React vs Next.js: Which One to Choose?

When building a web app, developers must decide between using React or Next.js, two powerful tools that serve different purposes. React is a library for building UI components, offering flexibility and a component-driven approach, but lacks built-in routing, server-side rendering, and SEO optimizations. Next.js, on the other hand, is a framework built on top of React, providing file-based routing, server-side rendering, static site generation, and built-in API routes, making it suitable for SEO-friendly and high-performance applications. The key differences between React and Next.js lie in routing, SEO, performance, API handling, and deployment. React requires manual routing and client-side rendering, whereas Next.js offers automatic file-based routing and supports server-side rendering, static site generation, and client-side rendering. Next.js also provides optimized performance out of the box, whereas React needs optimization. Additionally, Next.js has built-in API routes, whereas React requires an external backend. In terms of deployment, Next.js is optimized for Vercel and easy to deploy, whereas React requires configuration. Ultimately, the choice between React and Next.js depends on the developer's needs, with React suitable for custom setups with full control and Next.js ideal for better SEO, performance, and built-in features.