Animation Tool comparison · 2026
GSAP vs Lottie
These solve different halves of web animation. GSAP is a code-first engine you use to animate anything on the page programmatically; Lottie is a player for pre-made vector animations exported as JSON from After Effects.
A JavaScript animation engine, widely used in the industry, built around timelines.
- Website
- gsap.com
- Tags
- Animated
A lightweight, JSON-based format for shipping vector animations to the web.
- Website
- lottiefiles.com
- Tags
- Animated
GSAP vs Lottie: which should you pick?
Use Lottie to drop in a designed, self-contained animation such as a loader or illustration. Use GSAP when the motion is part of the interface logic — scroll effects, transitions, timelines you control in code. They coexist happily.
For reference, on Designeer both are tagged animated. Tags come from each tool’s own description, not a scored benchmark.