State Management Today: Redux vs Modern Alternatives

The state management landscape keeps evolving. Here's how I compare the options teams actually ship with today.

Redux: The Classic Choice

Redux remains powerful for complex applications with:

// Modern Redux with RTK
const userSlice = createSlice({
  name: 'user',
  initialState: { data: null, loading: false },
  reducers: {
    setUser: (state, action) => { state.data = action.payload; }
  }
});

Zustand: Simple and Powerful

Minimal boilerplate with great DX:

const useStore = create((set) => ({
  count: 0,
  increment: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
}));

React Query: Server State

Perfect for async data:

const { data, isLoading } = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['users'],
  queryFn: fetchUsers
});

My Recommendations

Choose based on your team's experience and project requirements.