animated vs animejs vs framer-motion vs gsap vs react-motion vs react-spring vs react-transition-group
Animation Libraries for Web Development
animatedanimejsframer-motiongsapreact-motionreact-springreact-transition-groupSimilar Packages:

Animation Libraries for Web Development

Animation libraries provide developers with tools to create smooth, visually appealing animations in web applications. These libraries simplify the process of animating elements, enhancing user experience and engagement. They offer various features such as tweening, transitions, and complex animations, allowing developers to bring their designs to life with minimal effort. Each library has its unique strengths and use cases, making it essential to choose the right one based on project requirements and personal preferences.

Npm Package Weekly Downloads Trend

3 Years

Github Stars Ranking

Stat Detail

Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
animated01,845-518 years agoBSD-3-Clause
animejs068,2161.96 MB10216 days agoMIT
framer-motion031,9444.73 MB1212 months agoMIT
gsap024,6916.26 MB7a month agoStandard 'no charge' license: https://gsap.com/standard-license.
react-motion021,929-1939 years agoMIT
react-spring029,0908.36 kB1388 months agoMIT
react-transition-group010,246244 kB258-BSD-3-Clause

Feature Comparison: animated vs animejs vs framer-motion vs gsap vs react-motion vs react-spring vs react-transition-group

Animation Control

  • animated:

    Offers basic animation control with a focus on performance, allowing developers to animate properties easily without complex configurations.

  • animejs:

    Provides extensive control over animations, allowing for multiple targets and properties to be animated simultaneously with precise timing and easing options.

  • framer-motion:

    Delivers powerful animation control tailored for React, enabling developers to create interactive animations that respond to user gestures and state changes.

  • gsap:

    Excels in animation control, offering a robust API for creating complex timelines and sequences, with fine-tuned control over every aspect of the animation.

  • react-motion:

    Uses a physics-based approach to control animations, allowing for natural motion that mimics real-world physics, making animations feel more organic.

  • react-spring:

    Focuses on spring physics for animation control, providing a declarative API that makes it easy to create responsive and fluid animations.

  • react-transition-group:

    Simplifies the management of enter/exit animations, providing hooks for lifecycle management of animations as components mount and unmount.

Learning Curve

  • animated:

    Has a gentle learning curve, making it accessible for beginners who want to implement simple animations in React applications.

  • animejs:

    Requires some understanding of animation concepts, but its clear documentation helps users grasp its capabilities quickly.

  • framer-motion:

    Designed for ease of use, it has a low learning curve for React developers, with intuitive APIs and comprehensive examples available.

  • gsap:

    While powerful, GSAP has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive features and options, but it rewards users with unparalleled control over animations.

  • react-motion:

    Offers a moderate learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with physics-based animations, but provides clear examples to aid understanding.

  • react-spring:

    Has a moderate learning curve, with a focus on understanding spring physics, but its declarative nature makes it easier to grasp for React developers.

  • react-transition-group:

    Features a straightforward learning curve, especially for those familiar with React, as it focuses on managing component lifecycle transitions.

Performance

  • animated:

    Optimized for performance in React applications, ensuring smooth animations with minimal overhead.

  • animejs:

    Highly performant, capable of handling complex animations without significant performance hits, making it suitable for intricate designs.

  • framer-motion:

    Built with performance in mind, it leverages React's rendering capabilities to ensure smooth animations even during state changes.

  • gsap:

    Known for its exceptional performance, GSAP can handle large-scale animations efficiently, making it a favorite among professional animators.

  • react-motion:

    Offers good performance for physics-based animations, but may require optimization for complex animations with many elements.

  • react-spring:

    Provides excellent performance with spring-based animations, ensuring smooth transitions that feel responsive to user input.

  • react-transition-group:

    Lightweight and efficient for managing transitions, ensuring that animations do not hinder application performance.

Integration

  • animated:

    Seamlessly integrates with React, making it easy to add animations to components without additional setup.

  • animejs:

    Can be used with any JavaScript framework or library, providing flexibility for integration into various projects.

  • framer-motion:

    Designed specifically for React, ensuring smooth integration with React components and hooks.

  • gsap:

    Works well with various frameworks, including React, Vue, and Angular, allowing for versatile integration options.

