Error Boundaries vs errorElement in React Router — When to Use Each

Error Boundaries and errorElement are two names for the exact same underlying React feature, so either can be used interchangeably in any codebase.

errorElement should always be preferred because it can catch rendering errors that occur anywhere in the entire application, including outside the router tree.

Error Boundaries should be used to catch rendering errors in any part of the tree independent of routing, while errorElement is specifically for errors thrown during a route's loader, action, or component rendering, and is tightly coupled to route structure.

Error Boundaries can only catch errors in class components, so errorElement is required for any error handling involving function components.