LottieFiles vs Spline Comparison 2026
LottieFiles distributes and edits 2D vector animations: pull one from its library or export your own, and it stays sharp and small wherever it plays, free to start, then $19.99 a user a month billed annually. Spline builds 3D scenes that run in a browser and respond to a cursor, free for a limited number of files with a watermark, then $15 a month per seat, or $12 billed yearly. Neither replaces the other: one ships flat motion into an interface, the other ships an interactive 3D object onto a page.
At a glance
- Spline starts cheaper, at $15.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
LottieFiles | Spline | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $19.99 | From $15 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | None |
| API | Yes |
LottieFiles
Lottie animations, from library to production
LottieFiles is everything that grew around a file format: a library of ready animations, tools to edit and optimise them, and the players that put them into a site or an app. A Lottie is vector, so it scales and stays small, which is why it ended up in most modern interfaces rather than a GIF. Designers hand off to developers here without a video file in between. It is not where the animation gets made from scratch.
Our note
Most people need the free tier and a player, not a subscription, so start there and only pay when the editing or the private hosting becomes the blocker. The paid plans are aimed at teams producing animations rather than at people using them.
Spline
3D scenes that run in a browser
Spline is a 3D editor in the browser whose output is an interactive scene rather than a rendered file, so the thing you made can sit on a web page and respond to a cursor. Video export and code export are there for when it needs to be flat or embedded properly. The learning curve is much shorter than the desktop tools it competes with.
Why people weigh these two
- Spline instead of LottieFiles
- Spline works in three dimensions rather than flat vector animation, for an interface element that needs to rotate or respond rather than only play a loop.
- LottieFiles instead of Spline
- LottieFiles adds a library of ready-made animations on top of its own editor, with a free tier and a $19.99 plan, a shortcut when nothing needs building from scratch.
Which one should you pick
Pick LottieFiles when the output is 2D motion that has to stay light and sharp inside an app or a site: an icon animation, a loading state, an onboarding illustration pulled from a library rather than modeled. The free version covers casual use, and paid plans start at $19.99 a user a month billed annually, aimed at teams producing animations rather than people only using them.
Pick Spline when the thing on the page needs to be an object in three dimensions that a visitor can move or rotate. Free covers a handful of files with a watermark on export; Starter removes both for $15 a month, or $12 billed yearly, cheaper than LottieFiles' entry paid tier. Video export, code export and mobile targets stay on the $25 Pro plan, and the AI features cost an extra $5 a seat on top of either.
Common questions
- Do LottieFiles and Spline do the same job?
- No. LottieFiles ships flat 2D vector animations that stay small and sharp inside an interface. Spline builds interactive 3D scenes that a visitor can move or rotate on a web page, a different medium entirely.
- Which is cheaper to start paying for, LottieFiles or Spline?
- Spline. Its Starter tier is $15 a month per seat, or $12 billed yearly, against LottieFiles at $19.99 a user a month billed annually. Both have free plans, Spline's marked with a watermark on exports.
- Can Spline export a flat video like LottieFiles can?
- Yes, but only from the $25 Pro tier and above; the free and Starter plans only export the interactive web version. LottieFiles' whole output is built to be flat and embeddable from the free tier up.
- Is the AI generation included in either tool's base price?
- No for Spline: its AI features are a separate $5 a seat a month for 2,000 credits, on top of whichever paid tier you already have. LottieFiles bundles AI credits into its paid tiers directly, 300 of them on the $19.99 plan.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.