Charcoal UI vs beUI
beUI alternative? Charcoal UI and beUI compared on components, blocks, AI kit, charts, React Native, licence, price and MCP access, with sources.
| beUI | Charcoal UI | |
|---|---|---|
| Free library | 151 React items in its registry (119 components and 32 blocks) plus 73 React Native components, MIT | 68 everyday components and 5 sections, MIT |
| Paid tier | Web Yearly $129, Web Lifetime $179, Mobile Lifetime $149, Web + Mobile Lifetime $249; each for one person | Pro: $9 per seat per month, or $69 per seat once for lifetime access (launch price, usually $99). 14-day refund. |
| What the paid tier adds | 350+ premium blocks and animated components (as stated), full templates and animated illustrations on Lifetime, 50 React Native blocks and screens on Mobile | 394 showpiece components, 112 landing-page sections and 100 complete templates |
| AI and data | AI agents section (18 items in its free registry listing) and charts (17) | AI agent kit of 20 (chat, streaming, tool calls, approvals, diffs, citations, traces, voice, a full chat app) and 24 charts and tables |
| Install | shadcn CLI (@beui/<name>); its own CLI for React Native; MCP access and an Agent Skill are Pro features | shadcn CLI registry; MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor and any MCP client; free for everyone, Pro source with a token |
| Mobile | React Native library for Expo with Reanimated | Web only |
| Team licensing | Buy multiple seats; the purchaser holds one fixed seat and accepted seats cannot be transferred | Per-seat workspaces: invite teammates, move seats between people |
| Stack | React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion; React Native with Reanimated and Uniwind | React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion; Next.js, Vite, Remix and Astro |
Why people compare beUI and Charcoal UI
beUI is a motion component library for React and React Native with a free MIT core, an AI-agents section, charts, and a Pro tier of premium blocks, templates and illustrations.
Of the libraries on this list, beUI is the closest in spirit to Charcoal UI: the same React 19, Tailwind CSS 4 and Motion stack, the same shadcn install, and the same interest in AI interfaces and data. The differences are size, mobile and price. Checked against beui.dev and pro.beui.dev on 3 November 2026.
When to pick beUI
- You ship a React Native app and want matching components on web and mobile from one vendor.
- You want animated illustrations as part of the library.
- You prefer a yearly licence with no monthly billing.
When to pick Charcoal UI
- You want the larger web library: 462 components against 151 free plus 350+ Pro, 117 sections and 100 templates.
- You want MCP access without paying first: Charcoal UI's server is open to everyone, with Pro source behind a token.
- You want a cheaper way in: $9 a month, or a $69 lifetime seat against $179.
- You want seats you can move between teammates as the team changes.
Switching from beUI
Both are shadcn registries on React 19, Tailwind CSS 4 and Motion with shadcn's semantic tokens, so components and theme carry over directly.
Charcoal UI has direct counterparts for beUI's AI kit, finance charts, data tables, dock, marquee, number ticker and morphing dialogs; each page's Goes well with section lists them.
Templates and sections install with every dependency in one command, so a landing page swaps whole.
Try Charcoal UI Pro
npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/<name>Charcoal UI Pro is $9 per seat per month, or $69 per seat once for lifetime access (launch price, usually $99), per seat, for unlimited personal and commercial projects, with a 14-day refund. One seat covers all 394 Pro components, 112 sections and 100 templates, and every Pro item can be tried live before you buy.
- Pricing: Free, monthly and lifetime seats.
- All components: 462 components, live.
- Templates: 100 complete landing pages.
Other comparisons
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- Charcoal UI vs Aceternity UI: Aceternity UI alternative? Charcoal UI and Aceternity UI compared on components, blocks, templates, price, team licences and MCP installs.
- Charcoal UI vs Animate UI: Animate UI alternative? Charcoal UI and Animate UI compared on animated primitives, icons, backgrounds, licence and AI-agent installs, with sources.
About these facts
beUI's details were checked on beui.dev on 3 November 2026. Libraries change their counts and prices; if something here is out of date, email support@shaheercare.com and it will be corrected.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Charcoal UI a beUI alternative?
- Yes. The two share a stack and an install path. Charcoal UI is larger on the web, cheaper to start and open to AI agents without a licence; beUI adds React Native and animated illustrations.
- Does beUI have a free tier?
- Yes. Its core, 119 components and 32 blocks on the web plus 73 React Native components, is MIT licensed. Premium blocks, templates and MCP access are part of beUI Pro from $129 a year.
- Does Charcoal UI support React Native?
- No. Charcoal UI is web only, for React 19 and Tailwind CSS 4.