Why I Moved from React to SvelteKit

When I first started learning frontend development, React was my go-to choice. The documentation was complete, the ecosystem massive, and nearly every job listing mentioned it.
But after a few years, I began to feel React becoming heavier — especially for small projects or quick prototypes.

Then I tried SvelteKit, and everything changed.

_

1. React Started to Feel “Heavy”

React is powerful, but also complex.
Here are a few things that started to frustrate me:

Too much boilerplate (importing useState, useEffect, etc. for simple tasks)

Managing bundlers (Vite/Webpack) manually

Needing extra dependencies for basic things (routing, state management, etc.)

Components becoming bloated and hard to read as projects grew

React gives a lot of freedom — but sometimes too much, forcing us to manage countless details just to get started.

For example, here’s a simple counter in React:

``jsx
// Counter.jsx
import { useState } from "react";

export default function Counter() {
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

return (

You clicked {count} times

setCount(count + 1)}>Add

);
}
`

_

2. SvelteKit Feels More “Natural”

The first thing I noticed with SvelteKit was how natural it felt:

No overthinking about state and reactivity

Reactivity feels intuitive, using plain let variables

File-based routing out of the box

SSR (Server Side Rendering) integrated by default

Here’s the same counter in Svelte:

`svelte

You clicked {count} times

count++}>Add
`

No useState, no hooks, no extra imports — everything feels straightforward and intuitive.
It made UI development feel fun again.

_

3. Performance & Build Size

Svelte produces smaller and faster builds because:

It compiles directly to pure JavaScript, instead of running a Virtual DOM.

Loading and interactivity are noticeably lighter, especially for small to medium apps.

Comparison example:

`bash

Build Size Comparison

React App: 120 KB (minified)
SvelteKit App: 40 KB (minified)
`

| Numbers may vary depending on dependencies, but the difference is clear. |

_

4. Developer Experience (DX)

The combination of SvelteKit + Vite is incredibly efficient:

Super-fast hot reload

Clear and human-friendly error messages

New projects can be set up in seconds

Built-in adapters for Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare

Creating a new SvelteKit project is as simple as:

`bash
npx sv create my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev
`

You instantly get automatic routing (+page.svelte, +layout.svelte`) without extra configuration.

_

5. When React Still Makes Sense

Of course, that doesn’t mean React is bad.
I’d still choose React if:

The project is large and involves multiple teams with complex dependencies

I’m building mobile apps using React Native

I need a specific UI library that’s only available for React

But for personal projects, portfolios, or lightweight dashboards — SvelteKit is simply more enjoyable.

_

Conclusion

Switching to SvelteKit made me fall in love with frontend again.
Cleaner code, faster performance, and a much more enjoyable development process.

If React feels like too much for simple projects, maybe it’s time to give SvelteKit a try.

_

References

SvelteKit Official Site

React Documentation