The Best SolidJS Animation Libraries in 2026
Solid has fine-grained reactivity and its own transition primitives, but it does not have the animation ecosystem React has. That is not a reason to avoid it. Most Solid apps need one of three things: a transition when a list changes, a timeline effect, or a designer-authored file. Each has a clear answer.
We make ExodeUI, which ships a runtime that works with Solid. It is one option among several here, and for most page effects a small library or plain CSS is simpler.
For list and mount transitions, use Solid's built-in Transition and TransitionGroup with CSS. For springs and gestures, solid-motionone is the closest thing to a native animation library. For timelines, scroll effects and SVG, use GSAP. For a designer-authored animation that must also run on mobile, use an ExodeUI or Rive file. Do not expect a large Solid-specific library market; most tools here are framework-agnostic on purpose.
Quick picks by job
| If you need | Use |
|---|---|
| Mount and list transitions | Solid Transition and TransitionGroup |
| Springs and gestures with a Solid API | solid-motionone |
| Timelines, scroll and SVG | GSAP |
| A designer-authored animation file | ExodeUI |
| Small one-off effects | Anime.js |
How we compared them
- Whether the library is Solid-native or works through a vanilla API
- How much reactivity and cleanup code it adds
- Whether a designer can edit the animation without code
The 5 best SolidJS animation options
1. Solid Transition and TransitionGroup
Best for: Entering, leaving and reordering lists
- Platforms
- Solid apps
- Price
- Free, part of Solid
- Output
- CSS-driven transitions in your components
Solid ships primitives for keeping an element in the DOM while it animates out, and for animating list changes. They are small, work with CSS classes, and respect the framework's rendering model. Most Solid animation needs end here, before any library is added.
Pros and cons
- No dependency
- Works naturally with Solid's reactivity
- Easy to pair with CSS transitions
- No spring physics out of the box
- Not a timeline tool
2. solid-motionone
Best for: Springs, keyframes and gestures with a Solid API
- Platforms
- Solid apps
- Price
- Free and open source
- Output
- Animation running in the app
solid-motionone wraps Motion One for Solid, giving you animate, spring and press gestures as Solid primitives. It is the closest thing to a first-class animation library for the framework. The project is community-maintained, so check its activity before making it central to a large app.
Pros and cons
- Feels native in a Solid component
- Springs and gestures included
- Small runtime
- Community-maintained, smaller team
- Fewer features than Motion for React
3. GSAP
Best for: Scroll, SVG and long choreographed sequences
- Platforms
- Any (JavaScript)
- Price
- Free for everyone, including commercial use
- Output
- JavaScript animation in the app
GSAP does not care which framework you use: give it an element, get a timeline. In Solid, that means a ref and an effect for setup and cleanup. It is the safe answer for complex motion because the documentation and examples are everywhere.
Pros and cons
- Free, including former paid plugins
- Deep timeline and scroll support
- Framework-agnostic with abundant examples
- Imperative, outside Solid's reactive model
- Manual cleanup
4. Anime.js
Best for: Small, readable effects without a framework wrapper
- Platforms
- Any (JavaScript)
- Price
- Free and open source
- Output
- Animation running in the app
Anime.js is a compact option for transforms, SVG attributes and staggered effects. In Solid you call it from an effect and clean up on dispose. It is a good fit when the animation is a small detail rather than a system.
Pros and cons
- Very small API
- Good SVG support
- Free and open source
- No Solid-specific helper
- Limited for complex timelines
5. ExodeUI
Best for: Motion authored visually and shared with a mobile app
- Platforms
- Browser and desktop editor; Solid runtime
- Price
- Free Community plan; Professional $29/month
- Output
- An open .exode file played by the Solid runtime
ExodeUI is for the case where the animation is a deliverable: states, springs and inputs in a file a designer owns, played by a runtime in the app. For a Solid team shipping the same product on mobile, it removes the second implementation. For a marketing page, it is overkill.
Pros and cons
- Designers edit the motion directly
- Same file across web and mobile
- MCP server for AI coding tools
- Adds a runtime dependency
- Not aimed at page transitions or scroll effects
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
A small ecosystem is normal, not a warning
Solid's community is smaller than React's, so fewer animation libraries target it directly. The practical answer is to use framework-agnostic tools for anything complex and the built-in primitives for everything simple. That combination covers almost every Solid app without waiting for a dedicated library.
Cleanup is the part people forget
In a fine-grained reactive framework, an animation that keeps running after its element is disposed is a memory leak and a source of visual bugs. Always return a cleanup function from the effect that starts an imperative animation, and cancel timelines on dispose. This matters more than which library you choose.