Alternatives
Guide.js vs the
alternatives.
Six product tour libraries compared on bundle size, license, React support, and API style. Straight facts — no marketing spin.
At a glance
Quick comparison
| Guide.js | Shepherd.js | Intro.js | React Joyride | Driver.js | Reactour | Onborda | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bundle (gzip) | ~8 KB | ~15 KB | ~10 KB JS + 2.5 KB CSS | ~26 KB | ~5 KB | ~12–18 KB | Heavy (+ framer-motion ~34 KB + Tailwind) |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 + paid commercial | AGPL-3.0 + paid commercial | MIT | MIT | MIT | MIT |
| React-native | Yes | Wrapper only | Community wrapper | Yes — React-native | No — vanilla JS | Yes — React-native | Next.js App Router only |
| TypeScript-first | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API style | Stateless | Stateful / imperative | Stateful / DOM-attribute-driven | Stateful — manages run / stepIndex | Imperative — driver({ steps }).drive() | Stateful — TourProvider context + useTour hook | Stateful — OnbordaProvider context |
| Banner / Announcement | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Free for commercial use | Yes | No — paid license required | No — paid license required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Deep dives
Pick your comparison.
Each page covers license, bundle size, API style, step types, and an honest verdict.
Guide.js vs Shepherd.js
Popular vanilla-first tour library with a commercial license requirement
Guide.js vs Intro.js
The oldest and most starred tour library — but commercially licensed
Guide.js vs React Joyride
The most popular MIT-licensed React tour library — stateful and heavy
Guide.js vs Driver.js
Tiny vanilla JS library — fast and dependency-free, but not React
Guide.js vs Reactour
MIT-licensed React tour with SVG mask overlays and a context-provider API
Guide.js vs Onborda
Next.js-only tour library that requires Framer Motion and Tailwind CSS
The bottom line
When to pick
Guide.js.
You're building a React app
Guide.js is a native React component. Driver.js requires manual wiring. Shepherd and Intro.js are wrappers. Onborda is Next.js-only.
You need a commercial-friendly license
Shepherd.js and Intro.js both use AGPL — legally unusable in closed-source products without a paid license. Guide.js is MIT, full stop.
You want a stateless API
Every competitor manages state for you — or makes you manage it. Guide.js takes steps as props and renders. No providers, no stores, no run/stepIndex wiring.
You need more than just tooltips
Every alternative is tooltip/spotlight only. Guide.js ships four step types: Dialog, Pointer, Banner, and Announcement — covering full-screen moments, not just element callouts.
Bundle size matters
React Joyride weighs ~26 KB. Shepherd ~15 KB. Guide.js is ~8 KB. The only smaller option is Driver.js (~5 KB) — but it's vanilla JS with no React component.
You care about TypeScript
Guide.js is written TypeScript-first with no `any`. All types are exported and composable. Shepherd's types are partial; Intro.js's React wrapper is community-maintained.
Ready to try it?
Install Guide.js in one command and ship your first tour in under two minutes.