When Should You Choose Each?
React.js
- Your team already knows JavaScript or React
- You need a large hiring pool and ecosystem support
- You're building a cross-platform app with standard UI components
- You want faster MVP delivery with existing JS libraries
- Third-party integrations and npm packages matter to your project
Next.js
- SEO matters - blogs, landing pages, marketing sites, e-commerce
- You need server-side rendering or static site generation
- You're building a full-stack app and want API routes in the same project
- You're already using React and want SSR without extra setup
- You're deploying on Vercel or need edge performance