react-transition-group vs framer-motion vs react-motion vs react-addons-transition-group
React Animation Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-transition-groupframer-motionreact-motionreact-addons-transition-groupSimilar Packages:
What's React Animation Libraries?

Animation libraries in React provide developers with tools to create smooth and engaging animations for web applications. They help enhance user experience by adding visual flair and providing feedback through motion. These libraries vary in their approach to animations, offering different levels of abstraction, ease of use, and customization options. Choosing the right library depends on the specific needs of your project, such as performance, complexity, and the type of animations required.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
react-transition-group18,831,38910,241244 kB243-BSD-3-Clause
framer-motion7,627,17628,6522.41 MB271a day agoMIT
react-motion398,12021,771-1928 years agoMIT
react-addons-transition-group12,133235,785-1,0598 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-transition-group vs framer-motion vs react-motion vs react-addons-transition-group

Animation Complexity

  • react-transition-group:

    React Transition Group offers a simple way to manage transitions and animations for components entering and exiting the DOM. It is straightforward to use but can become cumbersome for more complex animations.

  • framer-motion:

    Framer Motion supports complex animations with a simple API, allowing for advanced features like gestures, layout animations, and shared layout transitions. It is designed to handle intricate animations effortlessly, making it suitable for high-fidelity interfaces.

  • react-motion:

    React Motion allows for physics-based animations, providing a unique approach to animating components. It requires a deeper understanding of spring dynamics, making it more complex but powerful for creating fluid animations that mimic real-world physics.

  • react-addons-transition-group:

    React Addons Transition Group provides a basic set of components for managing transitions, but it requires more manual setup for complex animations. It is more suited for simple transitions and does not support advanced features like gestures out of the box.

Ease of Use

  • react-transition-group:

    React Transition Group is relatively easy to use for basic transitions, but it may require additional configuration for more complex animations, which can add to the development time.

  • framer-motion:

    Framer Motion is known for its user-friendly API, making it easy for developers to implement animations without extensive boilerplate code. Its declarative syntax allows for quick prototyping and iteration.

  • react-motion:

    React Motion has a moderate learning curve, as it requires understanding of its spring physics model. While it offers powerful capabilities, the initial setup can be more complex than simpler libraries.

  • react-addons-transition-group:

    React Addons Transition Group has a steeper learning curve due to its reliance on manual setup for transitions. It requires more boilerplate code compared to other libraries, which can be a drawback for rapid development.

Performance

  • react-transition-group:

    React Transition Group is generally performant for managing enter and exit transitions, but it may struggle with performance when handling a large number of components due to its reliance on React's reconciliation process.

  • framer-motion:

    Framer Motion is optimized for performance, leveraging the latest browser capabilities and React features to ensure smooth animations. It minimizes layout thrashing and reflows, making it suitable for performance-critical applications.

  • react-motion:

    React Motion is efficient for physics-based animations, but its performance can be impacted by the complexity of the animations and the number of animated components. Careful management of state and props is needed to maintain performance.

  • react-addons-transition-group:

    React Addons Transition Group is lightweight and performs well for simple transitions, but may not be as optimized for complex animations compared to other libraries. Performance can degrade with many simultaneous transitions.

Community and Support

  • react-transition-group:

    React Transition Group has a solid community and is widely used, ensuring good support and resources. Its documentation is clear, making it easier for developers to get started.

  • framer-motion:

    Framer Motion has a growing community and extensive documentation, making it easy to find resources and examples. Its popularity in the design community also means that many designers are familiar with its capabilities.

  • react-motion:

    React Motion has a smaller community compared to Framer Motion, which can make finding examples and support more challenging. However, it has a dedicated user base that contributes to its development.

  • react-addons-transition-group:

    As part of the React ecosystem, React Addons Transition Group benefits from community support, but its documentation may not be as comprehensive as newer libraries. It is less frequently updated compared to others.

Integration with React

  • react-transition-group:

    React Transition Group is designed for React and fits well within the React ecosystem, allowing for straightforward integration with other components and libraries.

  • framer-motion:

    Framer Motion integrates seamlessly with React, allowing for easy use of React's component model and state management. It is designed specifically for React, making it a natural choice for React developers.

  • react-motion:

    React Motion is also tailored for React, allowing developers to create animations that respond to state changes in a natural way. However, its unique approach to animations may require additional learning.

  • react-addons-transition-group:

    React Addons Transition Group is built specifically for React and follows its component lifecycle, making it easy to integrate into existing React applications. It works well with other React components.

How to Choose: react-transition-group vs framer-motion vs react-motion vs react-addons-transition-group
  • framer-motion:

    Choose Framer Motion for its powerful and intuitive API that allows for complex animations with minimal code. It is ideal for projects that require advanced animations and gestures, especially when building interactive UI components.

README for react-transition-group

react-transition-group npm

ATTENTION! To address many issues that have come up over the years, the API in v2 and above is not backwards compatible with the original React addon (v1-stable).

For a drop-in replacement for react-addons-transition-group and react-addons-css-transition-group, use the v1 release. Documentation and code for that release are available on the v1-stable branch.

We are no longer updating the v1 codebase, please upgrade to the latest version when possible

A set of components for managing component states (including mounting and unmounting) over time, specifically designed with animation in mind.

Documentation

TypeScript

TypeScript definitions are published via DefinitelyTyped and can be installed via the following command:

npm install @types/react-transition-group

Examples

Clone the repo first:

git@github.com:reactjs/react-transition-group.git

Then run npm install (or yarn), and finally npm run storybook to start a storybook instance that you can navigate to in your browser to see the examples.