Smart React Grid Licensing & Pricing
Community License: $0 (excludes Grid—only Table, Tree, Tabs, Menu)
Developer License: $399 (1 developer, all components including Grid)
Team License: $1,499 (5 developers, Platinum Support)
Note: Perpetual license with 12 months updates. Grid NOT in free tier.
You're exploring React data grids and found Smart React Grid by HTML Elements—a commercial component library emphasizing performance and AI-powered features. Smart Grid claims to support millions of records with virtual scrolling and includes AI filtering capabilities for intelligent data exploration.
Smart React Grid is part of the Smart UI web components suite. The Grid includes virtualization, filtering with AI, grouping with summaries, CRUD operations, batch editing, Excel/CSV export, and WAI-ARIA accessibility. It's built on web components with React wrappers, targeting enterprise teams willing to pay for advanced features and professional support.
Simple Table offers a free tier for zero-revenue companies (MIT licensed) and a Pro plan ($85/month or $850/year) for revenue-generating businesses. At 42KB with zero dependencies, it delivers core data grid functionality—virtualization, grouping, pinning, filtering, sorting—at a fraction of Smart Grid's cost. For broader context, see our guide to free React data grids.
This comparison explores when Smart Grid's AI features and web components architecture justify the $399+ cost, and when Simple Table's free, React-native approach provides everything you need. We'll examine pricing, features, AI capabilities, and real-world scenarios.
Quick Comparison at a Glance
| Criteria | Smart React Grid | Simple Table |
|---|---|---|
| License | Commercial ($399-$1,499) | MIT (Free) |
| Free Tier | Limited (Grid NOT included) | Everything included |
| 5-Dev Team Cost | $1,499 (Team license) | $0 |
| 3-Year Cost | $1,499 (perpetual + updates) | $0 |
| Bundle Size | Large (web components) | 42 kB |
| Architecture | Web Components wrapper | Native React |
| Best For | AI features, multi-framework | Cost-conscious, React-native |
Pricing Breakdown: One-Time vs Zero Cost
Smart Grid offers perpetual licensing (pay once, own forever) with annual update fees. Let's compare total cost:
Smart React Grid: Commercial Licensing
Community License: Free
- ✓ Includes: Table, Tree, Tabs, Menu (NOT Grid)
- ✓ Perpetual use for free components
- ✗ Grid requires paid license
Developer License: $399
- ✓ 1 developer, all Smart UI components + jQWidgets
- ✓ Perpetual use (own forever)
- ✓ 12 months updates and support included
- △ Renewal for updates: pricing varies
Team License: $1,499
- ✓ 5 developers, all components
- ✓ Platinum Tech Support included
- ✓ Perpetual license with 12 months updates
- Cost per developer: $300/dev (vs $399 individual)
Simple Table: Flexible Pricing
- FREE: $0 for zero-revenue companies (MIT License)
- PRO: $85/month or $850/year for revenue-generating companies
- Initial cost: $0-$850/year (vs $1,499 for Smart Grid Team License)
- Savings: $649 in year 1 vs Smart Grid (for commercial use)
- No vendor lock-in: Open-source, fork/modify anytime
Perpetual vs Subscription Model
Smart Grid: Pay once, own forever (perpetual). But you need to pay for ongoing updates/support renewals. Simple Table: Free forever, updates forever, no renewal decisions. The open-source model eliminates all licensing complexity.
Feature Comparison: AI Premium vs Core Essentials
Smart Grid emphasizes AI-powered features. Simple Table focuses on core data grid functionality:
| Feature | Smart React Grid | Simple Table |
|---|---|---|
| Core Table Features | ||
| Sorting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Filtering | ✓ With AI | ✓ |
| Pagination | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtualization | ✓ Virtual scrolling | ✓ Built-in |
| Grouping | ✓ With summaries | ✓ |
| Row Selection | ✓ | ✓ |
| Advanced Features | ||
| Column Resizing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Column Reordering | ✓ | ✓ |
| Column Pinning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inline Editing | ✓ Cell/row/batch | ✓ Via custom cells |
| Excel/CSV Export | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Via callbacks |
| Premium Differentiators | ||
| AI-Powered Filtering | ✓ Premium | ✗ |
| Multi-Framework Support | ✓ React/Vue/Angular | React only |
| ThemeBuilder | ✓ | ✗ |
| WAI-ARIA/508 Compliance | ✓ Full | ✓ |
| Official Support | ✓ Platinum | Community |
AI filtering caveat: Smart Grid's AI-powered filtering is its unique selling point. If you need AI-driven data exploration, it's a differentiator. For traditional filtering/sorting/grouping, Simple Table provides equivalent functionality without the $399+ cost.
Decision Framework: AI Features vs Open-Source Freedom
Choose Smart React Grid When:
- Need AI-powered filtering for intelligent data exploration
- Building multi-framework apps (React + Vue/Angular)
- Require vendor support and guaranteed updates
- Budget allows $399/dev or $1,499/team (one-time)
- Want web components architecture for framework portability
Choose Simple Table When:
- Want $0 cost (save $1,499 vs Team License)
- Don't need AI filtering (standard filtering is sufficient)
- Prefer native React (no web components wrapper)
- Want open-source freedom (no vendor lock-in)
- Community support via Discord/GitHub is sufficient
The Verdict: AI Premium vs Open-Source Savings
Smart React Grid and Simple Table serve different priorities:
Smart React Grid: AI-Powered Commercial
- ✓ $399/dev or $1,499/team (perpetual license)
- ✓ AI-powered filtering for intelligent data exploration
- ✓ Multi-framework support (React, Vue, Angular via web components)
- ✓ Platinum support, ThemeBuilder, enterprise features
- ✗ Not free (Grid excluded from Community tier)
- ✗ Web components architecture (wrapper around React)
- ✗ Renewal fees for ongoing updates
Simple Table: Affordable Open-Source
- ✓ FREE for zero-revenue companies (MIT license)
- ✓ PRO: $850/year for commercial use (vs $1,499 for Smart Grid Team License)
- ✓ 42KB bundle, zero dependencies, native React
- ✓ All core features (virtualization, grouping, pinning, filtering)
- ✓ No vendor lock-in, open-source freedom
- ✓ Saves $649 vs Smart Grid (for commercial use)
- △ Community support (FREE) or Priority support (PRO), no AI filtering
Our recommendation: Smart Grid justifies its cost if AI-powered filtering is a core requirement, you're building multi-framework applications, or you need vendor support. But for most React developers—especially those who don't need AI features—Simple Table's flexible pricing ($0 for startups, $850/year for commercial use vs $1,499 for Smart Grid) delivers all essential data grid functionality at lower cost. Standard filtering, sorting, and grouping handle 99% of use cases without AI.
For other commercial alternatives, see DevExtreme Grid, KendoReact Grid, or our complete guide to free React data grids.
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