Is Zod better than Yup for TypeScript?

Zod is generally better for TypeScript projects because it was designed TypeScript-first. Types are inferred from the schema automatically with z.infer<>, there is no need to maintain separate TypeScript type definitions alongside your validation schemas.

Is Zod faster than Yup?

Zod is generally faster than Yup for most validation scenarios. Benchmarks show Zod parses simple schemas 2-5x faster than Yup, though both are fast enough for typical application use.

Zod vs Yup

Which schema validation library should you use for your TypeScript project?

Comparison Table

	Zod	Yup
TypeScript-first	✓ Yes — types inferred from schema	Partial — requires separate types
Type inference	Automatic with z.infer<>	Manual (@types/yup or separate types)
Bundle size	~14 KB (min+gzip)	~23 KB (min+gzip)
Sync validation	✓ parse() and safeParse()	Requires .validateSync()
Async validation	✓ parseAsync()	✓ .validate() (default async)
Error format	Flat errors via .flatten()	Nested errors via .inner
tRPC integration	✓ Official support	Community support
React Hook Form	✓ @hookform/resolvers/zod	✓ @hookform/resolvers/yup
Next.js / Astro	✓ Common pairing	✓ Works fine
Performance	Generally faster	Slightly slower
Ecosystem maturity	Newer (2020), fast growing	Older (2016), established
Custom transforms	✓ .transform()	✓ .transform()

Defining the Same Schema

Zod

import { z } from 'zod';

const UserSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string().min(2),
  email: z.string().email(),
  age: z.number().int().min(18),
});

// TypeScript type inferred automatically
type User = z.infer<typeof UserSchema>;

// Parse
const user = UserSchema.parse(data);

// Safe parse
const result = UserSchema.safeParse(data);
if (result.success) {
  console.log(result.data.name);
}

Yup

import * as yup from 'yup';

const UserSchema = yup.object({
  name: yup.string().min(2).required(),
  email: yup.string().email().required(),
  age: yup.number().integer().min(18).required(),
});

// TypeScript type requires manual inference
type User = yup.InferType<typeof UserSchema>;

// Validate (async by default)
const user = await UserSchema.validate(data);

// Validate without throwing
const isValid = await UserSchema.isValid(data);

Choose Zod if:

✓ You are using TypeScript (it was designed for TS)
✓ You want types inferred from schemas, not defined twice
✓ You use tRPC, Next.js, or Astro
✓ You need synchronous validation (parse/safeParse)
✓ You want a smaller bundle
✓ Starting a new project from scratch

Choose Yup if:

✓ You have an existing codebase already using Yup
✓ Your team knows Yup well
✓ You rely heavily on async validation by default
✓ You are using Formik (Yup is the official pairing)

Generate a Zod schema from your JSON data?

Use the JSON to Zod Converter →