Quill vs Tiptap: a small editor with a toolbar, or a framework without one
Quill is a BSD-3-Clause editor with built-in themes and a toolbar; Tiptap is an MIT headless framework over ProseMirror. We measured Quill at 58.7 kB gzip and Tiptap with StarterKit at 123.3 kB — and only Quill's figure includes an interface.
TL;DR
- Quill ships a working editor with a Snow or Bubble theme and a toolbar; Tiptap ships an editing engine with an extension API and leaves the interface to you. Both are permissively licensed: BSD-3-Clause and MIT.
- Measured: quill 2.0.3 at 58.7 kB gzip for the default build with both themes, @tiptap/react 3.31.3 with StarterKit at 123.3 kB with React external. Our benchmark applications needed 8 and 11 lines.
- The deciding factors are maintenance and framework fit: Tiptap publishes a first-party React and Vue binding and released on npm in September 2026; Quill's wrappers are community projects and its latest npm release is from November 2024.
Quill vs Tiptap at a glance
Generated from the same dataset as the main table, so this cannot drift out of sync with the rest of the site.
| Fact | Quill | Tiptap |
|---|---|---|
| Type | library | library |
| Licence | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| First release | 2014-11 | 2020-11 |
| Frameworks | Any (framework-agnostic) | Any (framework-agnostic) |
| SSR support | Unverified | partial |
| Bundle (min+gzip) | 58.7 kB gzip | 123.3 kB gzip |
| Price from | Free (open source) | Free tier, paid plans undisclosed |
| Drag & drop canvas | Unverified | Partial |
| Responsive breakpoints | No | No |
| Visual style manager | No | No |
| Custom components | Yes | Yes |
| Data binding | No | No |
| E-commerce blocks | No | No |
| Email HTML export | No | No |
| AI generation | Unverified | Via plugin |
| Editor i18n | Unverified | Partial |
| White label | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Our score (0–10) | Not scored | 8.3 |
| Last verified | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-20 |
A toolbar, or a framework
Put both benchmark applications side by side and the difference is visible before it is technical. Our eight-line Quill application shows a toolbar with a heading picker, bold, italic, underline, link, lists and a clear-formatting button. Our eleven-line Tiptap application shows an editable heading and paragraph and nothing else, because Tiptap's position is that the toolbar is yours.
Both positions are legitimate. They suit different products.
Where Quill wins
Half the weight, with an interface. 58.7 kB gzip against 123.3 kB, and Quill's number already contains a themed toolbar that Tiptap's does not.
Usable on install. A comment box or notes field ships the day you add it.
Framework-agnostic in the plain sense. It mounts on a DOM node; there is no binding to keep in step with your framework version.
Deltas. One JSON format for documents and changes is a tidy basis for storing content and applying edits.
Where Tiptap wins
First-party bindings. @tiptap/react and a Vue binding from the same core, maintained by the
project. Quill users pick a community wrapper or write one.
Release activity. Tiptap published to npm in September 2026; Quill's last npm release was November 2024.
A higher ceiling. Extensions reach schema, commands, input rules and rendering, with raw ProseMirror plugins underneath for anything else.
An interface that is entirely yours. For products where the editor is part of a designed experience, not having to override a theme is the advantage.
A route to hosted collaboration and AI, sold as Tiptap services.
Migration between them
Quill stores Deltas; Tiptap stores ProseMirror JSON or HTML. The practical route is through HTML: render Quill content to HTML, import it into Tiptap with extensions covering the formats you used, and check the formats that do not map one-to-one. Custom Quill formats and modules become Tiptap extensions, which is a rewrite.
Decision checklist
- Does the editor need a designed interface of our own? Yes favours Tiptap.
- Are we on React or Vue and want a first-party binding? Tiptap.
- Is this a modest field — comments, notes, replies? Quill is sized for it.
- How much release inactivity can we tolerate in a dependency? Check both projects' recent activity on the day you decide.
- What is our JavaScript budget? The measured gap is 64.6 kB.
The number that matters
64.6 kB — the gzip gap in our bundle benchmark, in Quill's favour, before Tiptap has any interface at all. The other lightweight comparison is Lexical vs Quill.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is lighter?
- Quill, at 58.7 kB gzip for its default build including both themes and the toolbar module, against 123.3 kB for Tiptap with StarterKit, React external, with no interface.
- Which is better for React?
- Tiptap, because @tiptap/react is first-party. Quill's React wrappers are community projects, and the original react-quill was last published in August 2022.
- Which is more actively released?
- On npm, Tiptap: @tiptap/react 3.31.3 was published in September 2026. Quill's latest release, 2.0.3, was published in November 2024.
- Can either be customised deeply?
- Both. Quill through formats, registries, modules and its Delta format; Tiptap through extensions with ProseMirror underneath as the escape hatch. Tiptap's ceiling is higher; Quill asks less before you reach it.
Facts about Quill were verified on 2026-09-17 and facts about Tiptap on 2026-08-20. Full source lists are on the Quill review and the Tiptap review.