Best Icon Animation Tools in 2026 (Library or Custom)
Animated icons are small, repeated a lot, and easy to get wrong. The decision is less about visual style than about whether you buy a library, animate your own set, or make the icon part of the component state.
We make ExodeUI, which is on this list. We say where another tool is the better choice.
Lordicon is the quickest route to a consistent set of animated icons. LottieFiles suits teams already using Lottie artwork. SVGator is best when you want to animate your own icon set and export it. Rive handles interactive icon states with rigs, and ExodeUI fits when the icon must change with app state and ship to several platforms from one file.
Quick picks by job
| If you need | Use |
|---|---|
| A ready-made animated icon set | Lordicon |
| Lottie artwork and players | LottieFiles |
| Animating your own icon set | SVGator |
| Interactive icon states with rigs | Rive |
| Icons driven by app state | ExodeUI |
How we compared them
- Whether you get a set or a tool to animate your own icons
- How the icon behaves when the app changes state or the user interrupts
- File size and licence, because icons repeat across a whole product
The 5 best options for animated icons
1. Lordicon
Best for: A ready-made set of consistent animated icons
- Platforms
- Web and app integrations; icons usable in design tools
- Price
- Free and paid options; check the current licence and plan
- Output
- Animated icon files plus a player
A library of icons designed to animate, with triggers such as hover and click. It saves the authoring work if the available styles fit the product.
Pros and cons
- Consistent set, so icons do not clash
- Triggers without custom animation code
- Saves days of authoring
- You are limited to the catalogue and its style
- Licence terms need checking for commercial products
2. LottieFiles
Best for: Lottie icon animation and playback
- Platforms
- Browser; players for web and mobile
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans available
- Output
- Lottie JSON played by Lottie players
A large library plus tooling for Lottie files. Many animated icon sets are distributed as Lottie, so this is often where teams start when they need something quickly.
Pros and cons
- Huge catalogue of existing animations
- Players for many platforms
- Preview and optimisation tooling
- Quality and style vary between authors
- Licence terms differ per asset
3. SVGator
Best for: Animating your own icon set and exporting it
- Platforms
- Browser
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans available
- Output
- Exported SVG or CSS animation; check the vendor for current export options
A visual editor for SVG, which is the natural format for interface icons. You can animate paths and transforms and export a file that fits the existing icon pipeline.
Pros and cons
- Keeps icons as vectors
- Fits an existing icon library
- No coding for basic animation
- Each icon is authored separately
- Limited state logic for app-driven changes
4. Rive
Best for: Interactive icons with rigs and state machines
- Platforms
- Browser, desktop; runtimes for web and mobile
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans available
- Output
- A Rive file played by its runtimes
Strong for icons that move in a designed, character-like way, such as a bell that rings or a check that draws. State machines let the icon react to input without extra code.
Pros and cons
- Designed interaction, not just hover
- Runs across web and mobile
- Good for expressive, illustrative icons
- Proprietary format and a runtime dependency
- More authoring effort than a stock set
5. ExodeUI
Best for: Icons whose animation follows app state
- Platforms
- Browser, desktop
- Price
- Free Community plan; Professional $29/month
- Output
- An open .exode JSON file played by runtimes for React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Solid, React Native, SwiftUI and Flutter
Design the icon once with states such as idle, loading, success and error, then drive those states from the app. The same file works across the web and mobile runtimes.
Pros and cons
- States and inputs, so the icon reflects real app state
- One file across platforms
- Open JSON that fits a component library
- Not an icon catalogue, so you still need artwork
- Newer product with fewer tutorials
You have read the list. The one we make is one click away.
Free Community plan. One open .exode file that runs in React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Solid, React Native, SwiftUI and Flutter.
Also worth a look
Three routes to an animated icon
Buy a set, animate your own, or make the icon a stateful component. A set is fastest and hardest to differentiate. Your own set fits the brand and costs authoring time. A stateful component is the only route that shows real app state, such as a download icon that fills as progress arrives.
Running animated icons in a design system
Keep one rule: the icon animates only when something changed. Hover effects on every icon in a dense toolbar become noise. Define the states once, document when each plays, and provide a static fallback for reduced motion. Also check the licence of any downloaded set before it ships in a commercial product.