Picking a React Native chat library sounds like a ten-minute npm search and turns into an afternoon of reading abandoned GitHub issues. The ecosystem splits into three very different animals that all call themselves “chat libraries”: pure UI components that render a message list and nothing else, open source components wired to a backend you can run yourself, and UI kits that only work with a paid hosted service. Confusing them is how teams end up rewriting their chat screen six months in.
We compared the hosted services themselves in our chat SDK comparison. This post is about the library layer: the actual React Native packages you install, with versions, maintenance status and license checked as of August 2026. One disclosure up front: option 2 on this list, @ethora/chat-component, is our own open source project. We tell you exactly where it fits and where it does not, same as the rest.
The 7 React Native chat library options
1. react-native-gifted-chat: the default UI layer
Gifted Chat is what most people mean when they say React Native chat library. It renders the message list, bubbles, avatars, input toolbar and typing indicator, and leaves everything else to you. Latest release 3.4.0 (June 2026), MIT license, around 95,000 npm downloads a week, 14,000+ GitHub stars.
The honest history: the project slowed to maintenance mode for a stretch, with community forks carrying fixes, and the v3 line has since picked activity back up (the repo saw commits as recently as this month). It remains the fastest way to get a decent chat screen, and the classic pairing is Gifted Chat for UI plus Firebase or your own WebSocket server for transport.
import { GiftedChat } from 'react-native-gifted-chat'
<GiftedChat
messages={messages}
onSend={msgs => sendToBackend(msgs)}
user={{ _id: currentUserId }}
/>What it will not do: connections, reconnection, offline queues, delivery receipts, push routing. That is the hard 95% of chat, and it is all on you. Our WebSockets in React Native guide covers what that backend work actually involves.
2. @ethora/chat-component: open source UI plus a backend you can self-host
This one is ours, so calibrate accordingly. @ethora/chat-component (latest 26.6.7, August 2026, AGPL) is the chat component from the open source Ethora platform. The difference from Gifted Chat is that it is not just pixels: it comes wired to a real messaging backend (XMPP based) with rooms, history, media, roles and AI agent support, and that backend is open source too. Run it on Ethora’s cloud to start, move it onto your own servers when a customer or regulator asks where the data lives.
Where it is the wrong choice: if you already have a message transport and genuinely only want rendering, a pure UI library is less to adopt. The AGPL license also matters if you plan to fork the component into a closed product rather than just use it. Downloads are modest compared to the giants on this list; the bet you are making is on the architecture (own your data) rather than the crowd.
3. Stream Chat React Native: the polished commercial kit
Stream’s stream-chat-react-native is the most complete commercial UI kit in the ecosystem: threads, reactions, attachments, offline support, and as of v9.8.0 (August 2026) encrypted offline storage. Around 22,000 downloads a week and a release cadence most open source projects would envy.
The catch is structural, not technical. The code you see is source-available, but it only talks to Stream’s hosted service, priced per monthly active user. There is no self-hosting story. Great for consumer apps that want to ship this quarter; a dead end if a security questionnaire ever asks you to keep messages on your own infrastructure.
4. Sendbird UIKit for React Native: enterprise procurement’s favorite
@sendbird/uikit-react-native (3.12.8, August 2026, about 51,000 downloads a week) is the same shape as Stream: solid prebuilt screens for channels, group chat and moderation, bound to Sendbird’s hosted platform under a commercial license. It tends to win in larger enterprises because Sendbird sells compliance paperwork and SLAs well. The UI kit is more opinionated than Stream’s, so budget real time if your design system diverges from theirs.
5. CometChat UIKit for React Native: chat plus calls in one bundle
@cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native (5.4.0, July 2026) bundles chat UI with voice and video calling out of the box, which neither Stream nor Sendbird includes at the base tier. Smaller footprint in the ecosystem (roughly 7,000 downloads a week) and again hosted-only. If your product is a marketplace or dating app where chat and calls arrive on the same roadmap line, the bundling can genuinely save a quarter.
6. @flyerhq/react-native-chat-ui: a warning label
Flyer Chat’s react-native-chat-ui deserves a slot precisely because it still shows up in every listicle. It was a genuinely nice, lightweight, backend-agnostic UI kit. It is also effectively abandoned for React Native: last npm release 1.4.3 in October 2021, last meaningful repo activity 2023 (the team’s recent energy went to the Flutter side). On today’s React Native versions you will be patching it yourself. Do not start a 2026 project on it, and treat any tutorial recommending it as a date-check reminder.
7. DIY on FlashList: the build-your-own baseline
The final option is no chat library at all: build the message list on Shopify’s FlashList (2.3.2, MIT, 1.8 million downloads a week), which in v2 handles inverted lists, dynamic item heights and chat-scale scroll performance well enough that several commercial kits use it internally. You own every pixel and every behavior. You also own scroll anchoring, image sizing, keyboard handling, accessibility and a hundred edge cases the kits solved years ago. Right answer for teams with strong UI engineers and unusual designs; expensive vanity everywhere else.
Comparison table
| Library | Latest (Aug 2026) | License | Backend | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| react-native-gifted-chat | 3.4.0 | MIT | Bring your own | Fast chat UI over an existing backend |
| @ethora/chat-component | 26.6.7 | AGPL | Open source, self-hostable | Data ownership, regulated apps, chat + AI |
| Stream Chat RN | 9.8.0 | Commercial | Stream hosted only | Consumer apps shipping fast |
| Sendbird UIKit RN | 3.12.8 | Commercial | Sendbird hosted only | Enterprise procurement |
| CometChat UIKit RN | 5.4.0 | Commercial | CometChat hosted only | Chat + calls bundled |
| @flyerhq/react-native-chat-ui | 1.4.3 (2021) | Apache-2.0 | Bring your own | Nothing new; unmaintained |
| DIY on FlashList | 2.3.2 | MIT | Bring your own | Custom designs, strong UI teams |
How to choose
- You have a backend and need a chat screen this week: Gifted Chat.
- You need the full stack and the data must be able to live on your servers: @ethora/chat-component with a self-hosted Ethora backend (yes, ours; the architecture is the argument).
- Consumer app, funded, speed over cost control: Stream.
- Enterprise buyer with a vendor checklist: Sendbird.
- Chat and calls in one contract: CometChat.
- Unique design language and the team to back it: FlashList DIY.
For a deeper look at how the underlying platforms differ (hosting, pricing models, AI agents), see our chat SDK comparison and the chat SDK feature breakdown. And whatever you pick, wire up push notifications early; chat without push is a mailbox nobody checks.
FAQ
What is the best free React Native chat library?
react-native-gifted-chat for a free UI layer over your own backend. For a free full stack including the server, @ethora/chat-component plus a self-hosted Ethora backend is the most complete open source route.
Is react-native-gifted-chat still maintained in 2026?
Yes, with caveats. After a maintenance-mode stretch, the v3 line is receiving releases again (3.4.0 shipped June 2026). Pin your version and read recent issues before upgrading.
Do Stream, Sendbird or CometChat work without their hosted service?
No. All three UI kits require the vendor’s hosted backend and per-usage pricing. If self-hosting is a requirement, use an open source stack or build on your own transport.