I've been dabbling with Material UI for a project of mine and came across the two components Select and TextField with 'select'. In the document description, it states that the latter is just the prior used within the TextField component.

In that case, is there no practical difference in using one or the other (for the purpose of having the user select between multiple options)?

If there is, when would one use Select over TextField?

It might sound obvious for many, but for the sake of clarity, I just felt like I needed to ask around.

I've been dabbling with Material UI for a project of mine and came across the two components Select and TextField with 'select'. In the document description, it states that the latter is just the prior used within the TextField component.

In that case, is there no practical difference in using one or the other (for the purpose of having the user select between multiple options)?

If there is, when would one use Select over TextField?

It might sound obvious for many, but for the sake of clarity, I just felt like I needed to ask around.

• reactjs
• material-ui
• frontend

Share Improve this question Follow asked Mar 12 at 2:21 Yeahjun HeoYeahjun Heo 122 bronze badges

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TextField: Use the TextField component when you need users to input free-form text (e.g., names, email addresses, or comments) and when you want built-in form features like labels, helper text, and validation. It’s perfect for scenarios where there isn’t a pre-defined list of options.

Select: Use the Select component when presenting a limited, predefined list of choices. It’s designed specifically for selection purposes and offers advanced customization options (like multi-select or custom icons) without the overhead of input field features.