead due to store-level bookkeeping.
• store.sub() callback does not receive the current value (signature is () => void), requiring a separate store.get(atom) call to read the new value — less ergonomic for vanilla (non-React) usage. In contrast, SynState’s observable$.subscribe((value) => { ... }) passes the value directly to the callback.

Best for: React applications that benefit from fine-grained atomic state with simple derivations.

Redux (Redux Toolkit)

Redux is a predictable state container based on the Flux architecture. Redux Toolkit simplifies boilerplate with createSlice and configureStore.

Strengths:

• Predictable unidirectional data flow.
• Excellent DevTools for time-travel debugging.
• Massive ecosystem (middleware, sagas, thunks).

Trade-offs:

• Verbose boilerplate even with Redux Toolkit.
• Selectors (via Reselect) are pull-based and require manual memoization.
• No built-in reactive propagation — async logic delegated to middleware.

Best for: Large teams that value strict unidirectional data flow, time-travel debugging, and a mature middleware ecosystem.

Zustand

Zustand is a small, fast, flux-inspired store. It provides a minimal API with excellent TypeScript support and React integration.

Strengths:

• Extremely lightweight and fast for simple state.
• Minimal API surface — easy to learn.
• No providers needed in React.

Trade-offs:

• No built-in derived-value primitive — derivations are inline selectors.
• Cannot combine independent derived values (excluded from Diamond Dependency benchmark).
• No asynchronous operators.

Best for: Projects that need simple shared state with minimal overhead and don’t require complex derivations.

Valtio

Valtio uses JavaScript proxies to provide a mutable-style API where you write to a proxy object and subscribers are notified automatically.

Strengths:

• Extremely intuitive API — just mutate an object.
• Small bundle size.
• Automatic render optimization in React via useSnapshot.

Trade-offs:

• No built-in derived-value primitive in the vanilla API (derive is a separate utility).
• Cannot combine independent derived values (excluded from Diamond Dependency benchmark).
• Proxy-based change detection has edge cases with certain data structures.

Best for: Projects that want the simplest possible mutable API for shared state without complex derivations.

Non-Benchmarked Libraries

The following libraries serve different primary purposes and are not included in the performance benchmark, but are worth considering depending on your requirements.

Recoil

Recoil is an experimental atomic state management library by Meta, designed specifically for React.

Why not benchmarked: Recoil is no longer actively maintained (last npm release in 2023) and is tightly coupled to React — it has no framework-agnostic vanilla API, making a fair comparison impractical.

Strengths:

• Pioneered the atomic state model for React.
• Built-in async selectors.
• Concurrent Mode support.

Considerations: If you are starting a new project, Jotai is a maintained alternative that was inspired by Recoil’s atomic model.

XState

XState is a state machine and statechart library. It models application logic as finite state machines with explicit states, transitions, and side effects.

Why not benchmarked: XState solves a fundamentally different problem — modeling application logic as state machines — rather than providing a general-purpose reactive state container. A propagation-speed benchmark would not meaningfully represent XState’s value.

Strengths:

• Formally verifiable logic via state machines and statecharts.
• Visual editor (Stately) for designing state machines.
• Excellent for complex UI flows (wizards, authentication, media players).

Best for: Applications with well-defined states and transitions where formal correctness matters more than raw propagation speed.

TanStack Query

TanStack Query (formerly React Query) is a server-state management library focused on fetching, caching, and synchronizing server data.

Why not benchmarked: TanStack Query manages server-state (HTTP cache, refetching, pagination), not client-side reactive state. It is complementary to libraries like SynState rather than a direct alternative.

Strengths:

• Automatic caching, deduplication, and background refetching.
• Stale-while-revalidate strategy out of the box.
• Framework-agnostic (React, Vue, Solid, Svelte adapters).

Best for: Any application that fetches data from a server. Often used alongside a client-state library.

Choosing the Right Library

Your requirement	Recommended
Simple shared state (dark mode, user session)	SynState, Zustand, Valtio, Jotai
Complex async pipelines (debounce, switchMap, retry)	SynState, RxJS
Glitch-free derived values	SynState, MobX, Jotai
Mutable-style API	MobX, Valtio
Atomic / fine-grained reactivity	SynState, Jotai
Strict unidirectional data flow	SynState, Redux
Formal state machines	XState
Server-state caching	TanStack Query
Minimal bundle + simple API	SynState, Zustand, Valtio
Unified API from simple to complex	SynState

Performance Comparison

For detailed benchmark results comparing propagation speed across libraries, see the Performance Benchmark page.