Lottie has become the standard format for web animations. Here are the 10 best free tools for working with Lottie files — ranked by usefulness for developers.
1. IconKing — Free Lottie Preview, Editor & Converter
iconking.net | Free | No login required
IconKing is the most complete free browser-based Lottie toolkit. In one place you can:
- Preview .json and .lottie animations before downloading
- Edit colors and layers directly in the browser
- Convert between formats: Lottie → GIF, MP4, WebM, WebP, APNG, SVG, .lottie
- Browse 700+ free animations
- Download instantly — no account needed
Best for: Developers who want to grab, tweak, and drop in a Lottie without leaving the browser.
2. LottieFiles — The Largest Animation Library
lottiefiles.com | Free (with paid tier)
The original Lottie community platform. Thousands of free animations, plus tools like the Lottie Editor, Figma plugin, and an After Effects plugin. Requires an account for most features.
Best for: Browsing a huge library; sharing animations with a team.
3. lottie-web — The Core JavaScript Library
github.com/airbnb/lottie-web | Free | npm
The original lottie-web library by Airbnb. Renders Lottie JSON via SVG, Canvas, or HTML. Full programmatic API: play, pause, stop, seek, speed, events.
npm install lottie-web
Best for: Maximum control and framework-agnostic usage.
4. @lottiefiles/dotlottie-web — Modern Lightweight Runtime
github.com/LottieFiles/dotlottie-web | Free | npm
The modern successor to lottie-web. Uses WebAssembly for ~100KB bundle size (vs ~500KB for lottie-web). Supports the newer compressed .lottie format. Better performance for mobile.
npm install @lottiefiles/dotlottie-web
Best for: Performance-critical projects; .lottie format users.
5. lottie-react — React Wrapper
github.com/Gamote/lottie-react | Free | npm
Clean React wrapper for lottie-web. Provides a <Lottie> component and a useLottie hook for full API access. Works with both JSON imports and URL paths.
npm install lottie-react
Best for: React and Next.js projects.
6. @lottiefiles/dotlottie-vue — Vue 3 Component
Official Vue 3 component for the dotLottie format. Tiny, tree-shakeable, and supports the full DotLottie player API.
npm install @lottiefiles/dotlottie-vue
Best for: Vue 3 and Nuxt 3 projects.
7. ng-lottie — Angular Component
Angular-native wrapper with two-way binding and full lottie-web API support. Works with Angular 14+.
npm install ng-lottie lottie-web
Best for: Angular projects.
8. Lottielab — Browser-Based Animation Editor
lottielab.com | Free tier available
A full animation editor that runs in the browser — create animations from scratch or edit existing ones. Exports to Lottie JSON and the interactive Lottielab format.
Best for: Designers who want to create or modify animations without After Effects.
9. Lordicon — Animated Icon Library
lordicon.com | Free tier
Library of 1,500+ animated icons in Lottie format. Supports interactivity modes (hover, click, morph). Free tier covers basic use.
Best for: UI icon animation — buttons, navbars, states.
10. Canva Lottie Export
Canva supports exporting animations as Lottie JSON. If you design in Canva, this is a zero-friction way to get animations into Lottie format for your web app.
Best for: Designers already working in Canva.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Type | Free | No Login |
|---|---|---|---|
| IconKing | Preview + Editor + Converter | ✅ | ✅ |
| LottieFiles | Library + Editor | ✅ (limited) | ❌ |
| lottie-web | JS Library | ✅ | ✅ |
| dotlottie-web | JS Library (WASM) | ✅ | ✅ |
| lottie-react | React Component | ✅ | ✅ |
| Lottielab | Full Editor | Partial | ❌ |
TL;DR
If you just need to grab and use a free Lottie animation right now, start at IconKing — it's the only tool that covers preview, editing, format conversion, and download in one place with zero signup friction.
For your project's runtime, use lottie-react for React/Next.js, @lottiefiles/dotlottie-vue for Vue, ng-lottie for Angular, and lottie-web directly for everything else.
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