Handy React Animation Library List to Use for Improving User Experience

In today’s era, user engagement is everything. If your target audience is happy, it’s always good for your brand. An option like the React animation library can help achieve such a feat.

But you must be wondering – why focus on React animation libraries?

Well, understand this point. Famous brands like Airbnb, Asana, Dropbox, BBC, Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix use React as their web development framework.

Notably, all these names have excellent animations, engaging UI/UX, and visually appealing websites. Even you can join the ranks of such top companies. How?

Use top React animation libraries with features that align with your development style. In this blog, you will get details on the leading names along with their pros and cons. So, scroll ahead to choose a suitable React 3D animation library.

Understanding the Purpose of a React Animation Library

After reading this subhead, you must be thinking – why not get to the list directly?

Well, let us explain with a small analogy. Consider a listicle titled, ‘Top 5 Mercedes Models to Buy in 2023.’ Now, before shortlisting the top choice, you’re fully aware of the utility and value of the Mercedes Benz brand.

You understand what you get by choosing Mercedes as your vehicle vendor and now want to select a model that suits your unique requirements.

Same is the case with React animation libraries. Before getting down to the options, you should understand why developers use these tools.

• Animation libraries are third-party open-source repositories
• They contain readily available animation code that developers can load into a project
• Most React animation libraries take care of browser inconsistencies
• Overall, a React animation library is a great tool to simplify the process of developing animations

You can boost SEO and improve the visual appeal of your website by using such libraries. So, it can be rewarding to utilize such tools for you, as a company looking to entice the target audience.

The Top 5 React Animation Libraries to Consider

In this section, we will provide simple information on some popular React animation libraries in the following structure:

• Small introduction
• Long form bullet points for advantages
• The limitations in long-form bullets
• Final verdict or quick summary
• A quick table for pros and cons

Having said that, we are also aware that some of you might want a glance without going into too much depth. So, for readers like you, here’s a table that can prove more convenient:

Feature	Framer Motion	React-Spring	Remotion	GreenSock	Lottie
Animation Style	Declarative, Spring-physics based	Declarative, Spring-physics based	Interactive Videos & Websites	Imperative, Timeline-based	JSON-based Vector Animations
Best For	General UI animations, interactive elements	Natural and realistic animations, data visualizations	Video content, interactive web experiences	Complex animations, high-performance requirements	Simple, small animations, mobile and web apps
Community & Learning Resources	Extensive	Large & active	Growing	Large & active	Extensive
Typical Use Cases	UI transitions, loading animations, interactive components	Data visualizations, spring-based interactions, animations with complex physics	Video explainers, interactive demos, tutorials	Complex animations, game development, interactive storytelling	Logos, icons, loading animations, background elements

Now, without any further delay, take a detailed look at the best React animation libraries that can elevate your work output.
Here’s a quick overview.

1. Framer Motion

Framer Motion is a popular React animation library. It allows developers to create robust and performant animations with ease. Framer Motion handles complex transitions between different states of your UI, animating layout, position, and style changes.

The advantages of this React animation library are:

• Simple and declarative: You can define animations directly in your React components, making your code more readable and maintainable
• Performant and optimized: Framer Motion uses hardware acceleration for smooth animations, ensuring a great user experience
• Flexible and powerful: It is possible to animate any property of your components, including position, scale, rotation, opacity, and more
• Built-in gestures: Skilled developers can leverage built-in gesture support to create interactive animations triggered by user actions like touch and scroll

The benefits of Framer Motion can indeed seem impressive. But it also has some practical drawbacks.

Here’s a quick list:

• Learning curve: While conceptually simple, Framer Motion requires some understanding of animation concepts and React hooks
• Potential performance issues: Overly complex animations can impact performance, especially on low-end devices
• Limited browser support: Older browsers may not support all Framer Motion features

Our verdict?

Framer Motion is a powerful and versatile React animation library that can significantly enhance your websites or applications despite some drawbacks. Its simplicity, performance, and flexibility make it a popular choice for developers of all levels to create engaging and interactive user experiences.

Pros and Cons:

Pros	Cons
Simple and declarative	Decent learning curve
Optimized structure	Potential performance issues
Flexible and powerful	Limited browser support
Built-in gestures	Community reliance
Rich ecosystem

2. React-spring

Now, let’s talk about React-spring, a popular React animation library built with spring physics principles to create natural and intuitive animations. It focuses on declarative animation, allowing you create a more readable and maintainable codebase.

Here are the main advantages of choosing React-spring:

• Declarative API: Developers can define the animations directly in a JSX code, simplifying code and improving maintainability
• Composable and modular: It is possible to combine smaller animation components to build complex animations with ease
• Data-driven animations: You can animate based on data changes, making them more dynamic and responsive
• Cross-platform support: React-spring works seamlessly with the web, react-native, and other popular platforms

Similar to other React animation libraries, this option also has some limitations.

Consider the following points:

• Learning curve: While the concept is simple, mastering React-spring’s API and physics-based animation principles can require some effort
• Limited out-of-the-box components: React-spring requires more initial coding compared to libraries with pre-built animation components
• Community-driven: The community-driven nature of support may not offer official or fool-proof solutions for some issues

So, should you use React-spring?

