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PerformanceDec 01, 2025

Tailwind vs. AtomAttr

Adetayo

Creator of AtomAttr

Tailwind CSS has undoubtedly changed the web development landscape. It popularized the utility-first approach and proved that inline styles (via classes) scale well. But Tailwind has a heavy reliance on a build step. AtomAttr takes the same utility-first philosophy but applies it at runtime.

Build Time vs. Runtime

Tailwind generates CSS at build time. This means you have zero runtime overhead, but you need a Node.js environment to develop. AtomAttr generates CSS at runtime. This means zero setup, but a tiny (sub-10ms) initial calculation cost.

Which is better?

For massive, enterprise-scale React apps, Tailwind's zero-runtime cost is often preferred. But for everything else—prototypes, admin dashboards, static sites, PHP apps, legacy codebases—AtomAttr offers a vastly superior developer experience with no configuration.