Design and diagrams decision
Annnimate
A capable developer can reproduce a useful self-hosted library of GSAP components (live previews + copyable code) using existing open-source motion projects, but the full commercial product (managed MCP server, team subscription features, ongoing weekly component releases and studio provenance) is larger and relies on the vendor's curated content and studio brand that are costly to replicate.
Visit website↗$20/mo
$240/yr
Per seat. Read off the official pricing page.
$100one-off120 h to build
$0/mo6 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 1 seat.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Annnimate alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Developer finds a component, copy code (React/Vue/HTML), paste into project, install GSAP, adjust props/attributes, ship.
What it still won’t have
- Access to the full, curated, growing 70+ component catalog and weekly new components
- Studio-maintained provenance and components proven on client sites
- MCP server features (Cursor and Claude Code) and team-oriented MCP tooling
- Priority support and team-seat subscription features
- Ongoing managed updates and new component shipping included with subscription
What remains hard
- Brand trust
Built by the studio that ships motion for global brands.
- Execution quality
Every component is built to the standard we ship for real brands.
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 1 seat.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a static, self-hosted GSAP component library site using Next.js (React) + Tailwind CSS and Vite-powered demo frames. Include: (1) a JSON-backed catalog of components (React/Vue/HTML) stored in the repo, (2) per-component live preview iframe that loads the chosen component and its GSAP timeline, (3) copy-to-clipboard/export buttons for React, Vue and plain HTML code, (4) searchable docs pages and per-component attribute/prop controls in the UI, (5) a minimal optional auth gate using Clerk or NextAuth (can be disabled). Out of scope: subscription billing, MCP server, team-seat features, Webflow export, WebGL components. Require: unit tests for exporter and preview loader, end-to-end tests for browse->copy flow, basic error handling for missing component files, and CI that builds and deploys to Vercel or static host.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- Evidence score63
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 5
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productAnnnimate — GSAP Motion Components for React & Vue
- official pricingPricing | Annnimate
- official docsDocumentation | Annnimate
- open sourcemicrosoft/Ontology-Playground
- open sourcechartdb/chartdb
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.