I used Redux for years. It was the default. You start a React project, you add Redux, you write your action types, action creators, reducers, middleware, selectors — and somewhere in that ceremony, you forget what you were actually trying to build.
Then I tried Zustand. And I genuinely haven't looked back.
This isn't a hot take for engagement. It's what actually happened in my projects — and why I think most React developers in 2026 should seriously reconsider their state management choices.
The Redux Tax
Let's be honest about what Redux asks of you. Want to add a simple counter? You need:
An action type constant. An action creator function. A reducer with a switch case. A Provider wrapping your app. A useSelector hook. A useDispatch call. That's six touch points for a number that goes up and down.
Yes, Redux Toolkit improved this significantly. RTK cuts the boilerplate in half with createSlice and configureStore. But even with RTK, you're still operating within Redux's mental model — dispatching actions to reducers, normalizing state shapes, wiring up middleware for async work.
For large enterprise apps with multiple teams, that structure has value. But for most of us building SaaS products, dashboards, and side projects? It's ceremony for ceremony's sake.
Enter Zustand: State Management That Gets Out of Your Way
Zustand (German for "state") is a tiny state management library by the pmndrs collective (the folks behind react-three-fiber, jotai, and valtio). It weighs about 1KB gzipped. And it does exactly what you need with almost zero overhead.
Here's that same counter in Zustand — define a store with create(), give it your state and actions in one object, then call the hook in your component. That's it. No Provider, no dispatch, no action types. Your state and your logic live together.
The first time I refactored a Redux slice to Zustand, I deleted about 80 lines and replaced them with 15. Same functionality. Way more readable.
Five Things That Sold Me
1. No Provider Required
Zustand stores exist outside React's component tree. You create them, import them, use them. No wrapping your entire app in context providers. This also means you can use your store outside React components entirely — in utility functions, API layers, wherever.
2. Surgical Re-renders
With Redux, useSelector rerenders your component whenever the selected slice changes — which requires careful memoization to avoid unnecessary renders. Zustand's selector pattern works similarly but with less friction. Use a selector function with the hook and your component only re-renders when that specific value changes. Simple, predictable, and fast.
3. Async Is Just... Async
No redux-thunk. No redux-saga. No createAsyncThunk. In Zustand, async actions are just async functions inside your store. You call set() when you have data. That's the entire pattern.
When I migrated an API-heavy dashboard from Redux to Zustand, removing the thunk middleware and the associated boilerplate was the single biggest win. The async code became readable again.
4. Middleware That Makes Sense
Need to persist state to localStorage? Zustand has a persist middleware — wrap your store config and you're done. Need Redux DevTools? There's a devtools middleware. Need both? Compose them together. The middleware system is dead simple because it's just function composition — no enhancers, no applyMiddleware chain.
5. TypeScript Experience
Redux's TypeScript story improved a lot with RTK, but it's still complex. You're typing your root state, dispatch, individual slices, thunk return types. Zustand's TypeScript integration is more straightforward — define an interface, pass it as a generic to create, and you get full type safety everywhere. Less gymnastics, same result.
When Redux Still Makes Sense
I'm not saying Redux is bad. It's a well-engineered library that solved real problems. There are cases where it still wins:
Large teams that need enforced patterns and strict state management conventions. Complex state machines with many interrelated pieces that benefit from Redux's single store architecture. Existing codebases where the migration cost doesn't justify the benefit.
But for new projects? Solo devs? Small to medium teams building products fast? Zustand is the better default in 2026.
The Migration Is Easier Than You Think
If you're sitting on a Redux codebase and feeling the friction, here's how I approached the migration:
Start with one slice. Pick the simplest Redux slice in your app. Rewrite it as a Zustand store. Both can coexist — there's no big-bang migration needed.
Move your selectors. If you had useSelector(state => state.counter.value), it becomes useCounterStore(state => state.value). The pattern maps directly.
Inline your thunks. Turn dispatch(fetchUser(id)) into fetchUser(id) — make it a regular async function in your store that calls set() when done.
Remove the Provider last. Once all slices are migrated, you can remove the Redux Provider, uninstall the packages, and enjoy a lighter dependency tree.
The Bigger Picture: State Management in 2026
The React ecosystem has moved on from "one state library to rule them all." We now have great options for different needs — Zustand for simple global state, Jotai for atomic state, TanStack Query for server state, and React's own useState/useReducer for component-local state.
The real lesson isn't "Zustand good, Redux bad." It's this: pick the simplest tool that solves your actual problem. For most React apps in 2026, that tool is Zustand.
Try It This Weekend
If you're curious, the best way to feel the difference is to build something. Spin up a small project, install Zustand (npm i zustand), and build a feature you'd normally reach for Redux on. A shopping cart, a form wizard, a dashboard with filters. Feel how much less code you write. Feel how much faster you move.
That's what sold me. Not a blog post (ironic, I know). Not a benchmark. Just the feeling of writing less code that does the same thing, and actually enjoying state management for the first time. Check out the official Zustand docs and the GitHub repo to get started.
If you want to see more of my dev journey and project breakdowns, check out my projects page or read more on the blog.