Frontend Masters
Complete Intro to React v9 by Brian Holt — Honest Analysis of 42 Developer Opinions
Brian Holt's Complete Intro to React v9 is the most consistently recommended paid React intro we found on Hacker News, with praise spanning nine years and multiple course versions. v9 modernises the stack — Vite, TanStack Router, TanStack Query, React 19 features — without losing what made earlier versions effective: Holt's clarity, his focus on real tooling, and a single cohesive project that ties the curriculum together. The main caveat is the Frontend Masters subscription model, which only makes sense if you commit to using the wider catalog.
Final score
from 42 analysed opinions
Published AI-researched, editor-audited
Distribution of opinions
Per-criterion scores
v9 covers React 18 and 19 features (form actions, Suspense, the React Compiler) plus a modern Vite + TanStack Router + TanStack Query stack. Praised for currency, with a minority of long-term Frontend Masters subscribers flagging that other courses in the catalog can drift.
Brian Holt is the most consistently praised aspect across nine years of Hacker News mentions. Learners use words like 'excellent', 'great', and 'brilliant'. His pet adoption project framing is repeatedly cited as memorable.
Requires a Frontend Masters subscription (currently $39/month), which is consistently described as worth it if you complete more than one course per month. Less competitive against free alternatives if you only want a single React intro.
The single build-along project (an e-commerce app in v9, evolved from the pet adoption app of earlier versions) is praised for being non-trivial and integrating real ecosystem tools (TanStack Query, Vitest) rather than toy examples.
Holt spends real time on tooling (Vite, ESLint, Prettier, code-splitting, Vitest) and modern ecosystem choices, which is the single most-cited reason people say his courses transferred well to their day jobs.
What learners said
What people loved
6- Brian Holt is consistently described as one of the clearest React instructors online×18
- Modern v9 stack — Vite, TanStack Router, TanStack Query, React 19 features×14
- Heavy focus on real tooling and ecosystem rather than just React syntax×12
- Single cohesive project (e-commerce / pet adoption) makes concepts stick×11
- Free companion course notes hosted at react-v9.holt.courses for review×7
- Trusted instructor history — staff roles at Netflix, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Stripe, Neon×6
What frustrated learners
5- Requires a Frontend Masters subscription (~$39/month) rather than one-time purchase×9
- Some Frontend Masters subscribers report catalog-wide course decay over time×5
- A handful of unresolved GitHub issues around setup and dependency install×4
- Pace assumes solid JavaScript fundamentals — not a true zero-to-hero path×4
- Video-first format may not suit learners who prefer text or documentation×3
Real quotes from real users
“I did the Intermediate React by Brian Holt on Frontend Masters. It was very good. The quality of courses offered here is very good.”
“Brian Holt did this effectively in his (excellent) React course for Frontend Masters. He started off by introducing his dogs... And then built a pet adoption app. Brilliant, lots of hooks (literal and figurative) involving cute puppies literally built in to the project.”
“I think the frontendmasters.com has some brilliant introductions. I specifically enjoyed the React course on it done by Brian Holt. Spends a lot of time on tooling as well which I think is really important long term.”
“I can recommend frontendmasters.com Brian Holt intro to web development. he's great .. i learned React from his courses.”
“Not free, but Brian Holt (LinkedIn/Netflix) has a great series on Frontend Masters.”
“Inside-jokes from the group chat aside, this is very good content. Holt's videos on Frontend Masters are excellent as well.”
“Frontend Masters had superior video courses for React/Typescript and they were super helpful. The best value and flat monthly rate for all the things you want to learn.”
“Frontend Masters has suffered from course decay — instructors do not always specify language versions, project files sometimes fail to install, and a large portion of the catalog becomes outdated faster than you would expect.”
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How we evaluated this
This review synthesizes 42 opinions collected across the public web. Final score = Bayesian average penalising small samples, then weighted by the positivity ratio. No paid placements, no hidden agenda.
- 28 from Hacker News
- 8 from Blogs
- 6 from Forums