Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Popmotion VS GSAP

Compare Popmotion VS GSAP and see what are their differences

Popmotion logo Popmotion

Popmotion is the JavaScript motion engine that enables user to create delightful user interfaces.

GSAP logo GSAP

GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform) is a suite of JavaScript tools for high-performance animations that work in all major browsers.
  • Popmotion Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-29
  • GSAP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-11-22

Popmotion features and specs

  • Declarative API
    Popmotion provides a simple and intuitive declarative API, making it easy to create animations by describing the end state rather than manually defining each step.
  • Rich Animation Tools
    Popmotion offers a variety of animation tools and features, including physics-based animations, keyframes, timelines, and spring animations, catering to a wide range of animation needs.
  • Lightweight
    The library is lightweight, reducing the overall load on the website and improving performance by minimizing the amount of JavaScript that needs to be downloaded and executed.
  • Flexibility and Control
    Provides fine-grained control over animations and precise configurations, allowing developers to customize easing, duration, and other parameters as needed.
  • Interop with Other Libraries
    Popmotion can be easily integrated with other libraries and frameworks, enabling seamless animation handling in diverse environments like React, Vue, and VanillaJS.

Possible disadvantages of Popmotion

  • Learning Curve
    Beginners might find it challenging to learn and fully leverage all features due to the depth and breadth of the library's capabilities.
  • Sparse Documentation
    While basic documentation is available, some developers may find it lacking in depth, especially when troubleshooting or seeking information on advanced use-cases.
  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to larger libraries like GSAP, Popmotion has a smaller community, which might make it more difficult to find community-driven tutorials or support for complex issues.
  • Performance Overheads in Complex Scenarios
    In highly complex animations or animations involving a large number of elements, there might be performance overheads compared to more optimized or low-level solutions.
  • No Built-in CSS Integration
    Popmotion lacks features for direct CSS manipulation or integration, requiring additional steps to animate CSS properties or to coordinate with CSS-based animations.

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.

Popmotion videos

Popmotion | Star Wars!

More videos:

  • Review - Popmotion | Ghostbusters!

GSAP videos

GSAP 3.0 Crash Course - JavaScript Animation Library

More videos:

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Popmotion and GSAP)
Javascript UI Libraries
12 12%
88% 88
Charting Libraries
19 19%
81% 81
Developer Tools
16 16%
84% 84
Design Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Popmotion and GSAP. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GSAP seems to be a lot more popular than Popmotion. While we know about 80 links to GSAP, we've tracked only 7 mentions of Popmotion. 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.

Popmotion mentions (7)

  • 100+ FREE Resources Every Web Developer Must Try
    JavaScript Animation Libraries 🔥 . Anime.js: Lightweight JavaScript animation library. . ScrollReveal.js: Easily reveal elements as they enter the viewport. . Popmotion: A functional, flexible JavaScript motion library. . AniJS: Declarative handling library for CSS animations. . Wow.js: Reveal CSS animation as you scroll down a page. . Typed.js: A JavaScript library that types. . Velocity.js: Accelerated... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Top 10 JavaScript Animation Libraries
    Popmotion (19.8k ⭐) — Tiny animator's toolbox supports keyframe and spring animations for numbers, colors and complex strings. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Incredible JavaScript Animation Libraries
    Popmotion prioritizes simplicity and ease of use in its design. Written in TypeScript and compatible with any API that accepts numerical input, it offers a straightforward API and supports major browsers. Popmotion's architecture powers animations in Framer Motion and can be extended through plugins. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • 100+ FREE Resources Every Web Developer Must Try
    Popmotion: A functional, flexible JavaScript motion library. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Dynamic Island Animations with Popmotion in Angular
    Popmotion is a JavaScript animation library that supports keyframes, spring, and inertia animations. Install PopMotion dependencies by running the following command:. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

GSAP mentions (80)

  • Webflow makes GSAP 100% free – plus more updates
    GSAP – A wildly robust JavaScript animation library built for professionals [https://gsap.com]. - Source: Hacker News / 1 day ago
  • Bring Your Scroll to Life: A Beginner’s Guide to Scroll-Based Animations with GSAP
    I'm using a component-based framework (like Astro) along with Tailwind CSS classes and GSAP to build our animation experience. Here’s a quick overview of our file structure:. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Some platforms to post your animations on the web
    You can use web technologies directly themselves to create very rich animations for the web. Sometimes only CSS alone is all you need. Many examples online. Sometimes a library like Motion or GASP can help speed web animations. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • 8 Essential Tools Every Modern Web Developer Should Know
    GSAP stands as the gold standard for web animations. This JavaScript animation library offers unprecedented control over HTML elements, SVGs, and Canvas animations. What sets GSAP apart is its exceptional performance and cross-browser compatibility. Whether you're creating simple transitions or complex, timeline-based animations, GSAP provides a robust API that makes smooth, professional animations achievable... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • p5.js
    GSAP[1] is pretty much the industry standard, I think. You have to pay for some of its more advanced features. There's also Anime.js[2] and Scene.js[3] - but I've never played with them so can't vouch for their usefulness. Both have had code updates in the past year. (Self-promotion time) I had a lot of fun adding an animation/tween system to my canvas library[4] a while back. Building out the code to run such... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Popmotion and GSAP, you can also consider the following products

Anime.js - Lightweight JavaScript animation library

Velocity.js - Velocity is a JavaScipt animation engine.

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

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

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

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