Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Anime.js VS D3.js

Compare Anime.js VS D3.js and see what are their differences

Anime.js logo Anime.js

Lightweight JavaScript animation library

D3.js logo D3.js

D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG, and CSS.
  • Anime.js Homepage
    Homepage //
    2024-07-18
  • D3.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-11

D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an HTML table from an array of numbers. Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG bar chart with smooth transitions and interaction.

D3 is not a monolithic framework that seeks to provide every conceivable feature. Instead, D3 solves the crux of the problem: efficient manipulation of documents based on data. This avoids proprietary representation and affords extraordinary flexibility, exposing the full capabilities of web standards such as HTML, SVG, and CSS. With minimal overhead, D3 is extremely fast, supporting large datasets and dynamic behaviors for interaction and animation. D3’s functional style allows code reuse through a diverse collection of official and community-developed modules.

Anime.js features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Anime.js has a clear and concise API which makes it easy to use for both beginners and experienced developers.
  • Lightweight
    With a small file size, Anime.js doesn't add much overhead to your project, helping to maintain fast load times.
  • Versatility
    Anime.js provides a wide range of animation options including CSS properties, DOM attributes, SVG, and more, making it versatile for various types of projects.
  • Performance
    Anime.js is optimized for high performance, ensuring smooth animations even with complex sequences.
  • Modular Design
    Its modular nature allows developers to import only what they need, improving efficiency and reducing bloat.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    The official documentation is extensive and includes examples, which helps developers quickly understand and implement animations.
  • Community Support
    There is a growing community around Anime.js, providing forums, tutorials, and resources for additional support.

Possible disadvantages of Anime.js

  • Limited Built-in Easing Functions
    While Anime.js does support custom easing functions, the range of built-in easing functions is limited compared to some other animation libraries.
  • No Official Plugin System
    Anime.js does not have an official plugin system, which could limit extensibility and integration with other tools.
  • Learning Curve for Complex Animations
    For very complex animations or sequences, the learning curve can be steep, and the code may become hard to manage.
  • Lack of Native Support for 3D Animations
    Anime.js does not natively support 3D animations, which might require integrating other libraries for such requirements.
  • Dependency Management
    For projects already using other animation libraries, integrating Anime.js can add complexity to dependency management.

D3.js features and specs

  • Powerful Visualization
    D3.js allows for the creation of highly customized and interactive data visualizations, harnessing the full power of web standards like SVG, Canvas, and HTML.
  • Data Binding
    It offers robust support for data-driven transformations and binding, enabling intuitive connections between data sets and DOM elements.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    A large and active community contributes to tutorials, plugins, and tools, which can significantly simplify the development process.
  • Flexibility
    D3.js is highly flexible, providing low-level manipulation capabilities without being tied to any specific chart types or patterns.
  • Performance
    It is highly optimized for performance, allowing for efficient rendering of complex visualizations even with large data sets.

Possible disadvantages of D3.js

  • Steep Learning Curve
    D3.js has a steep learning curve due to its low-level nature and requires a solid understanding of JavaScript, DOM manipulation, and data concepts.
  • Complexity
    Creating complex visualizations can be time-consuming and require a significant amount of custom code, making it less approachable for quick, simple tasks.
  • Browser Compatibility
    Although widely supported, some D3.js features may have inconsistent behavior across different browsers, requiring additional testing and debugging.
  • Documentation
    While extensive, D3.js documentation can be challenging for beginners to navigate and understand, causing misunderstandings and slower development times.
  • Dependency Management
    The library itself is modular, but managing dependencies and integrating D3.js with other JavaScript frameworks or libraries can sometimes be problematic.

