mobx vs xstate
mobx and xstate have comparable adoption (16,212,601 vs 20,263,809 downloads per month). xstate ships 20% less gzipped JavaScript (14.1 kB vs 17.7 kB), which matters if bundle size is a priority. Both projects are actively maintained.
| Metric | mobx | xstate |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly downloads | 3,789,180 | 4,469,231✓ |
| Monthly downloads | 16,212,601 | 20,263,809✓ |
| GitHub stars | 28,194 | 29,666✓ |
| Minified size | 62.2 kB | 44.7 kB✓ |
| Minified + gzipped | 17.7 kB | 14.1 kB✓ |
| Dependencies | 0 | 0 |
| Open issues | 73✓ | 123 |
| Last commit | 2026-05-31 | 2026-06-01✓ |
| Latest version | 6.15.4 | 5.32.0 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
When to choose which
mobx
Transparent reactive state via observables.
Choose it when: You prefer an OOP/reactive model where state updates track automatically, with minimal explicit wiring.
- + Automatic dependency tracking
- + Less explicit boilerplate
- - Magic can be hard to debug
- - Decorator/class style divides opinion
xstate
Explicit state machines and statecharts.
Choose it when: Complex flows (wizards, async sequences, UI with many states) where you want logic that is explicit, testable and visualizable.
- + Impossible states become impossible
- + Visualizable logic
- + Framework-agnostic
- - Steepest learning curve here
- - Overkill for simple state
Feature comparison
| Feature | mobx | xstate |
|---|---|---|
| Paradigm | Observables | State machines |
| First-class TypeScript | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Works outside React | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Dedicated devtools | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Built-in async / server state | Manual | ✓ Yes |
| Boilerplate | Low | High |
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[](https://devcompare.dev/compare/mobx-vs-xstate)Data from npm, Bundlephobia and GitHub. Last updated 2026-06-02.