Onsen UI is an open source framework for hybrid and mobile web apps from the Monaca team. You write <ons-page> and <ons-toolbar> tags, and it renders iOS or Material styling with or without Angular, React or Vue. It still works. The core package, onsenui, published 2.12.9 on June 16, 2026 under Apache-2.0, and the GitHub repo shows 8.9k stars and only 2 open issues.
The slow parts are the bindings. react-onsenui has had no stable release since 1.13.3 in June 2023, only a beta in June 2026. vue-onsenui sits at 3.0.0 from July 2022. The homepage copyright still reads 2013-2024. Teams building something new usually want a project with more frequent releases, which is where the six picks below come in.
Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framework7 | An Onsen-style app with iOS and Material themes | Free (MIT) | Web, PWA, Cordova, Capacitor, Electron |
| Ionic Framework | The largest hybrid UI ecosystem | Free (MIT) | iOS, Android, web via Capacitor |
| Konsta UI | Mobile components inside a Tailwind project | Free (MIT) | React, Vue, Svelte |
| Quasar | Vue teams shipping mobile, desktop and web from one codebase | Free (MIT) | SPA, SSR, PWA, Cordova, Capacitor, Electron |
| NativeScript | Native views instead of a webview | Free (Apache-2.0) | iOS, Android |
| Capacitor | Replacing Cordova while keeping your own UI | Free (MIT) | iOS, Android, PWA |
Framework7
Framework7 covers almost the same job Onsen UI does. It handles routing and navigation itself, which the Konsta UI docs cite as the reason to pair the two, and it themes the same markup as iOS or Material. The core is plain JavaScript, with official Vue, React and Svelte versions. The homepage reports v9.3.0, "released on October 30, 2026", and highlights new iOS 26 styles.
Like Onsen, it does not care how you package the app. The site lists Cordova, Capacitor, PWA and Electron as targets, and its starter command installs Cordova. Version 9.0.0 reached npm on November 25, 2025.
Best for: Onsen UI users who want the closest feature match, including a built-in router and a no-framework option.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Premium templates and plugins are sold separately by UI Initiative, which does not publish their prices on the homepage
Watch out for:
- Funding comes from backers. The README says development is "made possible entirely by the support of these awesome backers", and the repo carries 228 open issues against 18.8k stars.
Official site: Framework7.
Ionic Framework
Ionic is the default most hybrid teams compare everything else against. Its components are web components built with Stencil, so they work in Angular, React, Vue or plain JavaScript. A new major, 9.0.0, landed on npm on August 19, 2026, and 9.0.10 followed on October 28. The 8.x line keeps an LTS tag.
The business side changed. In a February 11, 2025 post Ionic stopped new sales of Appflow, Identity Vault and Portals and said Appflow customers keep access through December 31, 2027. The same post says Ionic Framework and Capacitor "will remain free and open source."
Best for: Teams that want the biggest pool of hybrid-app tutorials, plugins and hires.
Pricing:
- Ionic Framework: free, MIT licence
- Commercial products (Appflow, Identity Vault, Portals): no longer sold to new customers since February 11, 2025
Watch out for:
- Cloud builds and live updates are going away. If you planned to use Appflow for app store builds, the announcement means picking a third-party CI service instead.
- Ionic 9 is only three months old. Libraries and starter templates written for v8 may lag behind it for a while.
Official site: Ionic Framework.
Konsta UI
Konsta UI takes a narrower approach: "pixel perfect mobile UI components built with Tailwind CSS", with iOS and Material themes for React, Vue and Svelte. If your web app already uses Tailwind, Konsta lets the mobile screens share the same build and utility classes.
The site shows v5.5.0 from September 28, 2026, and the package has one runtime dependency, tailwind-merge, per npm.
Best for: A Tailwind-based web app that needs native-looking mobile screens.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
Watch out for:
- It is a component set, not an app framework. The site says it is "mostly designed to be used with" a parent such as Ionic or Framework7 for routing, navigation and native APIs. Onsen's navigator and tabbar logic have no direct equivalent here.
Official site: Konsta UI.
Quasar
For Vue developers, Quasar goes further than Onsen UI ever did. One project can output an SPA, SSR site, PWA, browser extension, a Cordova or Capacitor mobile app and an Electron desktop app, as the homepage lists. Its CLI handles each build mode, so you do not wire up Cordova by hand.
