Yew (Rust): WebAssembly Frontend Framework vs Leptos

TL;DR: Yew is a React-inspired Rust framework for building web UIs that run as WebAssembly in the browser. You write components with a html! macro (similar to JSX), manage state with hooks (use_state, use_effect), and compile to WASM with wasm-pack or trunk. Yew was the first major Rust frontend framework and has a large community. For a more modern alternative with fine-grained reactivity and full-stack support, consider Leptos or Dioxus.

What Is Yew?

Yew is a Rust framework for building Single Page Applications (SPAs) that compile to WebAssembly.

[dependencies]
yew = { version = "0.21", features = ["csr"] }

Components are Rust functions or structs decorated with #[function_component]. The html! macro renders HTML with Rust expressions interpolated.

How Do You Write a Yew Component?

Function components use hooks for state and the html! macro for rendering.

use yew::prelude::*;
 
#[function_component(Counter)]
fn counter() -> Html {
    let count = use_state(|| 0);
 
    let increment = {
        let count = count.clone();
        Callback::from(move |_| count.set(*count + 1))
    };
 
    html! {
        <div>
            <p>{ format!("Count: {}", *count) }</p>
            <button onclick={increment}>{ "Increment" }</button>
        </div>
    }
}
 
#[function_component(App)]
fn app() -> Html {
    html! { <Counter /> }
}
 
fn main() {
    yew::Renderer::<App>::new().render();
}

How Do You Handle Props and Callbacks?

Define a Properties struct and pass values between parent and child components.

#[derive(Properties, PartialEq)]
pub struct ButtonProps {
    pub label: String,
    pub on_click: Callback<MouseEvent>,
}
 
#[function_component(MyButton)]
fn my_button(props: &ButtonProps) -> Html {
    html! {
        <button onclick={props.on_click.clone()}>
            { &props.label }
        </button>
    }
}

Yew vs Leptos vs Dioxus in 2026

Yew is React-like with virtual DOM. Leptos uses fine-grained signals. Dioxus offers cross-platform targets.

If you are migrating a React application or your team already knows React patterns deeply, Yew 0.21 is the most natural Rust frontend choice. If you need SSR, SEO-friendly rendering, or a full-stack Rust app, choose Leptos instead. If you need to ship to desktop or mobile alongside the browser, choose Dioxus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Yew docs
• yew on crates.io
• Yew GitHub repository
• trunk build tool: The standard WASM bundler for Yew projects

Related Glossary Terms

• wasm: Yew compiles to WebAssembly
• leptos: The modern alternative to Yew with fine-grained reactivity
• dioxus: Cross-platform alternative (web, desktop, mobile)
• macro: The html! macro is the core of Yew's template syntax
• async-await: Yew uses async for HTTP requests via spawn_local
• serde: Used to deserialize API responses in Yew data fetching
• wasm-bindgen: Yew's browser interop is built on top of wasm-bindgen's binding layer

When Should You Choose Yew in 2026?

Yew is the right choice when your team wants the shortest migration path from React and does not need server-side rendering or native desktop targets.

Its virtual DOM model, hook system (use_state, use_effect, use_context), and JSX-like html! macro map almost directly to React idioms. Teams that have React experience can be productive in Yew within hours rather than days. The trade-off is performance: virtual DOM diffing is slower than Leptos's fine-grained signal updates, and Yew's SSR story remains experimental in 2026; you get a SPA, not a full-stack framework. For browser-only SPAs where React familiarity matters and SSR is not a requirement, Yew 0.21 remains a solid, production-tested foundation with thousands of GitHub stars and an active community.

Keep Reading

• Rust WebAssembly and Frontend Development: Yew is the entry point for Rust frontend development
• Rust Backend Frameworks Compared: Pair a Yew frontend with Axum or Rocket on the backend