# Chatbot UI in React Native: A Gifted Chat Alternative

> By Lawrence Arya, Founder & CEO of VP0. Published 2026-06-01, updated 2026-06-02. 5 min read.
> Source: https://vp0.com/blogs/chatbot-ui-react-native-gifted-chat-alternative-free-ios-template-vibe-coding-gu

Gifted Chat is convenient until you need to customize it. Building your own chat UI from a reference gives you full control and a modern, native feel.

**TL;DR.** A prebuilt chat library like react-native-gifted-chat is fast to start but hard to deeply customize and can feel dated. The alternative is your own chat UI: a message list, custom bubbles, an input bar, and streaming, built from a free VP0 design with an AI builder. You get full control over styling, streaming behavior, and states, and a native feel. Own the chat UI when customization matters more than the head start.

Looking for a Gifted Chat alternative for React Native? The short answer: react-native-gifted-chat is convenient until you need to customize it, and then its structure fights you. Building your own chat UI from a free VP0 design, the free iOS design library for AI builders, gives you full control over bubbles, streaming, and states, with a modern native feel. Own the chat UI when customization matters more than the head start. The stakes are real: roughly 62% of developers [already use AI tools](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/ai) day to day.

## Who this is for

This is for React Native developers who outgrew a prebuilt chat library, or want to avoid one, and need a custom, fully controllable chat UI without building it from scratch.

## Why own the chat UI

A library like Gifted Chat gives you a working chat fast, but it imposes its own structure and styling, and deep customization, custom bubble shapes, streaming tokens, specific animations, means fighting it. Owning the UI removes that friction. The core is not large: a performant message list, aligned bubbles, a keyboard-aware input, and streaming support. With a reference and an AI builder, you scaffold it quickly and keep total control. The [React Native FlatList docs](https://reactnative.dev/docs/flatlist) cover the message list, the [keyboard handling docs](https://reactnative.dev/docs/keyboardavoidingview) cover the input, and a free reference covers the look.

| Need | Gifted Chat | Your own UI |
|---|---|---|
| Fast start | Yes | Fast with an AI builder |
| Custom bubbles | Fights you | Full control |
| Streaming tokens | Awkward | Built your way |
| Native feel | Library-styled | Exactly your design |
| Long-term control | Limited | Total |

## Build it free with a VP0 design

Pick a chat screen in VP0, copy its link, and prompt your AI builder:

> Build a React Native chat UI from this design: [paste VP0 link]. A performant message list with custom left and right bubbles, a keyboard-aware input bar, streaming assistant messages, and handled loading and empty states. No chat library, my own components. Match the palette and spacing from the reference, and generate clean code.

For neighboring chat and AI patterns, see [an AI companion app template for iOS](/blogs/ai-companion-app-template-ios/), [a Telegram clone UI kit in SwiftUI](/blogs/telegram-clone-ui-kit-swiftui/), [building an AI wrapper app in SwiftUI in 5 minutes](/blogs/build-ai-wrapper-app-swiftui-5-minutes/), and [how to make an AI app look native on iOS](/blogs/make-ai-app-look-native-ios/).

## Get the details right

A custom chat UI lives on a few details. Use a performant, inverted list so new messages appear at the bottom and scrolling stays smooth at length. Make the input bar grow with text and stay above the keyboard. Support streaming by appending tokens to the last message as they arrive, with a typing indicator while waiting. Handle empty and error states so the screen never looks broken. These are exactly the things a library hides and then makes hard to change, so owning them is the whole point. Build from the reference, then tune each detail to feel native.

## Common mistakes

The first mistake is a non-performant list that janks with many messages. The second is an input bar that the keyboard covers. The third is no streaming support, so replies feel slow. The fourth is unhandled empty and error states. The fifth is reaching back for a library the moment it gets slightly hard, when control was the goal.

## Key takeaways

- A prebuilt chat library is fast but hard to deeply customize.
- Owning the chat UI gives full control over bubbles, streaming, and states.
- VP0 gives you the chat UI free, ready to build in React Native with Claude Code or Cursor.
- Use a performant list, a keyboard-aware input, and streaming with a typing indicator.
- Own the chat UI when customization matters more than the head start.

## Sources

- [react-native-gifted-chat](https://github.com/FaridSafi/react-native-gifted-chat): a widely used chat UI component for React Native.
- [React Native performance guide](https://reactnative.dev/docs/performance): the official guidance on profiling and memory.
- [React Native architecture overview](https://reactnative.dev/architecture/landing-page): how React Native renders real native views.

## Frequently asked questions

What is a good alternative to react-native-gifted-chat? Your own chat UI: a message list, custom bubbles, an input bar, and streaming, built from a free VP0 design with an AI builder, for full control.

Why build my own chat UI instead of using a library? Control. A library imposes structure and styling that fights deep customization. Owning it removes that, and an AI builder plus a reference keeps it fast.

What is the best free chat UI template for React Native? VP0, the free iOS design library for AI builders, which generates clean React Native code for the list, bubbles, and input from a design link.

Is building a chat UI hard? Not with a reference. The core is a performant list, aligned bubbles, a keyboard-aware input, and streaming, which an AI builder scaffolds quickly.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a good alternative to react-native-gifted-chat?

Your own chat UI. Gifted Chat is fast to start but hard to deeply customize. Building a message list, custom bubbles, an input bar, and streaming from a free VP0 design gives you full control over styling and behavior with a native feel, generated quickly by an AI builder.

### Why build my own chat UI instead of using a library?

Control. A library imposes its structure and styling, which fights you when you need custom bubbles, streaming, or a specific look. Owning the chat UI means no fighting the library, and an AI builder plus a free reference makes it nearly as fast to build.

### What is the best free chat UI template for React Native?

VP0, the free iOS design library for AI builders. You clone a chat screen into an AI tool like Claude Code or Cursor, which generates clean React Native code for the message list, bubbles, and input, at no cost.

### Is building a chat UI hard?

Not with a reference. The core is a performant message list, aligned bubbles, a keyboard-aware input, and streaming support. From a free VP0 design an AI builder scaffolds it quickly, and you keep full control.

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*Published on the [VP0 Journal](https://vp0.com/blogs). Free to read, index and cite with attribution.*