Web Animation Libraries
JavaScript animation libraries compared — timelines, declarative React motion, and JSON-based animations.
alternatives (6)
★ GSAP
Best for: Pro timelines & scroll
Professional-grade animation platform — timelines, ScrollTrigger, morphing, and precise control over any property.
- +Most powerful
- +ScrollTrigger
- +Works everywhere
- −Some plugins paid
- −Imperative API
Framer Motion
Best for: React UI animations
Declarative animation library for React — layout animations, gestures, and AnimatePresence for enter/exit.
- +Declarative React
- +Layout animations
- +Gestures
- −React only
Motion
Best for: Multi-framework motion
The successor to Framer Motion — same declarative API, now framework-agnostic with React, Vue, and vanilla support.
- +Framework-agnostic
- +Modern API
- +Layout animations
- −Newer
- −migrating from FM
Lottie
Best for: Designer-made animations
JSON-based animations exported from After Effects — lightweight vector animations played in the browser.
- +After Effects export
- +Tiny file size
- +Designer workflow
- −Not code-driven
- −Limited interactivity
Lenis
Best for: Smooth scroll feel
Lightweight smooth-scroll library — normalizes wheel, touch, and programmatic scroll with lerp easing; pairs naturally with GSAP ScrollTrigger.
- +Butter-smooth scroll
- +GSAP-friendly
- +Tiny bundle
- −Scroll only
- −Not a full animation engine
Anime.js
Best for: Lightweight CSS/SVG motion
Lightweight animation engine — timelines, stagger, SVG morphing, and CSS property tweens with a minimal API and small footprint.
- +Tiny footprint
- +SVG morph
- +Stagger timelines
- −Less scroll tooling
- −Smaller ecosystem than GSAP
Compare
Tick the ones you want to compare
| Alternative | Model | React support | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★GSAP | Timeline | Wrapper libs | Scroll & complex motion |
| Framer Motion | Declarative | Native | React UI motion |
| Motion | Declarative | Yes (+ Vue) | Cross-framework motion |
| Lottie | JSON playback | Wrapper libs | Illustration animations |
| Lenis | Scroll smoothing | Wrapper libs | Inertial scroll UX |
| Anime.js | Timeline | Manual bind | SVG & CSS animations |
GSAP is the pick for scroll-driven and complex timeline animation. Lenis adds inertial smooth scroll (often paired with GSAP ScrollTrigger). Framer Motion / Motion for declarative React (or multi-framework) UI transitions. Anime.js for lightweight SVG and CSS tweens without GSAP’s weight. Lottie when designers export animations from After Effects. For 3D and GPU graphics (not UI motion), see JavaScript Graphics Libraries.