20 React Projects (2026)

React is the most popular frontend framework for building modern user interfaces. The only way to truly learn React — beyond reading docs — is to build real applications that use hooks, manage state, handle side effects, and communicate with backends. These 20 projects take you from a simple counter all the way to a multi-tenant SaaS app, covering every major React pattern along the way.

Beginner Projects (1–6)

1. Counter App — Difficulty: ⭐ Skills: useState, event handlers, JSX Build a simple counter with increment, decrement, and reset. Features: increase/decrease by 1 or a custom step, display current count, disable buttons at zero, color-coded positive/negative values.

2. Todo List with Hooks — Difficulty: ⭐⭐ Skills: useState, useRef, controlled components Build a full-featured todo list application. Features: add/delete/toggle tasks, filter by all/active/completed, edit task inline with double-click, drag to reorder using HTML5 drag-and-drop.

3. Weather App (useEffect + API) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ Skills: useEffect, fetch API, async patterns, error handling Build a weather app that fetches live data from OpenWeatherMap. Features: city search with debounce, geolocation auto-detect, current conditions with icons, 5-day forecast, loading and error states.

4. GitHub User Search — Difficulty: ⭐⭐ Skills: useEffect, conditional rendering, API calls Build a GitHub profile search tool using the GitHub REST API. Features: username search input, display avatar/bio/repos, repo list with stars and forks, dark/light theme toggle.

5. Movie Database (Routing) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ Skills: React Router, dynamic routes, search params Build a movie database app with routing using the TMDB API. Features: home page with trending movies, search results page, movie detail page with dynamic route, genre filter, pagination.

6. Markdown Previewer — Difficulty: ⭐⭐ Skills: controlled textarea, third-party libraries, split pane Build a markdown editor with live preview using the marked library. Features: split-pane layout, real-time HTML rendering, toolbar with formatting buttons, download as HTML, syntax highlighting for code blocks.

Intermediate Projects (7–12)

7. E-Commerce Cart (useReducer) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ Skills: useReducer, context API, complex state logic Build a shopping cart with useReducer for state management. Features: product listing with add to cart, quantity adjustment, remove items, price calculation with discounts, cart summary, checkout form.

8. Real-Time Chat (Firebase) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Firebase, Firestore real-time listeners, authentication Build a real-time chat app backed by Firebase Firestore. Features: Google sign-in, chat rooms, real-time message display, message timestamps, image/file upload, online user status.

9. Expense Dashboard (Context + Charts) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Context API, custom hooks, Chart.js integration Build an expense tracking dashboard with visualizations. Features: add/delete transactions with categories, Context-based global state, pie chart for category breakdown, line chart for spending over time, budget alerts.

10. Blog with CMS — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: React Router, forms, markdown rendering, localStorage Build a personal blog with a built-in CMS (content management system). Features: create/edit/delete posts with markdown editor, tag system with filtering, post search, draft/publish toggle, post list with pagination.

11. Image Gallery with Masonry — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ Skills: dynamic grids, Unsplash API, infinite scroll Build a masonry-style image gallery using the Unsplash API. Features: infinite scroll with Intersection Observer, masonry layout with dynamic column count, lightbox for full-size view, search by keyword, save favorites.

12. Drag-and-Drop Kanban — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: react-beautiful-dnd, optimistic updates, state management Build a Kanban board using the @hello-pangea/dnd library. Features: columns for To Do/In Progress/Review/Done, drag cards between columns, add/edit/delete cards, card descriptions with due dates, board persistence.

Advanced Projects (13–20)

13. Social Media Clone (Auth + Posts) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: authentication, CRUD, feeds, relationships Build a social media mini-platform with user profiles and posts. Features: email/password signup, create posts with images, like and comment on posts, user follow system, news feed with chronological posts.

14. Video Meeting App (WebRTC) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: WebRTC, Socket.IO, media streams Build a video conferencing app with WebRTC. Features: create/join rooms with link, local video preview, mute/unmute audio and video, screen sharing, chat alongside video, participant list.

15. E-Commerce Platform (Stripe + Auth) — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Stripe integration, authentication, order management Build a full e-commerce platform with real payment processing. Features: product management (CRUD), shopping cart with useReducer, Stripe Checkout integration, order history, user profile with address management.

16. Project Management Tool — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: complex forms, tree structures, nested comments Build a project management tool (like a simplified Linear or Jira). Features: create projects with descriptions, task cards with assigned team members, comment threads on tasks, file attachments, activity log.

17. Collaborative Whiteboard — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Canvas API, WebSocket real-time sync, drawing tools Build a collaborative whiteboard where multiple users can draw simultaneously. Features: freehand drawing tool, color picker and brush size, shape tools (rect/circle/line), undo/redo stack, real-time sync via WebSocket.

18. Real-Time Dashboard — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Server-Sent Events, WebSocket, chart updates Build a real-time analytics dashboard with live-updating charts. Features: live data stream via WebSocket or SSE, multiple chart types (line, bar, area), date range filter, auto-scrolling data table, export to CSV.

19. Full-Stack CRUD App — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Next.js or React + Express, database, REST API Build a full-stack application with a React frontend and a Node.js backend. Features: user authentication, create/read/update/delete resources, paginated list view, search and filter form, RESTful API design.

20. Design System Component Library — Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skills: Storybook, component architecture, theming Build a reusable component library with Storybook documentation. Features: Button, Input, Modal, Dropdown, Toast, Tooltip components, theme provider with light/dark mode, prop-type documentation, unit tests with Testing Library.

How to Choose

If you’re new to React, start with projects 1–3 to get comfortable with hooks. Then build 4–6 to learn routing and API integration. Projects 7–12 introduce more advanced state patterns and real-world features. Tackle 13–20 only after you’ve shipped 4–5 React projects — these involve backends, real-time data, and complex state. Pick the one closest to an app you’d actually use.

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