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Performance

The KendoReact Data Grid is engineered to handle massive datasets with exceptional performance. Through advanced optimization techniques, intelligent rendering strategies, and modern React patterns, the Grid delivers enterprise-grade performance that scales from hundreds to millions of records while maintaining a responsive user experience.

Performance Architecture

The KendoReact Grid leverages a sophisticated performance architecture built on modern React patterns and optimized rendering strategies:

Intelligent DOM Management: Minimizes DOM operations through strategic element reuse and efficient rendering cycles
Memory Optimization: Smart data handling that prevents memory leaks and reduces garbage collection overhead
Render Optimization: Advanced reconciliation algorithms that update only changed elements
Event Handling Efficiency: Optimized event delegation and handling for maximum responsiveness

Core Performance Features

The KendoReact Data Grid offers several powerful performance optimization features:

Virtual Scrolling (row virtualization)—Only renders visible rows plus a buffer, enabling the Grid to handle millions of records with consistent performance and minimal memory usage (enabled by default for licensed users as of v11.0.0).
Column Virtualization—Renders only visible columns dynamically during horizontal scrolling, significantly reducing DOM elements for datasets with many columns.
Paging—Renders only data for the current page, ideal for analytical interfaces and SEO-friendly scenarios. It could be combined with virtual scrolling.
autoProcessData—Built-in data processing that handles sorting, filtering, grouping, and paging automatically, reducing boilerplate code and improving maintainability.

When testing the performance of the KendoReact Data Grid, make sure to use a production build. React is significantly faster when using a production build, providing a more accurate representation of end-user experience.

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Virtual Scrolling Performance

Virtual Scrolling is the primary performance optimization technique for handling large datasets in the KendoReact Grid. This feature renders only the visible rows plus a buffer, enabling seamless handling of millions of records with constant memory usage.

When to Use:

Datasets with 1000+ rows
Applications requiring real-time data updates
Mobile applications with memory constraints
Any scenario where initial loading performance is critical

Performance Benefits:

Constant Memory Usage: Memory consumption stays consistent regardless of data size
Fast Initial Rendering: Only renders visible content, dramatically reducing initial load time
Smooth Scrolling: Maintains 60fps performance during scroll operations
Reduced DOM Size: Keeps DOM lightweight for better browser performance

This demo below showcases virtual scrolling (row virtualization), which renders only visible rows plus a buffer. This enables the Grid to handle millions of records with consistent performance and minimal memory usage.

Combined Virtualization (Rows + Columns)

Column Virtualization optimizes horizontal scrolling performance by rendering only visible columns, making it ideal for wide datasets with many columns.

When to Use:

Datasets with 50+ columns
Wide tables with varied column widths
Dashboard applications with many data points
Reporting interfaces with extensive column sets

Performance Benefits:

Horizontal Scroll Performance: Maintains smooth horizontal navigation regardless of column count
Memory Efficiency: Reduces memory footprint for wide datasets
DOM Optimization: Keeps horizontal DOM size manageable
Combined with Virtual Scrolling: Maximum performance for both rows and columns

Paging Performance

Paging provides predictable performance by rendering only the current page of data, making it ideal for analytical interfaces and SEO-friendly applications.

When to Use:

Analytics and reporting interfaces
SEO-friendly applications requiring static URLs
Applications with user-controlled data consumption
Interfaces where users expect traditional page-based navigation

Performance Benefits:

Predictable Performance: Consistent rendering time regardless of total data size
Memory Efficiency: Only current page data is held in memory
User Control: Users can adjust page size based on their needs

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Performance Best Practices

Development Guidelines

Always Use Production Builds: React development builds include extensive debugging overhead. Production builds can be 3-6x faster and provide accurate performance measurements.
Choose the Right Strategy:
- Use Virtual Scrolling for 1000+ rows with consistent row heights
- Use Column Virtualization for 50+ columns or wide datasets
- Use Paging for analytical interfaces
- Combine strategies for maximum performance with large, wide datasets
Optimize Cell Renderers: Memoize custom cell components and avoid inline functions in render methods to prevent unnecessary re-renders.
Manage State Efficiently: Use appropriate state management patterns, implement proper memoization, and avoid unnecessary re-renders.

Data Operations

Prefer autoProcessData for built-in sorting, filtering, grouping, and paging to minimize manual logic and improve maintainability.
Trigger sorting and other data operations only in response to user actions, not on every render.
Debounce remote data requests to reduce unnecessary API calls and improve responsiveness.
Update Grid state after editing is complete, rather than on every cell change, to minimize re-renders.
Define custom components (such as cells or rows) outside the main Grid component to prevent unnecessary re-renders of child components.

Modern Optimization Features

AutoProcessData

The autoProcessData feature eliminates the need for manual data processing by handling sorting, filtering, grouping, and paging automatically within the Grid component.

jsx

<Grid
    data={data}
    autoProcessData={{
        filter: true,
        search: true,
        sort: true,
        group: true,
        page: true
    }}
    filterable={true}
    sortable={true}
    groupable={true}
    pageable={true}
/>

This approach reduces boilerplate code, improves maintainability, and ensures optimal performance through built-in optimizations.

React Server Components (RSC) Mode

For Next.js applications, the Grid's RSC mode provides significant performance benefits:

Server-side data processing - Offloads expensive operations from the client
Reduced bundle size - Ships only essential JavaScript to the client
Improved initial load times - Faster time-to-interactive and first contentful paint
Better scalability - More efficient handling of large datasets

Learn more about Grid RSC Mode and RSC Performance Optimization.

Performance Testing & Monitoring

Testing Strategy:

Start with small datasets (100 rows, 5 columns) to establish baseline
Gradually increase dataset size to identify performance thresholds
Test different optimization strategies (virtual scrolling vs paging)
Compare development vs production build performance
Test on target devices and browsers

Key Performance Metrics:

Initial Render Time: Time from mount to first paint
Scroll Responsiveness: Maintain 60fps during scroll operations
Memory Consumption: Monitor memory usage patterns and leaks
Interaction Latency: Response time for user interactions (sorting, filtering)
Bundle Size Impact: Measure JavaScript bundle size impact

Performance Testing Tools:

React Profiler: Built-in React performance profiling with React 18+ concurrent features
Chrome DevTools: Comprehensive browser performance analysis
Lighthouse: Core Web Vitals and performance scoring
Web Vitals Extension: Real-time performance monitoring
React DevTools Profiler: Component-level performance insights

We advise testing with a production build as well. That shows the real power of the KendoReact Grid with up to 6 times improved performance compared to when testing with a development build.