Anime.js videos

Intro to Anime.js - The JavaScript Animation Engine

D3.js videos

Data Visualization with D3.js - Full Tutorial Course

More videos:

  • Review - Let's learn D3.js - D3 for data visualization (full course)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Anime.js and D3.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
39 39%
61% 61
Charting Libraries
23 23%
77% 77
Data Visualization
0 0%
100% 100
Development
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Anime.js and D3.js

Anime.js Reviews

Top 20 Javascript Libraries
One of the best animation libraries that makes staggering follow-through animations so simple, Anime.js is light-weight and comes with a clean yet powerful API. With Anime, timing plays an important role, and you can set various properties of CSS at different timings on the same element, and the element moves smoothly as per the transforms. Anime works with SVG, CSS, HTML,...
Source: hackr.io

D3.js Reviews

6 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Powerful Data Visualizations in 2023
Depending on your requirements, the best JavaScript library is D3.js, as it’s by far the most customizable. However, it’s also really complex and difficult to master. Plus, it’s not as compatible with TypeScript as it is with JavaScript, which can be off-putting for some developers. If you’d prefer a less complex library that you can use with TypeScript, ECharts, and...
Source: embeddable.com
15 JavaScript Libraries for Creating Beautiful Charts
When we think of charting today, D3.js is the first name that comes up. Being an open source project, D3.js definitely brings many powerful features that were missing in most of the existing libraries. Features like dynamic properties, Enter and Exit, powerful transitions, and syntax familiarity with jQuery make it one the best JavaScript libraries for charting. Charts in...
Top 20 Javascript Libraries
D3 stands for Data-Driven Documents. With D3, you can apply data-driven transformations to DOM objects. The keyword with D3 is ‘data-driven,’ which means documents are manipulated depending on the data received. Data can be received in any format and bound with DOM objects. D3 is very fast and supports dynamic behavior for animation and interactions. There are plenty of...
Source: hackr.io
20+ JavaScript libraries to draw your own diagrams (2022 edition)
D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. Right now, I would say is the most popular library of its kind.
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Another open source tool, D3.js is a JavaScript library for creating custom data visualizations in a web browser. Commonly known as D3, which stands for Data-Driven Documents, it uses web standards, such as HTML, Scalable Vector Graphics and CSS, instead of its own graphical vocabulary. D3's developers describe it as a dynamic and flexible tool that requires a minimum amount...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, D3.js should be more popular than Anime.js. It has been mentiond 167 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Anime.js mentions (49)

  • ✨"Day 1 with Anime.js — Breathing Life into a Static Webpage"
    Hey Devs! 👋 Today marks Day 1 of my journey into learning Anime.js, a lightweight JavaScript animation library that makes adding animations to your web projects ridiculously fun and powerful. In this article, I’ll walk you through how I animated a simple landing page using Anime.js — from setup to final smooth transitions. - Source: dev.to / 15 days ago
  • Anime JS , a JavaScript animation library
    Documentation Link - https://animejs.com/ Package Install by using - npm I animejs Anime.js V4 works by importing ES modules like so:. - Source: dev.to / 20 days ago
  • AnimeJs v4 Is Here
    You can leave your email in the footer of the landing page > https://animejs.com/#site-footer. - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • Celebrate 50 years of Microsoft with the company's original source code
    Funny cause just today this made it to the front page of HN https://animejs.com/ It has way fancier animations and scrolls like butter. - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • Enhance Your Web Projects with Sphere Animations Using EldoraUI 🚀
    Animations have become an essential part of modern web design, adding life and interactivity to static interfaces. In this post, I’ll walk you through creating a Sphere Animation component using the lightweight and versatile Anime.js library. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, this guide will help you integrate visually captivating animations into your projects. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
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D3.js mentions (167)

  • IO Devices and Latency
    Do you mean something for data visualization, or tricks condensing large data sets with cursors? https://d3js.org/ Best of luck =3. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • 2024 Nuxt3 Annual Ecosystem Summary🚀
    Document address: D3.js Official Document. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    D3.js: One of the most popular JavaScript visualization libraries. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • What are npm Peer Dependencies and how to use them?
    A Dependency is an npm package that our code depends on in order to be able to run. Some popular packages that can be added as dependencies are lodash, D3, and chartjs. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Introducing RacingBars 📊
    RacingBars is an open-source, light-weight (~45kb gzipped), easy-to-use, and feature-rich javascript library for bar chart race, based on D3.js. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Anime.js and D3.js, you can also consider the following products

Pixi.js - Fast lightweight 2D library that works across all devices

Chart.js - Easy, object oriented client side graphs for designers and developers.

p5.js - JS library for creating graphic and interactive experiences

Highcharts - A charting library written in pure JavaScript, offering an easy way of adding interactive charts to your web site or web application

Three.js - A JavaScript 3D library which makes WebGL simpler.

Plotly - Low-Code Data Apps