Well, it is a powerful React animation library that can elevate or refine the quality of your web applications. It has physics-based animations, declarative API, and other features that make it an excellent choice for creating engaging and interactive user experiences.

Pros and Cons:

Pros	Cons
Physics-based animations	Learning curve
Declarative API	Limited out-of-the-box components
Composable and modular	Community-driven support
Data-driven animations

3. Remotion

The name of this React animation library is cool, right? Well, even its utility can prove fruitful for you.

Remotion is a tool that allows developers to build, and render React applications as videos and websites. It offers a unique approach to creating engaging content, animations, and interactive user experiences.

Take a look at the main benefits of this library:

• Video-like content from React components: You can render your React components as high-quality videos, tutorials, and product demos
• Interactive web experiences: Developers can build interactive websites that leverage the power of React with the visual appeal of video
• Faster development iterations: It is possible to quickly iterate design and animation loops without needing to redeploy the application
• Accessibility features: Remotion automatically incorporates accessibility features like captions and transcripts for your videos and interactive content

On the contrary, Remotion has the following limitations:

• Limited browser support: Currently, Remotion requires a Chromium-based browser for full functionality
• Learning curve: Mastering this tool’s specific features and workflows requires some effort
• Limited documentation and community: Compared to other established React animation libraries, the documentation and community are still in their early stages of development
• Pricing model: Remotion’s pricing model can be expensive for individual developers or small projects

So, here’s the final verdict:

Remotion is a good React animation library with the potential to revolutionize how we interact with the web. Its ability to create video-like content from React applications opens up exciting possibilities for developers, designers, and marketers alike.

Pros and Cons:

Pros	Cons
Create video-like content	Limited browser support
Interactive web experiences	Learning curve
Headless and server-side rendering	Limited documentation and community
Offline recording and playback	Pricing model
Faster development iterations
Accessibility features

4. GreenSock

The penultimate React animation library on our list is GreenSock. It provides a versatile set of IT tools for creating high-performance animations and interactive web experiences.

GreenSock is famous for its robust API and a wide range of features.

Consider these aspects to understand the benefits of this library:

• Extensive API: It offers a comprehensive API for creating a wide variety of animations, including tweens, timelines, and complex sequences
• High performance: GreenSock leverages hardware acceleration and efficient code to ensure smooth animations even on complex projects
• Feature-rich: It includes features like physics-based animations, easing functions, and stagger effects
• Modular and customizable: Developers can break down animations into smaller components for better organization and easier code reuse

Similar to every React animation library, GreenSock also has some limitations. So, read the following points:

• Verbose code: GreenSock animations require more coding compared to other libraries
• Limited data-driven animation support: While possible, animating based on data changes might require more complex code setups
• Free version limitations: The free version of GreenSock lacks some advanced features

So, should you use GreenSock? Well, the answer is not straightforward but depends on your project needs.

GreenSock is a powerful React animation library that enables developers to create stunning animations. Its extensive API, feature set, and robust performance make it a valuable tool for developers or programmers of all levels. However, the learning curve and verbose code might be challenging initially.

Pros and Cons:

Pros	Cons
Extensive API	Learning curve
High performanc	Verbose code
Feature-rich	Limited data-driven animation support
Modular and customizable	Free version limitations

5. Lottie

The final suggestion in our React animation library list is a multi-platform tool. Lottie is a JSON-based library that allows you to create vector animations that are small, scalable, and platform-independent. This potential makes it ideal for building web, mobile, and other applications.

Here are the main benefits of Lottie, one of the most popular React animation libraries:

• Scalability: You can scale Lottie animations infinitely without losing quality. This facet makes it perfect for use on high-resolution displays
• Platform independence: Developers can use Lottie animations on any platform that supports JSON, such as web, mobile, and desktop
• Editable: It is also possible to edit these animations after exporting them. So, you can make changes to the project without starting from scratch
• Interactivity: You can use interactive libraries like Lottie-Web for creating highly responsive animations

On the contrary, Lottie has the following limitations:

• Limited animation complexity: Lottie animations are not as complex as other tools, such as Adobe After Effects
• Low control over animation: They do not offer the same level of control over animation timing and properties
• Learning curve: While Lottie is relatively easy to use, it requires some understanding of JSON and animation principles
• Browser support: Older browsers may not support Lottie animations natively, requiring additional libraries or tools

So, what is the final verdict or summary of this React animation library?

Well, Lottie is a powerful and versatile animation tool. There’s no doubt about it. Its small file size, scalability, and platform independence make it an excellent choice for any level of web and mobile developers. So, you can use it after considering the pros and cons.

Pros and Cons:

Pros	Cons
Small file size	Limited animation complexity
Scalable	Limited control over animation
Platform-independent	Medium learning curve
Editable

To Sum Up

There you have it. A handy React animation library list containing five popular options. Visuals are vital for any brand to engage the audience.

The best React animation libraries enable developers to utilize the power of visuals to generate leads and improve user experience.

In our observation, Framer Motion, React-spring, Remotion, GreenSock, and Lottie are top picks. All these React animation libraries have unique pros and cons. So, you should consider your project’s requirements before finalizing a specific option.

If you want to make an informed decision, don’t hesitate to contact our React developers. After analyzing your business needs, we will gladly assist you in choosing the most suitable React animation library. Also, you can hire dedicated React developers from our team to best utilize such valuable tools.