Comparing
Performant, flexible and extensible forms library for React Hooks
Hooks for managing, caching and syncing asynchronous and remote data in React
| Metric | react-hook-form | react-query |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | npm | npm |
| Difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| Weekly downloads | 40.0M↑ | 1.6M |
| Latest version | v7.72.0 | v3.39.3 |
| Recipes | 1 | 1 |
react-hook-form only
Shared
react-query only
Use React Hook Form for any form with more than 3-4 fields, especially if they have validation logic. It integrates well with Zod (via @hookform/resolvers/zod) for schema-based validation, giving you type-safe forms with runtime validation in a few lines.
Use React Query for any React app that fetches server data: REST APIs, GraphQL, or any async function. It replaces 95% of the useEffect+useState patterns for data fetching and adds caching, background refetching, and optimistic updates for free.
For very simple single-field forms (a search box, a newsletter signup), useState is less code. For highly dynamic forms where fields are added/removed programmatically, the useFieldArray API works but adds complexity — evaluate Formik for that use case.
React Query is for server state (data that lives on a server). For UI state (modals, form values, local toggles), use useState or Zustand. If you're already using a full data layer like Apollo Client for GraphQL, React Query is redundant.
react-hook-form
react-query