The 2.x line has been stable since June 2021. The current release, 2.35.2, was published on October 19, 2026, per npm.
Best for: Vue 3 teams that want one codebase for mobile, desktop and web, with the build tooling included.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Sponsorship tiers are optional, via donate.quasar.dev
Watch out for:
- It is Vue only. Onsen apps written in plain JavaScript, React or Angular need a full rewrite, not a component swap.
- There is no company selling it. The homepage asks companies and freelancers to contribute through sponsor tiers, which is how the team is funded.
Official site: Quasar.
NativeScript
NativeScript drops the webview entirely. The site says it renders "native platform UI with direct access to native APIs" from TypeScript, alone or with Angular, React, Solid, Svelte or Vue. Scrolling lists and transitions are drawn by iOS and Android, not by CSS in a browser.
The project belongs to the OpenJS Foundation. Version 9.1.3 of @nativescript/core shipped on October 6, 2026, and the 9.1 announcement mentions V8 14.9 and Vite 8 hot reload.
Best for: Apps where webview performance or deep native API use is the reason you are leaving Onsen UI.
Pricing:
- Free, Apache-2.0 licence
Watch out for:
- Nothing from the DOM carries over. Onsen's
<ons-*>tags, browser-only npm libraries and your HTML layouts all have to be rebuilt with NativeScript's native components. - It targets iOS and Android only. A PWA or desktop version needs a separate web build.
Official site: NativeScript.
Capacitor
Capacitor is not a UI kit, and that is the point. Onsen UI apps are often packaged with Cordova, and the Onsen homepage still talks about PhoneGap and Cordova speed. Capacitor replaces that layer: it is "an open source native runtime" that wraps a web app for iOS, Android and the web, and its homepage says existing Cordova plugins work through a compatibility layer.
Pair it with any UI on this list, or keep Onsen UI itself on top. Capacitor 8.0.0 came out in December 2025, and 8.6.0 was published on October 28, 2026, per npm.
Best for: Moving an Onsen or Cordova app to a maintained native runtime without rewriting its screens.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
Watch out for:
- You still need a UI library. The homepage lists Ionic, Material UI and Tailwind as examples, so Capacitor alone does not solve a dated look.
- Cordova is not dead either. cordova-android 15.1.0 shipped on July 22, 2026, so check if your plugins actually need the move.
Official site: Capacitor.
How to choose
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| The nearest replacement, with a router and iOS and Material themes | Framework7 |
| The biggest community and plugin catalogue | Ionic Framework |
| Mobile screens in an app that already uses Tailwind | Konsta UI |
| One Vue codebase for mobile, desktop and web | Quasar |
| Native rendering instead of a webview | NativeScript |
| A newer runtime under your existing Onsen screens | Capacitor |
When to stay with Onsen UI
Stay on Onsen UI if your app runs on Monaca and uses the core web components or vanilla JavaScript. That part is still maintained, with 2.12.9 in June 2026 and a near-empty issue tracker. The case for moving is strongest for React and Vue apps, where the bindings have gone years without a stable release.
Frequently asked questions
Is Onsen UI still maintained?
Partly. The core onsenui package got 2.12.9 on June 16, 2026. The React and Vue bindings lag behind: react-onsenui's last stable version is from June 2023 and vue-onsenui's from 2022, with betas published in June 2026 per npm.
Is Onsen UI free?
Yes. The npm package is Apache-2.0 licensed. The homepage credits the "Monaca x Onsen UI Team", and Monaca is that team's separate cloud IDE and build service.
Onsen UI vs Ionic, which should I use?
For a new app, Ionic. It shipped a new major in August 2026, releases every few weeks and has more plugins and answers online. Onsen UI makes more sense when you already depend on Monaca. Note that Ionic's paid cloud services are being wound down, so plan your builds around Capacitor and your own CI.
Can I use Onsen UI with Capacitor?
Yes. Onsen UI is plain web components, and Capacitor runs any web app, so the two work together. It is a common path for teams that want off Cordova without redoing their screens. For desktop-first CSS frameworks instead, see our UIkit alternatives.
