diff --git a/reflex/.templates/web/package.json b/reflex/.templates/web/package.json
index 191e7a4e5..09c44220f 100644
--- a/reflex/.templates/web/package.json
+++ b/reflex/.templates/web/package.json
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "autoprefixer": "^10.4.14",
-    "postcss": "^8.4.24",
-    "tailwindcss": "^3.3.2"
+    "postcss": "^8.4.24"
   }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/reflex/compiler/compiler.py b/reflex/compiler/compiler.py
index 16df3c81a..d3e8f208c 100644
--- a/reflex/compiler/compiler.py
+++ b/reflex/compiler/compiler.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from typing import List, Set, Tuple, Type
 from reflex import constants
 from reflex.compiler import templates, utils
 from reflex.components.component import Component, ComponentStyle, CustomComponent
+from reflex.config import get_config
 from reflex.state import State
 from reflex.utils import imports
 from reflex.vars import ImportVar
@@ -148,7 +149,12 @@ def _compile_root_stylesheet(stylesheets: List[str]) -> str:
     Raises:
         FileNotFoundError: If a specified stylesheet in assets directory does not exist.
     """
-    sheets = [constants.TAILWIND_ROOT_STYLE_PATH]
+    # Add tailwind css if enabled.
+    sheets = (
+        [constants.TAILWIND_ROOT_STYLE_PATH]
+        if get_config().tailwind is not None
+        else []
+    )
     for stylesheet in stylesheets:
         if not utils.is_valid_url(stylesheet):
             # check if stylesheet provided exists.
diff --git a/reflex/config.py b/reflex/config.py
index 397dea107..232406c6c 100644
--- a/reflex/config.py
+++ b/reflex/config.py
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ class Config(Base):
     cors_allowed_origins: List[str] = ["*"]
 
     # Tailwind config.
-    tailwind: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None
+    tailwind: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = {}
 
     # Timeout when launching the gunicorn server. TODO(rename this to backend_timeout?)
     timeout: int = 120
diff --git a/reflex/constants.py b/reflex/constants.py
index c2d2fc95a..e3e9e7a9c 100644
--- a/reflex/constants.py
+++ b/reflex/constants.py
@@ -134,6 +134,8 @@ TAILWIND_CONFIG = os.path.join(WEB_DIR, "tailwind.config.js")
 TAILWIND_CONTENT = ["./pages/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}"]
 # Relative tailwind style path to root stylesheet in STYLES_DIR.
 TAILWIND_ROOT_STYLE_PATH = "./tailwind.css"
+# The Tailwindcss version
+TAILWIND_VERSION = "tailwindcss@^3.3.2"
 # The NextJS config file
 NEXT_CONFIG_FILE = "next.config.js"
 # The sitemap config file.
diff --git a/reflex/utils/prerequisites.py b/reflex/utils/prerequisites.py
index 28c6d268e..60d716096 100644
--- a/reflex/utils/prerequisites.py
+++ b/reflex/utils/prerequisites.py
@@ -432,13 +432,20 @@ def install_frontend_packages(packages: set[str]):
     processes.show_status("Installing base frontend packages", process)
 
     config = get_config()
-    if config.tailwind is not None and "plugins" in config.tailwind:
+    if config.tailwind is not None:
+        # install tailwind and tailwind plugins as dev dependencies.
         process = processes.new_process(
-            [get_install_package_manager(), "add", *config.tailwind["plugins"]],
+            [
+                get_install_package_manager(),
+                "add",
+                "-d",
+                constants.TAILWIND_VERSION,
+                *((config.tailwind or {}).get("plugins", [])),
+            ],
             cwd=constants.WEB_DIR,
             shell=constants.IS_WINDOWS,
         )
-        processes.show_status("Installing tailwind packages", process)
+        processes.show_status("Installing tailwind", process)
 
     # Install custom packages defined in frontend_packages
     if len(packages) > 0:
diff --git a/tests/compiler/test_compiler.py b/tests/compiler/test_compiler.py
index 0e51fd67d..0b6cd6625 100644
--- a/tests/compiler/test_compiler.py
+++ b/tests/compiler/test_compiler.py
@@ -121,7 +121,6 @@ def test_compile_stylesheets(tmp_path, mocker):
     assets_dir.mkdir()
 
     (assets_dir / "styles.css").touch()
-
     mocker.patch("reflex.compiler.compiler.Path.cwd", return_value=project)
 
     stylesheets = [
@@ -141,6 +140,36 @@ def test_compile_stylesheets(tmp_path, mocker):
     )
 
 
+def test_compile_stylesheets_exclude_tailwind(tmp_path, mocker):
+    """Test that Tailwind is excluded if tailwind config is explicitly set to None.
+
+    Args:
+        tmp_path: The test directory.
+        mocker: Pytest mocker object.
+    """
+    project = tmp_path / "test_project"
+    project.mkdir()
+
+    assets_dir = project / "assets"
+    assets_dir.mkdir()
+    mock = mocker.Mock()
+
+    mocker.patch.object(mock, "tailwind", None)
+    mocker.patch("reflex.compiler.compiler.get_config", return_value=mock)
+
+    (assets_dir / "styles.css").touch()
+    mocker.patch("reflex.compiler.compiler.Path.cwd", return_value=project)
+
+    stylesheets = [
+        "/styles.css",
+    ]
+
+    assert compiler.compile_root_stylesheet(stylesheets) == (
+        os.path.join(".web", "styles", "styles.css"),
+        "@import url('@/styles.css'); \n",
+    )
+
+
 def test_compile_nonexistent_stylesheet(tmp_path, mocker):
     """Test that an error is thrown for non-existent stylesheets.