  • react-motion:

    Tailored for React, providing a straightforward way to implement motion in React applications without external dependencies.

  • react-spring:

    Integrates easily with React, leveraging hooks for a modern approach to animations in functional components.

  • react-transition-group:

    Designed for React, allowing for easy integration of transitions and animations into component lifecycles.

Community and Support

  • animated:

    Has a growing community with decent documentation, but may lack extensive resources compared to more established libraries.

  • animejs:

    Boasts a strong community and extensive documentation, providing numerous examples and tutorials for users.

  • framer-motion:

    Supported by a vibrant community and comprehensive documentation, making it easy to find help and resources.

  • gsap:

    Has a large, active community with extensive resources, tutorials, and support, making it a go-to choice for professional animators.

  • react-motion:

    Community support is decent, with documentation and examples available, but it may not be as extensive as other libraries.

  • react-spring:

    Features a supportive community and good documentation, with many examples available to help users get started quickly.

  • react-transition-group:

    Well-documented with a supportive community, making it easy for developers to find solutions and examples.

How to Choose: animated vs animejs vs framer-motion vs gsap vs react-motion vs react-spring vs react-transition-group

  • animated:

    Choose 'animated' if you are working with React and need a lightweight solution for creating simple animations with a focus on performance. It is ideal for projects that require minimal setup and straightforward animations.

  • animejs:

    Select 'animejs' for a versatile animation engine that can handle complex animations across multiple properties and targets. It is perfect for projects that require detailed control over animations and support for SVG, CSS, and DOM attributes.

  • framer-motion:

    Opt for 'framer-motion' if you are building a React application and want an easy-to-use library that provides powerful animations with a focus on user interactions and gestures. It is great for creating animations that respond to user input and for building complex UI transitions.

  • gsap:

    Use 'gsap' (GreenSock Animation Platform) for high-performance animations that require precise control and advanced features. It is suitable for projects that demand complex timelines, easing functions, and compatibility with various frameworks and libraries.

  • react-motion:

    Choose 'react-motion' if you prefer a physics-based approach to animations in React. It is ideal for creating natural, fluid animations that mimic real-world motion, making it suitable for UI elements that need to move dynamically based on user interactions.

  • react-spring:

    Select 'react-spring' for a more declarative approach to animations in React, focusing on spring physics. It is perfect for projects that require smooth transitions and animations that feel organic and responsive to user actions.

  • react-transition-group:

    Use 'react-transition-group' for managing transitions and animations in React components. It is best suited for projects that need to handle enter/exit animations for components, providing a simple API to manage the lifecycle of animations.

README for animated

Animated

Declarative Animations Library for React and React Native

See the interactive docs.

Goal

The goal of this repo is to provide an implementation of the Animated library that is currently provided by React Native that can also be used by React in a web context. At some point, React Native will itself depend on this library.

Additionally, it would be ideal if this library would be compatible with future potential "targets" of React where animation makes sense.

Usage (Still Theoretical)

Right now the main export of this library is essentially just what is in the Animated namespace in React Native, minus the View, Image, and Text namespace. Additionally, it includes an inject namespace (explained below).

Ideally, I'd like to make it so that View, Image, and Text are exported, and just do the "right thing" depending on whether or not they are being used in the context of React Native or React Web. I'm not quite sure how we can do this yet without declaring dependencies on react native. Perhaps the platform specific file extensions can be used for this?

Injectables

There are several parts of this library that need to have slightly different implementations for react-dom than for react-native. At the moment, I've just made these things "injectable" so that this library can stay dependent on only react.

Some of these I am implementing as "injectable", even though right now it would technically work for both platforms. This doesn't hurt anything, and attempts to make this library more compatible with future "targets" for react.

The injectable modules are available off of the Animated.inject namespace, and include:

  • ApplyAnimatedValues
  • FlattenStyle
  • InteractionManager
  • RequestAnimationFrame
  • CancelAnimationFrame

Each of these modules can be injected by passing in the implementation. For example, a naive FlattenStyle could be passed in as:

Animated.inject.FlattenStyle(
  styles => Array.isArray(styles)
    ? Object.assign.apply(null, styles)
    : styles
);