The Best Rive Alternatives in 2026 (Free, Open Source and Paid)
Most people look for Rive alternatives for one of three reasons. Since October 2025, files exported on Rive's free plan play a Rive splash screen. Some teams need something Rive does not do, such as 3D or full UI layout. And some only need simple playback, where Rive is more tool than the job requires. The right replacement depends on which of these applies to you, and on whether your animation has to react to the user.
We make ExodeUI, which is on this list. Where another tool is the better choice we say so, and Rive itself is still the right pick for many teams.
There is no single drop-in replacement for Rive, because few tools combine a visual editor, state machines and runtimes the same way. For interactive app and web UI, ExodeUI is the closest match. For animations that only play, Lottie is the most widely supported format. Spline is the pick for interactive 3D. If you would rather write code, GSAP and Motion are free and open source.
Quick picks by job
| If you need | Use |
|---|---|
| Animations that only need to play (loaders, illustrations) | Lottie |
| Interactive UI with states, layout and physics | ExodeUI |
| Interactive 3D scenes | Spline |
| Timeline animation inside your design tool | Figma Motion |
| Quick product and social animations | Jitter |
| Free, open-source code for the web | GSAP or Motion |
| Free, open-source desktop editor | Glaxnimate |
| Interactive prototypes for testing | ProtoPie |
| Native animation in React Native or Flutter | Reanimated or Flutter animations |
Side-by-side comparison
| Tool | Free option | Interactive states | Output | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rive (for reference) | Free plan; exports play a splash screen | Yes, state machines | .riv file + runtimes | Web, iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native, game engines |
| Lottie | Open-source players; LottieFiles free plan | Playback, plus dotLottie state machines | JSON / .lottie file | Web, iOS, Android, React, Vue and more |
| ExodeUI | Free Community plan | Yes, state machines and physics | Open .exode file + runtimes | React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Solid, React Native, SwiftUI, Flutter |
| Spline | Free plan; web exports show a Spline logo | Yes, events and states | 3D scene, code, GLTF, USDZ | Web; iOS and Android on Pro |
| Figma Motion | Inside Figma plans | No state machine | MP4, GIF, SVG, WebM; CSS, JSON or React code | Anywhere the code or video runs |
| Jitter | Free plan with watermark | No | Video, GIF, Lottie | Anywhere the file plays |
| GSAP | Free, including plugins | You write the logic | JavaScript | Web |
| Motion | Free and open source | You write the logic | JavaScript | React, Vue, JavaScript |
| Glaxnimate | Free and open source | No | Lottie, GIF, WebP, SVG | Anywhere the file plays |
| ProtoPie | Free plan (2 prototypes) | Yes, in prototypes | Prototypes, not production files | ProtoPie players |
How we compared them
- Whether it covers what people use Rive for: interactive states, vector animation and running inside a real app
- What it exports, since that decides where your work can ship
- Whether a free or open-source option exists, and what it limits
- Which platforms and frameworks it supports
- Facts and prices checked on each vendor's own site in October 2026
The best Rive alternatives
1. Lottie (and LottieFiles)
Best for: Loaders, illustrations and onboarding animations that mostly play
- Platforms
- Authoring in After Effects, LottieFiles or other editors; players for web, iOS, Android, React, Vue and more
- Price
- Players are free and open source; LottieFiles has a free plan, with paid plans from $19.99 per user per month billed annually
- Output
- Lottie JSON or the compressed .lottie (dotLottie) format
Lottie is the most widely supported animation format for apps and websites, and the usual answer when someone asks what to use instead of Rive. It started as a playback format, and the newer .lottie (dotLottie) format adds state machines: states that play parts of the timeline, inputs, and events your app sends, built visually in Lottie Creator. If your Rive files mostly loop, play once or switch between a few states, Lottie does the job with a larger ecosystem and free, open-source players.
