head to head · open source
anime vs LibreSprite
anime has 74,691 GitHub stars, 5,098 forks, 118 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. LibreSprite has 8,797 stars, 626 forks, 104 open issues and last shipped yesterday. anime leads on adoption by 749% (74,691 vs 8,797 stars). anime is written in JavaScript under MIT; LibreSprite is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. anime has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, LibreSprite 7%. LibreSprite was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (animation), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| anime | LibreSprite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 75K | ★ 8.8K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 626 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick anime if
- You weight community size — 75K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LibreSprite if
- You want the LibreSprite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and LibreSprite fits your workflow better
About anime
Anime.js Anime.js is a fast, multipurpose and lightweight JavaScript animation library with a simple, yet powerful API. It works with CSS properties, SVG, DOM attributes and JavaScript Objects. Sponsors Anime.js is 100% free and is only made possible with the help of our sponsors. Help the project become sustainable by sponsoring us on GitHub Sponsors . Platinum sponsors Silver sponsors Get featured here by becoming a GitHub Sponsor . Usage Anime.js V4 works by importing ES modules like so: V4 Documentation The full documentation is available here. V3 Migration guide You can find the v3 to v4 migration guide…
read the full anime overview →
About LibreSprite
LibreSprite Introduction LibreSprite is a free and open source program for creating and animating your sprites. Real time animation previews. Onion skinning. Multiple sprites can be edited at once. Ready to use palettes, or make your own. Sprites are composed of both layers & frames. Tiled drawing mode, useful to draw patterns and textures. Pixel precise tools like filled contour, polygon, shading mode, etc. Several file types supported for your sprites and animations. Download Get the latest release for Linux, MacOS, Windows or Android. History LibreSprite originated as a fork of Aseprite, developed by David…
read the full LibreSprite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is anime or LibreSprite more popular?
anime has 74,691 GitHub stars and LibreSprite has 8,797. anime has the larger community by that measure.
Are anime and LibreSprite free?
Both are open source. anime is licensed under MIT and LibreSprite under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between anime and LibreSprite?
anime is written in JavaScript and LibreSprite in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, anime or LibreSprite?
Choose anime if you want the larger community (74,691 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LibreSprite if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.