Web animation libraries compared
Layer: Animation. In the list: Anime.js and React Spring. Added for comparison: GSAP, Motion (formerly Framer Motion) and Lottie (lottie-web). Part of Open-source motion studio: 20 repos. Dates checked 2026-10-27; capability notes come from README or docs and were not run here.
A dash (—) in a table means no information was recorded for that cell.
| Anime.js | React Spring | GSAP | Motion | Lottie (lottie-web) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Timeline animation of CSS, SVG, DOM and objects | Spring-physics animation for React | Timeline animation toolkit with plugins | Animation library from the Framer Motion lineage | Player for After Effects animations exported as JSON |
| Input | JS calls | React hooks | JS calls | JS or React | Exported JSON |
| Needs React | No | Yes | No | Optional | No |
| Seekable timeline | Yes (listed as a HyperFrames adapter) | Real-time springs | Yes (HyperFrames’ example uses a paused GSAP timeline) | — | Frame-based playback (listed as a HyperFrames adapter) |
| License | MIT | MIT | GSAP’s own standard license, announced on gsap.com as free for everyone; read the terms | MIT | MIT |
| Latest release / push | v4.5.0 (2026-06-22) | v10.1.2 (2026-06-24) | v3.17.2 (2024-12-14 on GitHub releases); repo pushed 2026-04-13 | repo pushed 2026-10-27 | repo pushed 2025-09-01 |
Which one when
- Scripted, fixed-duration video animation in HTML: GSAP or Anime.js; both are named adapters in HyperFrames, whose README example is a paused GSAP timeline.
- Interactive UI that must respond and interrupt: React Spring (spring physics) or Motion (layout and gesture animation for React).
- A designer made the animation in After Effects: Lottie.
- You are in Remotion: use its own frame-based helpers first; mixing a wall-clock library in needs care (HyperFrames’ README says wall-clock animation patterns need care in Remotion).