# What is Tencent PAG animation and how does it compare to Lottie?

> PAG (Portable Animated Graphics) is an open source animation format and set of players from Tencent. Like Lottie, it plays animations exported from After Effects, but it uses a compact binary file and aims to support more After Effects features, plus replacing text and images at runtime. Lottie has a much larger global ecosystem; PAG is most common in apps built in China.

Updated October 2026. Source: https://www.exodeui.com/questions/what-is-tencent-pag-animation-vs-lottie/

## Key takeaways

- PAG and Lottie both turn After Effects animations into files apps can play
- PAG: binary .pag files from Tencent's After Effects exporter, open source
- Lottie: JSON (or compressed .lottie) via Bodymovin, very widely supported
- PAG supports runtime text and image replacement for templates
- Neither is an interactive state-machine tool on its own

## Frequently asked questions

### Is PAG free?

PAG is open source. Check its repository for the current licence and platform support.

### Can I convert Lottie to PAG?

Both start from After Effects, so the usual route is to export the original After Effects project with the PAG exporter.

### Which is smaller, PAG or Lottie?

PAG uses a binary format designed to be compact; results depend on the animation, so compare with your own files.

### Should I switch from Lottie to PAG?

Only if you need features Lottie lacks, such as runtime text and image replacement, and the PAG players cover your platforms.

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- [Lottie alternatives](https://www.exodeui.com/alternatives/lottie)
- [Fix Lottie performance on mobile](https://www.exodeui.com/questions/how-to-fix-lottie-performance-issues-mobile)
- [Lottie JSON viewer](https://www.exodeui.com/tools/lottie-json-viewer)