Pros of Motion

• More comprehensive animation API with support for complex animations and transitions
• Better performance optimization, especially for large lists and complex layouts
• Wider range of pre-built animations and effects

Cons of Motion

• Steeper learning curve due to more advanced features
• Larger bundle size, which may impact app performance
• Less focus on React Native-specific optimizations

Code Comparison

Moti example:

import { View } from 'moti'

export default function App() {
  return <View from={{ opacity: 0 }} animate={{ opacity: 1 }} />
}

Motion example:

import { motion } from 'framer-motion'

export default function App() {
  return <motion.div initial={{ opacity: 0 }} animate={{ opacity: 1 }} />
}

Both libraries offer similar syntax for basic animations, but Motion provides more advanced features for complex animations and transitions. Moti is specifically designed for React Native, while Motion is more versatile and can be used in various React environments. The choice between the two depends on the specific project requirements, performance needs, and the developer's familiarity with each library's API.

Pros of react-spring

• More mature and widely adopted in the React ecosystem
• Supports a wider range of animation types and complex physics-based animations
• Offers a more flexible API for fine-grained control over animations

Cons of react-spring

• Steeper learning curve, especially for beginners
• Larger bundle size, which may impact performance in smaller projects
• More complex setup and configuration required

Code Comparison

react-spring:

import { useSpring, animated } from 'react-spring'

function AnimatedComponent() {
  const props = useSpring({ opacity: 1, from: { opacity: 0 } })
  return <animated.div style={props}>I will fade in</animated.div>
}

moti:

import { MotiView } from 'moti'

function AnimatedComponent() {
  return (
    <MotiView from={{ opacity: 0 }} animate={{ opacity: 1 }}>
      I will fade in
    </MotiView>
  )
}

Both libraries offer powerful animation capabilities, but moti provides a more straightforward API for basic animations, while react-spring excels in complex, physics-based animations. moti is better suited for React Native projects, while react-spring is more versatile across different React environments.

Pros of react-motion

• More mature and battle-tested library with a longer history
• Provides a physics-based animation system for more natural-feeling animations
• Offers fine-grained control over animation behavior

Cons of react-motion

• Steeper learning curve due to its physics-based approach
• Less intuitive API for simple animations
• Limited built-in animation types compared to newer libraries

Code Comparison

react-motion:

<Motion defaultStyle={{x: 0}} style={{x: spring(10)}}>
  {({x}) => <div style={{transform: `translateX(${x}px)`}} />}
</Motion>

moti:

<MotiView
  from={{ translateX: 0 }}
  animate={{ translateX: 10 }}
/>

Summary

react-motion is a well-established animation library for React that offers physics-based animations and fine-grained control. However, it has a steeper learning curve and can be less intuitive for simple animations. moti, on the other hand, provides a more modern and user-friendly approach to animations in React Native, with an easier-to-use API and built-in support for various animation types. The code comparison shows that moti's syntax is more concise and declarative, while react-motion requires more setup and uses a render prop pattern.

Pros of react-animations

• Supports a wide range of predefined animations
• Works with any inline style library or CSS-in-JS solution
• Lightweight and easy to integrate into existing React projects

Cons of react-animations

• Limited to CSS-based animations, which may not be as performant as native animations
• Requires additional setup for more complex animations or custom timing functions
• Less suitable for React Native projects compared to moti

Code Comparison

react-animations:

import { bounce } from 'react-animations';
import styled, { keyframes } from 'styled-components';

const Bounce = styled.div`animation: 2s ${keyframes`${bounce}`} infinite`;

<Bounce>Bouncing text!</Bounce>

moti:

import { MotiView } from 'moti';

<MotiView
  from={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.5 }}
  animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
  transition={{ type: 'timing', duration: 350 }}
>
  {children}
</MotiView>

react-animations focuses on providing predefined CSS animations that can be easily applied to React components, while moti offers a more flexible and performant approach to animations, especially for React Native projects. moti provides a declarative API for creating complex animations with fine-grained control over timing and easing functions.

Pros of Animated

• More mature and established library with a longer history
• Offers lower-level control over animations
• Supports a wider range of animation types and interpolations

Cons of Animated

• Steeper learning curve and more complex API
• Requires more boilerplate code for basic animations
• Less optimized for React Native specifically

Code Comparison

Moti:

import { View } from 'moti'

export default function MyComponent() {
  return (
    <View
      from={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.5 }}
      animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
      transition={{ type: 'timing', duration: 350 }}
    />
  )
}

Animated:

import { Animated } from 'react-native'

export default function MyComponent() {
  const opacity = new Animated.Value(0)
  const scale = new Animated.Value(0.5)

  Animated.timing(opacity, { toValue: 1, duration: 350 }).start()
  Animated.timing(scale, { toValue: 1, duration: 350 }).start()

  return <Animated.View style={{ opacity, transform: [{ scale }] }} />
}

The code comparison demonstrates that Moti provides a more declarative and concise approach to animations, while Animated requires more setup and imperative code. Moti's API is designed to be more intuitive for React and React Native developers, reducing the amount of boilerplate needed for common animation scenarios. However, Animated offers more fine-grained control over the animation process, which can be beneficial for complex or highly customized animations.