head to head · open source
manim vs motion-primitives
manim has 94,468 GitHub stars, 7,757 forks, 500 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. motion-primitives has 6,449 stars, 269 forks, 35 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. manim leads on adoption by 1,365% (94,468 vs 6,449 stars). manim is written in Python under MIT; motion-primitives is written in TypeScript under MIT. manim has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, motion-primitives 4%. motion-primitives 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
| manim | motion-primitives | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 94K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.8K | ⑂ 269 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick manim if
- You weight community size — 94K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick motion-primitives if
- You want the motion-primitives feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and motion-primitives fits your workflow better
About manim
Manim is a Python animation engine for precise, programmatic rendering of explanatory mathematics videos, built for educators, mathematicians, and developers who want frame accurate control over every element of a mathematical animation instead of editing on a timeline.
read the full manim overview →
About motion-primitives
Motion Primitives is an open source, MIT licensed UI kit of animated interface components for engineers and designers working with TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and motion.
read the full motion-primitives overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is manim or motion-primitives more popular?
manim has 94,468 GitHub stars and motion-primitives has 6,449. manim has the larger community by that measure.
Are manim and motion-primitives free?
Both are open source. manim is licensed under MIT and motion-primitives under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between manim and motion-primitives?
manim is written in Python and motion-primitives in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, manim or motion-primitives?
Choose manim if you want the larger community (94,468 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose motion-primitives if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.