Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GSAP VS Pixi.js

Compare GSAP VS Pixi.js and see what are their differences

GSAP logo GSAP

GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform) is a suite of JavaScript tools for high-performance animations that work in all major browsers.

Pixi.js logo Pixi.js

Fast lightweight 2D library that works across all devices
  • GSAP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-11-22
  • Pixi.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-14

GSAP features and specs

  • Performance
    GSAP is designed for high-performance animations and is highly optimized to handle more animations simultaneously with smoother transitions compared to other libraries.
  • Ease of Use
    It features a user-friendly API that simplifies creating complex animations with minimal code.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    GSAP ensures consistent behavior across all major browsers, including older versions, offering a reliable solution for animations.
  • Flexibility
    The library supports a wide range of animation types, including tweens, timelines, and more, making it versatile for various use cases.
  • Community and Support
    GSAP has a strong community and extensive documentation, plus active forums where users can get help and share insights.
  • Plugins
    It offers a variety of plugins, such as ScrollTrigger, MorphSVG, and Draggable, which extend its capabilities for more advanced animations.
  • Compatibility with Frameworks
    GSAP integrates well with popular JavaScript frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular, making it a great choice for modern web applications.

Pixi.js features and specs

  • High Performance
    Pixi.js utilizes WebGL to deliver high-performance rendering, which is ideal for building fast and responsive web applications and games.
  • Cross-Platform
    It supports multiple platforms, allowing developers to build applications that work seamlessly across different devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Pixi.js has comprehensive and well-documented resources that help developers understand how to use the library effectively, including tutorials and examples.
  • Rich Feature Set
    The library comes with a wide range of features such as textures, sprites, and filters, enabling developers to create visually complex and appealing content.
  • Active Community
    Pixi.js benefits from a large and active community, which means frequent updates, a wealth of plugins, and abundant community support.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source library, Pixi.js is free to use and modify, making it accessible to developers with different levels of expertise and budgets.

Possible disadvantages of Pixi.js

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its extensive documentation, beginners may find Pixi.js challenging to learn and integrate into their projects because of its extensive feature set.
  • WebGL Dependencies
    While WebGL provides high performance, it can also cause compatibility issues on older devices or browsers that do not fully support WebGL.
  • Limited 3D Capabilities
    Pixi.js is primarily a 2D rendering engine, so it may not be suitable for projects that require advanced 3D graphics and interactions.
  • Size
    Compared to simpler libraries, Pixi.js can be relatively large in terms of file size, which could impact the loading times of web applications, especially on slower networks.
  • Complex Debugging
    Debugging issues in Pixi.js can be complex, especially in large applications, as it often involves low-level graphics operations and WebGL debugging tools.

GSAP videos

GSAP 3.0 Crash Course - JavaScript Animation Library

More videos:

  • Review - Getting Started with GSAP TweenMax (Tutorial) - Animating a Landing Page

Pixi.js videos

PixiJS Crash Course

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GSAP and Pixi.js)
Javascript UI Libraries
60 60%
40% 40
Charting Libraries
53 53%
47% 47
Design Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using GSAP and Pixi.js. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GSAP seems to be a lot more popular than Pixi.js. While we know about 79 links to GSAP, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Pixi.js. 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.

GSAP mentions (79)

View more

Pixi.js mentions (5)

  • Release Radar • March 2024 Edition
    If you're into video game dev, then PixiJS is something you need to know about. It's a HTML5 game engine that provides a lightweight 2D library across all devices. This latest update has a new package structure, custom builds, graphics API overhaul, and lots more. You can read about all these changes in the PixiJS Migration Guide. Also big congrats to PixiJS for being part of the open source community for ten... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Advice about useful libraries to create a 2D car game (hill climb racing style)
    I would need a renderer to display the graphics of my calculations on the "backend". After some research I think pixijs which is written in TS could be a great tool. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Is programming just not for me?
    And if that seems to up your alley you could look into Javascript game/renderer frameworks. They have 2D engines like https://github.com/photonstorm/phaser or https://github.com/pixijs/pixijs . Or my personal choice A-Frame which is a 3D, AR and VR engine (XR) https://github.com/aframevr/ . Source: over 2 years ago
  • Pixie – A full-featured 2D graphics library for Nim
    This has a high risk of being confused with pixi.js: https://github.com/pixijs/pixijs. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Custome game engine: what stack ?
    WebGL, I hear, has a similar API to OpenGL. (Also, WebGPU is coming at some point.) Or, you could use a thin library that handles the WebGL drawing of sprites for you. I prefer that option over using a full game engine: I find it's better to only include dependencies when they become necessary. I recently tried a web rendering library called PixiJS, and it seemed like a pretty clean and nice-sized API, and... Source: almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GSAP and Pixi.js, you can also consider the following products

Anime.js - Lightweight JavaScript animation library

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

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

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.

Animate.css - Animate.css is a cross-browser library of CSS animations.

Velocity.js - Velocity is a JavaScipt animation engine.