head to head · open source
motion vs primitives
motion has 34,972 GitHub stars, 1,520 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped yesterday. primitives has 19,479 stars, 1,306 forks, 356 open issues and last shipped 25 days ago. motion leads on adoption by 80% (34,972 vs 19,479 stars). motion is written in TypeScript under MIT; primitives is written in TypeScript under MIT. motion has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, primitives 7%. motion was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (react), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| motion | primitives | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 19K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-07 | 2026-10-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick motion if
- You weight community size — 35K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick primitives if
- You want the primitives feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and primitives fits your workflow better
About motion
Motion An open source animation library for JavaScript, React and Vue Table of Contents 1. Why Motion? 2. 🍦 Platforms 3. 🎓 Examples 4. ⚡️ Motion+ 5. 👩🏻⚖️ License 6. 💎 Contribute 7. ✨ Sponsors Why Motion? Simple API: First class React, JavaScript, and Vue packages. Hybrid engine: Power of JavaScript combined with native browser APIs for 120fps, GPU accelerated animations. Production ready: TypeScript, extensive test suite, tree shakable, tiny footprint. Batteries included: Gestures, springs, layout transitions, scroll linked effects, timelines. 🍦 Platforms Motion is available for React, JavaScript and Vue…
read the full motion overview →
About primitives
Radix Primitives An open source UI component library for building high quality, accessible design systems and web apps. Radix Primitives is a low level UI component library with a focus on accessibility, customization and developer experience. You can use these components either as the base layer of your design system, or adopt them incrementally. Installation First, install pnpm if you haven't already. Open your terminal and run: Then, install the dependencies: Documentation For full documentation, visit radix ui.com/primitives/docs. Releases For changelog, visit radix ui.com/primitives/docs/overview/releases…
read the full primitives overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Design & Prototyping projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Design & Prototyping field.
Frequently asked questions
Is motion or primitives more popular?
motion has 34,972 GitHub stars and primitives has 19,479. motion has the larger community by that measure.
Are motion and primitives free?
Both are open source. motion is licensed under MIT and primitives under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between motion and primitives?
motion is written in TypeScript and 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, motion or primitives?
Choose motion if you want the larger community (34,972 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose primitives if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.