Quick Verdict
For a Notion-style or doc editor inside a SaaS boilerplate in 2026:
- Tiptap — best community, biggest plugin ecosystem, cleanest collaboration story (built on Yjs). Default for most React boilerplates.
- Lexical — Meta-backed, fast, best baseline performance, A11y-first. Default for editor-heavy apps where the editor is the product.
- Plate.js — block-based, shadcn-aligned, pre-built component-rich. Default for "I want a Notion clone today, not in three weeks."
If you're shipping a doc surface inside a normal SaaS app, Tiptap. If you're building an editor product, Lexical. If you want the most pre-built blocks with shadcn aesthetics, Plate.
Key Takeaways
- All three are open-source, framework-agnostic at the core, with strong React bindings.
- Tiptap is built on ProseMirror; Lexical is its own engine; Plate is built on Slate.
- Collaboration story differs — Tiptap has the most polished Yjs integration; Lexical added collab in v0.x; Plate uses Yjs through Slate-Yjs.
- AI integration (slash commands, completion, generation) is a 2026 differentiator — Tiptap and Plate have first-party AI extensions; Lexical does it via plugins.
Decision Table
| Scenario | Pick |
|---|---|
| Doc editor inside a SaaS dashboard | Tiptap |
| Editor IS your product (writing tool, CMS) | Lexical |
| Notion-style block editor in a weekend | Plate.js |
| Mobile-first, A11y-critical surface | Lexical |
| Heavy collaborative editing with cursors and comments | Tiptap + Hocuspocus or Plate + Liveblocks |
| AI-first writing assistant | Tiptap AI or Plate AI |
What "Block Editor" Means in 2026
Three different shapes get called "editor":
- Inline rich text — bold, italic, links, lists. Forum posts, comments, simple bios.
- Document editor — paragraphs + headings + tables + images. Help docs, knowledge bases.
- Block editor — Notion-style draggable blocks, slash commands, embeds, databases.
All three libraries can produce all three shapes. Differences show up in how much pre-built UI you get for shape 3.
Tiptap
Pricing: Open-source MIT core. Tiptap Cloud + Pro extensions (AI, Comments, Collaboration backend) are paid.
Fit: Default for any React/Vue/Svelte SaaS boilerplate that needs a serious editor. Backed by ProseMirror — the most battle-tested rich-text engine in the JS world.
What you get:
- Headless API; you bring the UI.
- 50+ official extensions (lists, tables, images, code blocks, mentions, embeds, drag handle, slash menu).
- Y.js + Hocuspocus integration for real-time collaboration.
- Tiptap AI — first-party paid extension for completion, summarize, translate, command-palette AI.
- Tiptap Comments — paid threaded inline comments synced via Yjs.
- React, Vue 2/3, Svelte, Solid bindings.
import { useEditor, EditorContent } from '@tiptap/react';
import StarterKit from '@tiptap/starter-kit';
import Collaboration from '@tiptap/extension-collaboration';
import * as Y from 'yjs';
const ydoc = new Y.Doc();
const editor = useEditor({
extensions: [StarterKit, Collaboration.configure({ document: ydoc })],
});
return <EditorContent editor={editor} />;
Where it bites:
- Headless means you build a lot of UI before it looks like Notion.
- Pro extensions add real cost at team scale (Comments, Collab, AI billed separately).
- ProseMirror's mental model has a learning curve when you start writing custom extensions.
Lexical
Pricing: Open-source MIT.
Fit: Editor-heavy products. Anything where performance and accessibility are non-negotiable. Apps that already use Meta's React stack and want consistency.
What you get:
- Built ground-up for accessibility (best ARIA story of the three).
- Performance baseline beats both Tiptap and Plate on large documents.
- Plugin model that mirrors React component composition.
- Collaboration via the official Yjs binding.
- Mobile React Native support (the only one of the three).
import { LexicalComposer } from '@lexical/react/LexicalComposer';
import { RichTextPlugin } from '@lexical/react/LexicalRichTextPlugin';
import { ContentEditable } from '@lexical/react/LexicalContentEditable';
<LexicalComposer initialConfig={{ namespace: 'doc' }}>
<RichTextPlugin contentEditable={<ContentEditable />} />
</LexicalComposer>
Where it bites:
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than Tiptap or Plate.
- More boilerplate for typical Notion-style features (slash commands, draggable blocks).
- Documentation is thinner than Tiptap's.
Plate.js
Pricing: Open-source MIT. Plate AI is paid (subscription per project).
Fit: Teams that want a Notion-style block editor with pre-built UI components — drag handles, slash menus, AI commands, callouts, code blocks. The shadcn-aligned design system is a draw for teams already on shadcn.
