Overview

Lottie is an open-source animation toolset that allows designers to create animations in Adobe After Effects and export them as JSON files, which can then be rendered natively on web and mobile platforms using dedicated Lottie player libraries. Developed by Airbnb, Lottie streamlines the integration of complex animations into applications by eliminating the need for developers to rewrite animation logic for different platforms. This approach maintains visual fidelity across devices while reducing file sizes compared to traditional video or GIF formats.

The core benefit of Lottie is its ability to deliver high-quality, scalable vector animations with minimal performance overhead. Because animations are described in JSON, they are resolution-independent and can be scaled up or down without pixelation, making them suitable for various screen densities. Lottie is particularly effective for implementing UI elements such as loading indicators, interactive icons, splash screens, and onboarding flows where dynamic visual feedback enhances the user experience.

Lottie is well-suited for development teams prioritizing cross-platform consistency and efficient asset management. Its JSON-based format means a single animation file can be used across iOS, Android, and web applications, reducing design-to-development handoff friction. The ecosystem around Lottie, including the LottieFiles platform, provides a marketplace for pre-made animations, an online editor, and plugins for design tools like Adobe After Effects and Figma, further integrating it into design and development workflows. This makes Lottie a solution for projects requiring dynamic, lightweight, and scalable animations across multiple user interfaces.

Lottie's rendering capabilities are supported by platform-specific libraries. For example, the Lottie for iOS library integrates with Swift and Objective-C projects, leveraging Core Animation for native performance. Similarly, the Lottie for Android library uses the Android animation system. This native integration ensures that Lottie animations perform comparably to platform-native animations, avoiding the overhead often associated with web-based animation techniques in mobile contexts.

The use of JSON for animation data also means Lottie animations are inherently interactive. Developers can manipulate animation properties at runtime, respond to user input, or synchronize animations with other application states. This flexibility allows for the creation of dynamic and engaging user interfaces that adapt to user interaction, a capability that sets Lottie apart from static image or video-based animation solutions. For instance, a button animation could play forward on press and reverse on release, providing immediate visual feedback to the user.

Key features

  • JSON-based animation format: Animations are exported from design tools as lightweight JSON files, ensuring small file sizes and resolution independence.
  • Cross-platform compatibility: Native SDKs and libraries are available for iOS, Android, Web, React Native, Flutter, and other platforms, enabling consistent animation playback across different environments.
  • Native performance: Animations are rendered using platform-native APIs (e.g., Core Animation on iOS, Android's animation system), optimizing performance and integration.
  • Interactive animations: Developers can control animation playback, speed, and progress programmatically, allowing for interactive user experiences and dynamic UI elements.
  • LottieFiles Platform: Provides a comprehensive ecosystem with a large library of free and premium animations, an online editor, and tools for testing and optimizing Lottie files (LottieFiles documentation).
  • Design tool plugins: Integrations with Adobe After Effects and Figma simplify the export process, allowing designers to create and hand off animations directly (LottieFiles plugins overview).
  • Vector graphics support: Animations are typically vector-based, ensuring crisp visuals at any scale without loss of quality.
  • Developer tools: The Lottie Editor allows for real-time previewing, editing of animation properties, and conversion between Lottie and other formats (Lottie Editor documentation).

Pricing

LottieFiles offers a tiered pricing model, including a free Starter tier and paid subscriptions. Pricing is accurate as of May 2026.

Tier Description Price (Billed Annually) Price (Billed Monthly)
Starter Limited features, animation storage, and collaboration Free Free
Pro Expanded features for individuals, increased storage, advanced collaboration $20/month $25/month
Business Features for teams, higher storage limits, team management tools $50/month $65/month
Enterprise Custom solutions for large organizations, dedicated support, bespoke features Custom Custom

For detailed information on features included in each tier, refer to the LottieFiles pricing page.

Common integrations

Alternatives

  • Framer Motion: A production-ready motion library for React that simplifies creating animations and gestures.
  • GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform): A JavaScript animation library for the web, known for its performance and robust feature set for complex animations.
  • Rive: A real-time interactive animation platform that allows designers to create animations that run natively across platforms, offering a more integrated design-to-development workflow.

Getting started

To integrate Lottie into an iOS application using Swift, you typically add the Lottie iOS library to your project and then load a JSON animation file. This example demonstrates how to display a simple Lottie animation in a SwiftUI view.

import SwiftUI
import Lottie

struct LottieView: UIViewRepresentable {
    var name: String
    var loopMode: LottieLoopMode = .playOnce

    func makeUIView(context: UIViewRepresentableContext<LottieView>) -> UIView {
        let view = UIView(frame: .zero)

        let animationView = LottieAnimationView(name: name)
        animationView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit
        animationView.loopMode = loopMode
        animationView.play()

        animationView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        view.addSubview(animationView)

        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            animationView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.heightAnchor),
            animationView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.widthAnchor)
        ])

        return view
    }

    func updateUIView(_ uiView: UIView, context: UIViewRepresentableContext<LottieView>) {}
}

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("Welcome to Lottie!")
                .font(.largeTitle)
                .padding()

            LottieView(name: "animation_file", loopMode: .loop)
                .frame(width: 200, height: 200)
        }
    }
}

Before running this code, ensure you have added the Lottie iOS library to your Xcode project, preferably via Swift Package Manager (SPM) or Cocoapods, as detailed in the Lottie iOS documentation. Replace "animation_file" with the actual name of your Lottie JSON file (without the .json extension) which should be included in your app's main bundle. This setup creates a reusable LottieView that can display any Lottie animation, playing it in a continuous loop within a SwiftUI application.