- Supported almost everywhere, with open-source players
- Huge library of ready-made animations
- Works with existing After Effects skills
- State machines switch between timeline segments; no blending, data binding, scripting or bones like Rive
- Complex After Effects features may not export cleanly
- Interactivity needs the .lottie format and a dotLottie player
2. ExodeUI
Best for: Product teams building interactive UI (buttons, toggles, tab bars, onboarding) rather than characters or games
- Platforms
- Browser and desktop editor; runtimes for React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Solid, React Native, SwiftUI and Flutter
- Price
- Free Community plan; Professional $29/month
- Output
- One open .exode JSON file played by the ExodeUI runtime
ExodeUI works the way Rive does: you design in a visual editor and a runtime plays the file inside your app, with inputs and events your code controls. The differences are in the focus. ExodeUI adds UI layout, spring physics and node logic, the file is readable JSON, and an MCP server lets Claude Code, Cursor and other AI coding tools create and edit animations from plain-language prompts.
- State machines, spring physics and logic in one file
- Open JSON file that is easy to inspect and review
- MCP server for AI coding tools
- Newer, with a smaller community and fewer tutorials than Rive
- No game-engine runtimes such as Unity or Unreal
- Professional costs more per month than Rive's Cadet plan
3. Spline
Best for: Interactive 3D for websites and apps
- Platforms
- Browser and desktop editor; web export on all plans, iOS and Android export on Pro and above
- Price
- Free plan (web exports show a Spline logo); Hobby from $12 per month billed yearly removes it; Pro from $25 per month billed yearly
- Output
- Web scenes, code export, GLTF, USDZ and video on paid plans
Spline is the choice when your interactive graphic needs depth. You build 3D scenes in the browser, add states and events so objects respond to clicks, scroll, keys and collisions, and publish to the web. If you came to Rive for interactivity but your designs are 3D, Spline fits better than any 2D tool on this list.
- The easiest way to make interactive 3D for the web
- Events and states without writing code
- Collaborative, browser-based editor
- Free web exports carry a Spline logo, much like Rive's splash screen
- Native iOS and Android export needs the Pro plan
- 3D scenes are heavier than 2D vector animation
4. Figma Motion
Best for: Designers who want timeline animation without leaving Figma
- Platforms
- Inside Figma
- Price
- Part of Figma; check Figma's plans for which seats include it
- Output
- MP4, GIF, SVG and WebM files; developers can copy CSS, JSON or React code in Dev Mode
Figma added a timeline with keyframes, easing curves and spring physics to the canvas in 2026. For hover effects, loading states and transitions that a developer will build in code, this may be all you need, and it saves moving work into a second tool. It does not have a state machine or a runtime that plays an interactive file, so it covers less of what Rive does.
- No new tool if your team already designs in Figma
- Code snippets developers can copy, plus an MCP server for AI tools
- Reusable motion components and tokens
- No state machine or interactive runtime file
- Some features, such as 3D transforms, are still listed as coming soon
- Motion is rebuilt from code snippets rather than shipped as one file
5. Jitter
Best for: Fast product, marketing and social animations
- Platforms
- Browser
- Price
- Free plan with a watermark; paid plans remove it
- Output
- Video, GIF and Lottie (720p on the free plan)
Jitter feels like Figma with a timeline, and it is quick to learn. It is a good fit if you used Rive to make animations that end up as a video or a Lottie file. It does not make interactive files, so it is not a replacement for Rive state machines.
- Very quick to learn, with templates
- Imports from Figma
- Lottie export for use in apps
- No interactivity or state machines
- Free exports are watermarked and capped at 720p
6. GSAP
Best for: Web developers who want full control in code
- Platforms
- Web (JavaScript, works with any framework)
- Price
- Free for everyone, including all plugins such as ScrollTrigger, Draggable and SplitText
- Output
- JavaScript animation code
GSAP became completely free, plugins included, after Webflow started backing it. If the people building your animations are developers, GSAP can do almost anything Rive does on the web: timelines, scroll-driven motion, drag and SVG morphing. The trade-off is that there is no visual editor for designers and no native mobile runtime.
- Free, including every plugin
- Very mature, with a large community
- Fine-grained control over timing and sequencing
- Code only, so designers cannot author animations directly
- Web only; no iOS, Android or Flutter runtime
7. Motion (formerly Framer Motion)
Best for: React and Vue developers animating UI components
- Platforms
- React, Vue and plain JavaScript
- Price
- Free and open source; optional paid Motion+ for extra components and examples
- Output
- JavaScript animation code
Motion is the most common way to animate React interfaces. Layout animations, gestures, exit animations and springs come built in, so many UI micro-interactions people make in Rive can be written in a few lines. Like GSAP, it is code-first with no visual editor for designers.