What you get:
- Pre-built React components for blocks, formatting, toolbars, slash menus.
- shadcn / Tailwind aesthetic — fits straight into a shadcn-Registry-driven boilerplate.
- Plate AI — slash commands for write/improve/translate.
- Collaboration via Slate-Yjs.
- Built on Slate; inherits Slate's excellent custom-block model.
import { Plate, PlateContent } from 'platejs/react';
import { createPlateEditor } from 'platejs/react';
const editor = createPlateEditor({ plugins: [/* ... */] });
return <Plate editor={editor}><PlateContent /></Plate>;
Where it bites:
- Slate's underlying engine has historically been less performant than ProseMirror or Lexical on very long documents.
- API churn through 2024–2025 was painful; v40+ is more stable but expect future migration work.
- Plate AI requires a Plate AI key separate from any provider keys.
Programming Model Comparison
| Concept | Tiptap | Lexical | Plate.js |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | ProseMirror | Lexical | Slate |
| UI | Headless | Headless | Pre-built React |
| Collaboration | Yjs (mature) | Yjs (newer) | Slate-Yjs |
| AI features | Tiptap AI (paid) | Plugin | Plate AI (paid) |
| Mobile RN | Limited | ✅ | Limited |
| Tables | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Drag handles | Pro | DIY | Built-in |
| Slash menu | Open extension | DIY | Built-in |
| Draggable blocks | Pro | DIY | Built-in |
| shadcn aesthetic | DIY | DIY | Native |
Collaboration Story
For multiplayer doc editing, the right pairings:
- Tiptap + Hocuspocus (self-host) or Tiptap + Tiptap Cloud (managed).
- Lexical + Yjs + Hocuspocus (self-host) or Lexical + Liveblocks (managed).
- Plate + Liveblocks is the most polished managed setup; Plate + Slate-Yjs + Hocuspocus for self-host.
For the broader collaboration-platform pick (presence, comments, threads, persistence), see Convex vs Liveblocks vs Supabase Realtime.
AI Integration
The 2026 expectation is slash commands inside the editor: /write, /improve, /translate, /summarize. All three can do it; the lift differs.
- Tiptap AI — paid extension, drop-in, supports OpenAI / Anthropic / Vercel AI SDK. Streaming generation in the editor.
- Plate AI — paid, similar feature surface, shadcn-styled UI.
- Lexical — DIY using the Vercel AI SDK; no paid extension needed but you build the UI.
For shipping fast, Tiptap AI or Plate AI saves a week. For controlling cost and avoiding another vendor, Lexical with the Vercel AI SDK is the cleaner long-term path.
Bundle Size
Rough gzipped client cost with a typical "doc editor" feature set (paragraphs, headings, lists, tables, code blocks, mentions, links):
- Lexical: ~40–60 KB.
- Tiptap: ~80–120 KB.
- Plate: ~120–180 KB (the pre-built UI is the cost).
Lexical's lead matters when the editor is one feature among many. It evaporates if the page is editor-only.
What Boilerplates Bundle
| Boilerplate | Editor |
|---|---|
| Notion-clone templates (multiple) | Plate or Tiptap |
| Most CMS / blog boilerplates | Tiptap |
| ShipFast / Indie Kit | None default; add Tiptap |
| Makerkit / Supastarter | None default; add Tiptap or Plate |
| Plate Plus starter | Plate |
| Tiptap Notion-clone starter | Tiptap |
For markdown-driven content rather than rich text, see the best blog-built-in boilerplates — most use MDX, not a rich-text editor at all.
Choosing in 60 Seconds
- Doc surface inside a SaaS dashboard → Tiptap.
- Building a writing/editor product → Lexical.
- Notion clone with shadcn aesthetic in a weekend → Plate.
- Mobile React Native → Lexical.
- Heavy collaboration with comments → Tiptap + Tiptap Cloud, or Plate + Liveblocks.
What This Doesn't Replace
- Markdown rendering for static content. If your content is MDX, you don't need an editor.
- Form input. A rich-text editor inside a "name" field is overkill — use a plain textarea.
- Code editor. Use Monaco or CodeMirror; rich-text editors are not for syntax highlighting workflows.
FAQ
Can I migrate later? Migrations between these are project-scale, not afternoon tasks. The document model differs in each. Pick once.
Plain text export? All three serialize to JSON; HTML and Markdown converters exist for each.
Image upload? All three integrate with uploadthing or S3 via plugins / handlers.
Can I use them outside React? Tiptap has Vue, Svelte, Solid bindings. Lexical has React (primary), with community vanilla bindings. Plate is React-only.
If you're picking the underlying SaaS boilerplate first, see the best Next.js SaaS boilerplate roundup before bolting on an editor.