- Free and open source
- Layout and gesture animation built for React
- Works with real DOM elements and your existing components
- No visual editor for designers
- Web only; for React Native use Reanimated instead
8. Glaxnimate
Best for: A free, open-source desktop editor for vector animation
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Price
- Free and open source
- Output
- Lottie, animated GIF, WebP and animated SVG
People searching for an open-source Rive editor usually end up here. Glaxnimate is a vector animation and motion design app that is now part of KDE, and version 0.6.0 (March 2026) was its first stable release under KDE. It exports Lottie, so your work runs in any Lottie player. It has no state machines, so it replaces the drawing and timeline side of Rive, not the interactive side.
- Fully open source and free
- Runs on Linux as well as Windows and Mac
- Exports Lottie for apps and websites
- No state machines or interactivity
- Smaller feature set and community than commercial tools
9. ProtoPie
Best for: Interactive prototypes for user testing and stakeholder demos
- Platforms
- Desktop editor; ProtoPie players for viewing
- Price
- Free plan with 2 cloud prototypes; Basic $25/month; Pro $47 per editor per month
- Output
- Interactive prototypes and handoff recordings, not production files
ProtoPie handles complex interactions, sensors and conditional logic well, which makes it popular for testing ideas before anything is built. Pick it if you used Rive to prototype. Do not pick it if you need the animation to ship in your app, because ProtoPie does not export a production runtime file.
- Strong logic, variables and device sensors
- Good for usability testing on real devices
- Works with Figma, Sketch and Adobe XD designs
- Prototypes only; developers still build the real thing
- Free plan is limited to 2 cloud prototypes
10. Reanimated (React Native) and Flutter's animation framework
Best for: Mobile developers who would rather write native animation code
- Platforms
- Reanimated: React Native on iOS, Android and web. Flutter: every platform Flutter targets
- Price
- Free and open source
- Output
- Animation code in your app
Many teams search for a Rive alternative for Flutter or React Native and end up writing the animation themselves. Reanimated 4 runs animations on the UI thread in React Native, and Flutter ships implicit and explicit animation widgets out of the box. This works well for UI transitions and gestures, but illustrations and characters are much harder to build in code than in a visual editor.
- No extra file format or runtime
- Full control and native performance
- Free and open source
- Designers cannot author the animation
- Illustrated or character animation is slow to build by hand
Also worth a look
Free and open-source Rive alternatives
If cost is the reason you are leaving Rive, check what each free plan limits, because several tools restrict exports the way Rive does. These options are free without a watermark or splash screen:
- Lottie players (lottie-web, lottie-ios, lottie-android): open source, for animations that play
- Glaxnimate: open-source desktop editor that exports Lottie, GIF, WebP and SVG
- GSAP: free including every plugin, for the web
- Motion: free and open source, for React, Vue and JavaScript
- Reanimated and Flutter's built-in animations: free and open source, for mobile
- ExodeUI: free Community plan with state machines and runtimes
Is there an open-source Rive editor?
Not one that matches Rive feature for feature. Rive's runtimes are open source under the MIT license, but the editor is not. Glaxnimate is the most complete open-source vector animation editor, and it exports Lottie. No open-source editor we found combines a visual editor, state machines and mobile runtimes the way Rive does.
Rive alternatives for Flutter, React Native and the web
Your platform narrows the list quickly.
- Flutter: Lottie (through the community lottie package), ExodeUI's Flutter runtime, or Flutter's built-in animation widgets
- React Native: Lottie, ExodeUI's React Native runtime, or Reanimated
- iOS (SwiftUI): Lottie, ExodeUI's SwiftUI runtime, or native SwiftUI animation
- Web and React: Lottie, ExodeUI, Spline for 3D, GSAP, or Motion
When to stay with Rive
Rive is still the best tool for many jobs, and switching has a cost: you rebuild your animations in a new tool. Stay with Rive if any of these apply.
- You ship to Unity, Unreal or other game engines, which Rive supports and most alternatives do not
- You animate characters with bones and meshes and depend on Rive's editor for that
- You have a library of .riv files and a team that knows the editor
- Only the splash screen bothers you: Cadet removes it for $9 per seat per month billed yearly, which is less than most paid alternatives